AN INTRODUCTION TO A MAN AND HIS ART / Vancouver's LIfe Style Magazine article

Zen Light
HiDe´ Ebina’s Porcelights, like the rest of his ceramic artworks, are not complete until they have an everyday use − and everyday user
by BEVERLY CRAMP
Ten years ago, HiDe´ Ebina was working in his poorly lit studio in an East Vancouver basement when a shaft of sunlight landed on one of his porcelain bowls.“I saw how the light made the bowl translucent,” says Ebina. It was a break-through moment for the Japan-raised ceramic artist who chose to stay in Canada after a visit 14 years ago.Ebina immediately began experimenting with lights of various shapes and sizes. He also continued to refine the particular clay mixture that produced his fine translucent ceramic lights. “I started with a lesser-quality clay. It has taken me a long time to evolve to the present form. I can’t tell you about the formula because it’s a secret,” he says with a conspiratorial smile.Ebina calls these creations “Porcelights” and each is as individual as a finger print. Porcelights are made one at a time, thrown from Ebina’s potter wheel, altered and assembled by hand. Unlit, these ceramic pieces look like sculptures. They become transformed when the light is turned on and shed a golden glow.Many of Ebina’s Porcelights have the flowing, rounded lines of organic forms such as spiny sea urchins or ridged bamboo poles. Others resemble sea shells or clam shells wired together. Still others have more stylized shapes such as cylinders or bells. Bits of metal or glass have been worked into some of the soft porcelain surfaces. But all are made utilizing traditional Japanese techniques in a refreshing new way. READ MORE