AUSTRALIA  
CERAMIC TOUR with JEFF SHAPIRO
POSTPONED

ITINERARY

  Trip includes:

13 nights hotel based on double occupancy in 4 and 5 star hotels wherever available

Full breakfast every day

11 Dinners, 1 Lunch

Private coach transportation

Taxis

Museum entrance

Artist studio visits

Bus transfer to and from airport

Not included:

Air fare

Travel insurance

Meals that are not included in itinerary

  Tentative price

( Due to the devaluation of the US  dollar)    $8,100.00

**If there is interest, I may arrange a 4 day tag on trip to New Zealand at the beginning or end of the Australia trip to visit potters including Len Castle , New Zealand ’s National Treasure, and to experience nature outside the Auckland area. The beginning of the trip is probably best, as it will help acclimate to the time change and jet lag. Otherwise, I recommend arriving a day early in Australia .

                                        *            *           *
Tuesday April 28
Day 1 

          On this the first day in Australia the flights tend to arrive at Melbourne in the morning. It is a long flight so I suggest arriving a day early if possible. I may have an optional  4 day New Zealand segment available prior to the beginning of the Australia trip.
There will be airport bus transfers available to the hotel in Melbourne .
We will check into the hotel and after relaxing for a while, take a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria with museum curator.
In the evening before or after dinner, we will visit either the Skepsi Gallery or Gallery Craft Victoria
         Dinner                  Hotel - Rondezvouz  (Deluxe)

Wednesday April 29
Day 2

          Today, following breakfast, we will visit the studios of 3 well known ceramicists: Robert Barron, Owen Rye and then on to the studio of Victor Greenaway( if he is back from teaching in Italy ). Owen is a good friend and is an educator as well as a fine ceramic artist. He has been helpful in putting together the itinerary. Owen will be part of a 5 person exhibition at Lacoste Gallery, Concord , MA from January 10, 2009 . The exhibition will then go to Cavin Morris Gallery in Chelsea , NY and then to Akar Gallery in Iowa City , Iowa .
          In between the studio visits, we will have a short stop in a local town for an optional lunch. There are many fine cafes that have sprung up through out the small towns of the East coast. We will travel by private coach by way of the Gippsland scenic highway.
         Dinner                           Hotel -  Bellevue on the Lakes

Thursday April 30
Day 3

          After a leisurely breakfast, we will depart by private coach to Tanja/Merimbula by the coast. After arriving, we will check into the hotel and have a chance to walk along the ocean. It will be a time to adjust, chill out and experience the local color of this part of Australia .
We will then have dinner together.
           Dinner                          Hotel - Comfort Inn Merimbula

Friday May 1
Day 4

          Today, following breakfast and time for a short walk, we will depart for the local studio of Yuri Weidenhofer, a bohemian potter living in the forest area and firing a number of kilns including his anagama tunnel kiln. We will then go on to spend time at the studio of Allan Watt who is a well known and respected ceramic sculptor.
If time allows, we will also visit other( non ceramic) studios and shops. We will finish the day with dinner together and return to the hotel.
         Dinner                           Hotel - Comfort Inn Merimbula

Saturday May 2
Day 5

          After finishing breakfast, we will depart by private coach to Canberra with a stop in the quaint town of Bungendore or Mogo with a chance for lunch on your own. After arriving in the capital Canberra , we will check in to the hotel. After time to freshen up, we will visit an exhibition opening at the Australia National University arranged for us, with the works of (*tentative artists)  Janet Deboos, Greg Daly, and Gail Nichols and have a chance to meet and discuss the work with the artists.
In the evening we will have dinner together with a couple of the artists.
          Dinner                            Hotel - Hyatt Canberra

Monday May 11
Day 14

          Bus transfers to airport

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
List of artists to visit.
(Work of artists who are too far away will be presented at galleries along the way.)

Owen Rye

Janet Mansfield

Chester Nealie and Jan Irvine                                                       

Robert Barron                                          

Alan Watt                                                  

Barbara Campbell Allen

Mitsuo and Chris Shoji

Peter Rushforth

Gail Nichols

Janet Deboos

Greg Daly

Yuri Weidenhoffer

Ian & Moraig Jones

Susie McMeekin

Paul Davis
Sandy Lockwood
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JAPAN
CERAMIC ARTISTS AND ARTISANS OF JAPAN
2009

DAY	MEALS	ACCOMMODATIONS
1. Depart East Coast Metropolitan area for Japan
2. Arriving at Narita Airport Bus transfer to hotel	Local light dinner	Keio Plaza   Deluxe
3. Breakfast( Japanese)     On this first full day in Tokyo, Japan, we will visit the recently constructed museum: Musee Tomo.  Next, we will take local transportation to the home and studio of Higashida Shigemasa. Higashida san is a good friend and a wonderful ceramicist. He has finished building his 'dream studio', a wonderful mix of modern design and traditional elements. If we are lucky, he may be unloading one of his tea bowl kilns when we arrive.    After ample time spent at his studio, we will go with him to a beautiful Kaiseki restaurant in the outskirts of Tokyo	B, D	Keio Plaza   Deluxe
4. Breakfast ( Japanese or Western)     The morning is free for you to “chill out” from all the activity or to explore other sites in Tokyo such as the early morning Tsukiji fish market. We will meet in the afternoon to take local transportation to an area just outside of Tokyo where we will go for a special dinner in a thatched roof structure where baskets of fire light the way and koi swim in ponds just outside. Be prepared for taking photos	B, D	Keio Plaza
5. Breakfast    Visit Rob Yellen in  Mishima. We begin travel on the Shinkansen Bullet Express Green Car. Rob is a good friend and is well known and respected as a writer and celebrity in the field of Japanese contemporary ceramics. We will see work in his gallery on exhibition and have opportunities for discussions with Rob as well as join him for a noodle lunch, a specialty of this local area. We will then visit a temple, tea house, and an artist’s  studio (to be announced) before returning to Tokyo in the evening	B, L	Keio Plaza
6. Breakfast   We will take local trains and Shinkansen ( Bullet Express) to Nagoya and Toki where we will  take taxis to the studio of Toyoba Seiya the disciple of Arakawa Toyozo an important figure in the development of ceramics in Japan . Arakawa san was a Living National Treasure. We will visit the museum of Arakawa 's studio with the assistance of Arakawa's grand daughter, and look at tea bowls of his as well as work by Toyoba san. This evening we will stay at a local hot spring hotel with traditional regional cooking.	B, D	Ryouzan Ryokan
7. Breakfast    Today we will visit studios of paper makers, sword makers and sake breweries, before returning to the Hot Spring Inn for dinner	B, D	Ryouzan Ryokan
8. Breakfast    Early departure, Private bus for Suzuki Goro and Koie Ryoji ( Tentative) These are 2 of the most innovative ceramic artists in Japan. Koie is perhaps the abstract expressionist of the ceramic world with a spontaneous way of manipulating material as well as applying surface decoration. Goro has a wide repertoire of work from luscious black seto tea bowls to funky and oddly handled coffee mugs, to full size chairs made from thick slabs of clay. ( recently on a visit, Goro showed me a single “ urn” that was almost 5 feet in length and made of broken parts reassembled )We will stay locally in Nagoya to have an easy departure the next morning.	B,  Box lunch	Nagoya Marriott
9. Breakfast     This day we will take the Shinkansen to Okayama. The afternoon is free to wander the streets of this quaint town. We meet in the evening for dinner	B, D	Hotel Granvia
10. Breakfast    After breakfast we will take a local train to Bizen and begin a walking tour of Bizen (Imbe) visiting studios of :Isezaki Jun-Living National Treasure and his son Koichiro. Jun was my mentor and I am pleased to have been part of an exhibition and event in Boston. The exhibition was held at Lacoste Gallery and the symposium was held at the Remis auditorium MFA with a panel discussion with Isezaki Jun, Kakurezaki and moderated by me. I have just returned from Heidelberg , Germany where I was part of a 3 person exhibition with Isezaki Jun, and Uwe Loellmann.  Isezaki Koichiro, Isezaki Jun's son apprenticed with me in NY for 2 years. Time permitting we will go for a lunch of local fare: Okonomiyaki The remainder of the day will be spent visiting 2 artists: Mori Togaku at his kiln site. Mori Togaku is also a mentor of mine and is firing a tunnel kiln that is the length of a foot ball field!! 290 feet long. As of August 19 he is “dry” firing the kiln empty. It may take from 1-2 months Kakurezaki Ryuichi is one of the most popular ceramicist in Japan today. He is a good friend and was also a part of the symposium in Boston. His work and home/studio are dramatically designed. It will be an experience to remember.	B, L	Hotel Granvia
11. Breakfast This day we will stay local, visiting the neighboring craft town of Kurashiki, a weeping cherry tree lined canal that is the central point of the village of traditional Kura ; thick walled storage buildings. The Ohara museum is a wonderful chance to see whole rooms dedicated to such artists as Leach, Hamada, and Kawai Kanjiro     After time for noodle lunch or Japanese style pizza in Kurashiki, we will return to Okayama for a very special visit to Korakuen; one of the 3 Designated National Parks in Japan. I am indebted to a friend of mine, Kiyamoto Yuzuru who has been given special permission to show us through the structures of Korakuen that are not open to the public. Yuzuru san's family did much of the reconstruction on buildings that had been damaged in a fire. There we may have tea in the detached tea house. The late afternoon will be left open for local shopping or resting	B, L	Hotel Granvia Okayama
12. Breakfast.     Another memorable day, following an early breakfast, we will depart by train over the newly constructed bridge connecting the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. Once in Shikoku, we will transfer to a private bus that will take us to the village of Shikoku Mura where we will stop for an optional lunch. This village has been reconstructed with buildings from different areas of Japan. Next we will continue on to the museum and compound of Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi had studios both in Queens, NY and Mure, Shikoku. If scheduling permits, we will meet with Masatoshi Izumi  the stone cutter and sculptor who was Noguchi's assistant and friend. The bus will then take us to the ferry that will bring us to the island of Naoshima, a fantastic place. It is a small fishing community that has gradually converted a number of it's structures into art projects with the likes of James Turrell. The museum/hotel was designed by the architect Tadao Ando. The hotel is actually within the museum!! We will have dinner at the hotel while looking at contemporary art. Each room has been “decorated” by a well known artist	B, D	Benessee House Hotel
13. Breakfast   Following breakfast, we will take the hotel van to the town and begin the walking tour of “House Project”; 4 or 5 structures given to individual international artists to create their own architectural and sculptural installations. The afternoon will be available for visiting the newly completed museum that houses installations by James Turrell and  Claude  Monet and was also designed by Tadao Ando. We will return to the museum once again for an interesting dinner at the hotel	B, D	Benessee House Hotel
14. Breakfast    This day we depart early to have ample time in Kyoto. Arriving in Kyoto before noon, we take a shuttle bus to the Westin Miyako, a lovely hotel recently redesigned, on the east side of Kyoto. We will take a short walking tour of Terramachi ; an arcade shop with food and colorful arrangements of miso and craft shops, visit Aizen Kobo, one of the few remaining indigo dye shops, and then visit a 200 year old tea shop, as well as a pigment and brush shop We will end up with dinner locally	B, D	Westin Miyako Hotel
15. Breakfast On this day I am arranging for a special visit to the studio of ceramic artist and friend >>>>>>>>>> in Nara	B, L	Westin Miyako Hotel
16. Breakfast     On this day, we will take a private bus to the pottery town of Shigaraki. But first, we will stop at the magnificent Miho Museum where we will be met by a curator who will lead us through the museum exhibitions. The architecture and setting are awe inspiring. And the exhibitions are always impressive. We will have a box lunch while at the museum. From there we will continue on to Shigaraki to visit 2 ceramic studios ( also to be announced)  The bus will bring us back to the hotel by 7:00	B, L	Westin Miyako Hotel
17. Breakfast This morning we will visit the studio of Morino Taime and then on to the  Kawai Kanjiro museum. This is the area of Gojo Zaka and the Kiyomizu Temple. The afternoon will be left open to further explore areas of Kyoto on your own. (Suggestions as to where and how to go will be made available)	B	Westin Miyako Hotel
18. In the morning we will visit the home and studio of >>>>>>> and his artist wife >>>>>>>> The afternoon is free to wonder and shop or to visit  temples At 7:00, we will finish the group activities with a farewell dinner in the lovely hotel restaurant.	B, D	Westin Miyako Hotel
19. Bus transfer to Kansai airports

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ITALY

Recently, I have become involved with Italy. And have lead workshops in Tuscany and the mountains of Andagna near the French boarder. There is an article on the web page about building the kiln at Spannocchia near Sienna.
I plan to continue the connection with Italy and will post upcoming trips and programs. Although there are no set dates for programs in Italy at the moment, I am thinking of summer programs there for the near future.
I am accepting inquires about programs to Italy

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For tentative itinerary, list of tentative artists, and further information contact: 

Jeff Shapiro : jeshapi@gmail.com

Tel: 845 626 0684 

Travel arrangements and accommodation by: 
Custom Tours Att. Brian Maitland Tel. 239 949 5590