A couple of days ago, I visited the Kyoto Ceramic Center to see an art exhibition. Since last year, the center has been hosting competitions, and this was my second time participating. The competition is unique because there is only a first place winner, and there are no second place or third place. If you don't win, there is nothing. However, we have the opportunity to sell them if our pieces pass their strict evaluation. Last year, I didn't win, but I sold my piece.

Since the center is located close to Kiyomizu-dera, one of the most popular spots for tourists in Kyoto, many foreign visitors stop by there to buy Kyō-yaki.

The inside of the center looks very modern even though they've been selling very traditional ceramics.

The exhibition has been holding upstairs.

When I visited there, I saw a couple of foreign tourists there.

In the picture above, the label ”売約済” means it's sold, and the number is the price of the piece.

The piece in the picture below was the winning entry in the competition I entered in. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to win this year either.

However, somebody (most likely a middleman in the Kyō-yaki business) purchased my piece this year as well. I'm very happy for this even though I didn't won. Since the art show runs until December 4th, feel free to stop by if you’re in the area.

Now, I've started working on the next art competition which doesn't focus on porcelain art. I'll compete multiple art and won't have the opportunity to sell my pieces. Even so, I'd love to keep entering art competitions constantly to stay motivated.

In the near future, I'd love to try selling my works outside of Japan with my British friend's and my American friend's help. This is one of the reasons I've kept learning English.

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