The reason why I pursue glass art | Yukie Kimura | TEDxSapporo

The glass artist Yukie Kimura became fascinated by glass when she was 17 years old, and is now opening her own studio called "Yukie Glass" in Otaru. It was challenging starting out as a glass artisan all on her own, but because she continued to make glass her connection with her family deepened, and she had valuable encounters with numerous customers. Even though her reason for making glass will no doubt continue to change, she believes in her initial feeling of "I want to do glass!" and describes her dream to be continuing to make glass pieces that touch the hearts of even more people.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Hello.

I make glass in Otaru, Hokkaido.

My name is Yukie Kimura.

Today I'm in my work clothes
and even brought a blowing rod.

I don't have experience
speaking at this kind of place,

so I brought this thinking that holding it
might keep me sane somehow.

(Laughter)

I don't know how this will turn out,
but please go easy on me.

(Applause)

What I do is called glass blowing.

I melt glass at about 1,200 degrees

and continue to melt
that glass for 24 hours.

I roll that glass on the end of this rod,

fold newspaper that is called
paper phosphorous,

wet it, place it on the palm of my hand,

and then I mold it into shape.

I'm often asked, "Isn't it hot?"

but my palm isn't hot.

But it is 1,200 degree glass,

so the water in the newspaper
will boil at once,

and when it drips on your hand,

it hurts so much that you will throw
the newspaper away.

Other than that,

because you can't touch it
with your hands,

you use a tool called a metal jack

and a tool called a pincer
that looks like a huge tweezer

to pick, pull, and twist it

instead of using your fingers.

During production,
I put on something like disco music

and make glass while
grooving to the music.

My clothing is generally like this

though today I dressed up a bit.

(Laughter)

I have fun while working.

And if you ask what kind of things I make,

for example, I make pendants
with the image of the Otaru sea

or pendants with a locked heart

and also decorative vases
with a heart motif

or plates with a lot of colorful,
transparent hues,

water glasses,

flower vases,

aroma pots,

sculptures,

and also trophies on request.

Glass is naturally really beautiful
even when it's just a simple lump,

so I feel that I must create
something even more beautiful.

While creating, I always think

that I want to make the things I touch
more beautiful, more enchanting.

I grew up in Osaka and I lived there
throughout high school.

The spark that caused me
to start glass blowing

was when a former high school teacher
took me to a glass factory.

In the middle of the factory,
there was a giant boiler

and a roaring fire was burning.

Seeing the workman standing seriously
in front of those bright red flames

my first impression was frankly
that it was amazing and really cool.

That was where I first
handled melted glass,

but it was soft and too hot, and of course
I couldn't do anything with it.

But the melted glass I saw then

was quietly emitting this orange light
that was so incredibly beautiful,

and I couldn't forget
my fascination with it,

so I decided to jump into
the world of artisans alone.

Those around me said things like,

"You won't be able to keep that going.
You should stop now."

"What are you doing
going to such a cold place

when you're sensitive to the cold?"

but no one could stop the dreams
burning within my 18-year-old self,

and so I came to Otaru alone.

I'm going to change the subject a bit.

I started Karate in grade school

and became the second best
in the country in junior high school.

(Applause)

I hated to lose and always thought
that I wanted to become the best.

Honestly, when I started glass blowing

I was young and hadn't seen
much of the world

and thought, "Maybe if I do this,
I'll be able to become the best?"

but that kind of baseless self-confidence
was in tatters immediately after that.

It was fine that I jumped
into the world of artisans,

but it was a harsher world
than even I had imagined by far.

It got steadily harder,

and, despite trying my best,
things got tougher every day.

At the time, I didn't even
have a cell phone,

and I would go use
the public telephone in the snow.

But the numbers on my telephone card
were decreasing very quickly,

there weren't any friends nearby
that I could talk to,

and I didn't want to whine to my family.

And so, although I was feeling
pretty run down emotionally,

and it kept getting tougher,

I remember my heart
being rescued many times

by the scene of the Otaru sea
suddenly coming into view.

Before this, I had never
lived so close to the ocean

so I thought, "The ocean is so nice!"

Though I had been trying my best
in that kind of environment,

at last I got frustrated.

Two years after jumping
into the world of artisans, I quit.

But at that time, I swore in my heart,

"Even if I leave this place,
I definitely won't stop glass blowing."

After that, I returned to Osaka

and became engaged in glass blowing
at yet another new place.

The world of artisans
was a place of watch-and-learn,

but honestly,

even though I was watching hard,
I was barely managing my own workload.

But because I would repeatedly carry

glass gathered up from the furnace,

day in, day out,

my skills for just that part

were recognized by a senior coworker
at the next place I worked in Osaka.

He said, "Just your ability
to gather glass is beyond compare."

"There aren't many guys
that can handle this kind of soft glass."

"But why can't you make one cup
after doing this for two years?"

That caused me to realize anew,

"That's right. I can't even make one cup."

Then that coworker gathered some glass

and came and explained in words
everything about how to make a cup.

"At this point, since it's like this,
here you cool it like this."

That kind of thing.

As a result, everything I had
learned by watching until then

had been like puzzle pieces in my head,

but upon having it taught to me in words

the pieces assembled all at once.

All of a sudden,
I became able to understand.

Since then, I've been able
to very easily make cups.

This was a very good experience for me.

And after that,

I thought, "If I can do this,
I can make anything,"

and I started challenging myself
with all kinds of things.

That was the moment
where I started to think

that glass blowing was fun
for the first time.

Up until then, glass blowing, to me,
only meant something stressful.

Then I moved to a place near Yokohama,

I started to build up experience,

and when I was 30, I returned
to my husband's hometown Otaru.

I decided to return
in order to start my own studio.

The location was chosen,

I imported a melting furnace from the US,

and I was really excited
and ready for the opening day,

but on the fifth day of operation,
the furnace suddenly broke down.

What?! I was so surprised.

I didn't know what to do.

I had even put our opening day
in the newspaper.

What should I do?

Even now, I can't forget the taste

of the yakisoba noodles
I ate with my husband while crying.

Despite all of that happening,

we eventually managed to open.

There was support from family,
friends, and acquaintances.

After I decided to establish myself

and make a living at this,

I felt that my family's attitude
had changed as well.

Especially my father who,
when he came from Osaka to Otaru,

made desks and the like
for inside the gallery,

with my husband
as his number one apprentice.

They also happily made the shelves
in the gallery together.

And in addition to my husband becoming
my father's number one apprentice,

he also became my exclusive assistant

and has been doing work
at the studio alongside me.

My husband hadn't done
glass blowing until that point.

And my mother and little sister in Osaka

as well as my husband's mother in Otaru

started helping out with things
like side jobs and accounting,

and my self employment becoming
a shared family topic

was not something
I had initially expected.

When I started doing glass blowing,
I thought that I would try hard alone

and if I built a house with my earnings,
everyone would be happy,

but my bond with my family
has deepened beyond my imagination.

And now it feels like

I have one more reason
to continue glassblowing:

"I want to use your product
for a proposal.

It is an important moment.
Can you help me?"

The visitor from far away that says,
"I look forward to it every year."

"Looking at you makes me imagine
what my daughter,

who became handicapped
at a young age,

would be like if she were well."

The grandmother that said,

"I'm rooting for you,"
along with a strong handshake.

And all the letters I receive.

At some point, through glass blowing

I started witnessing people's lives.

And witnessing people's lives,
honestly, is not always pleasant.

Just last year this happened.

Mrs. Murakami from Kushiro.

It was just around the time
we opened the gallery.

Even when we were open, no one would come.

At that time, she came and said,

"I saw you in a magazine and thought
your gallery was lovely, so I came."

"When I see your red, it makes me happy,"

she would say.

Mrs. Murakami had been struggling
with cancer for a long time.

"To be honest,
there are a lot of hard times.

But when I put on your accessories
and go to the hospital

it's like an outing
and it lifts my spirits,"

she said.

Every year the cherry blossoms
in Hokkaido come into full bloom.

At the height of the season,
she visited the gallery with her husband.

Last spring, she didn't come,
so wondering what could have happened,

I gave her a call.

She had already passed away.

I was so sad that tears started to fall.

I even thought

that if not for glass blowing,
I wouldn't have experienced this sadness.

But I don't think I will forget
Mrs. Murakami's kindness

for the rest of my life.

I want to face all of the joy
and all of the sorrow.

That's how I feel about what happened.

I think it's okay to change

my reason for making things,
my reason for continuing to create,

and what I choose to make.

And I think it might just be something
that continues to change.

I'm often asked what I want
to make in the future,

but I am always at a loss over an answer

because I feel that I surely won't know
what I want to make in the future

until I'm in the future.

I believe that the accumulation
of things I'm making now

and things I am working on
will change my future self.

I want to continue to challenge myself
to make a future I look forward to.

When I started glass blowing,

my foolhardy reasoning
was that I wanted to become the best.

Then after my setback,
I continued out of stubbornness.

There were times where I continued

because I was excited to learn
the art of glass blowing.

Since acquiring those skills,

I feel like I'm always thinking about
what kind of expression I should try next.

In the future, my reason for glass blowing
will continue to change.

But when I thought in the beginning,

"I want to do glass blowing!"

"This is it!"

those sparkling emotions,

I want to at least keep believing in them.

So I am sticking with glass blowing.

Someday I want to build a studio
in a place where you can see the ocean.

I want to continue to make
more and more works of art

that touch people's hearts.

That is my dream now.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)