Interesting interview with Tsutomu Deshimaru about his work as a kiriko glasscutter.
Our marketing people said, “Kagoshima is home to so many things with “black” in the name – vinegar, sugar, pork, salt, beef, and more. If you want to make kiriko that reflects its Satsuma, Kagoshima roots, why not black kiriko?” But it’s easier said than done. You try to carve black glass and you can’t see a thing from the inside, so it’s like cutting in the dark, with just your sense of touch to guide you. The natural response of our artisans was, “There’s no way we can do that.” But I knew if I went back to the marketing guys and they told me, “What, you can’t do it?” then I’d never live it down. (laughs) So I gave it a shot and tried a few different things. […] It’s a matter of doing the cuts with just your sense of touch as a guide. It’s rather dangerous. But while I was trying various methods, I found, “What’s this? It’s not as hard as I thought!” and I made it. (laughs) That’s why it’s sometimes important to listen to people who don’t know much about the technical side of things.
Read the whole interview here.
