Jeanne Carreau fell in love with clay 41 years ago in a High School ceramics class in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Since there was no program in ceramics at Stanford University where she was an undergraduate, she joined a pottery cooperative there while majoring in Japanese Culture and dreamed of studying pottery in Japan. This dream became a reality in 1974 when Jeanne arrived in Japan with $150 in savings and the determination to find a pottery teacher.

Jeanne was apprenticed to Jun Oba in Tokyo from 1974-1976, overcoming the challenges of being a female apprentice and a foreigner there.  Following her apprenticeship, she entered an M.A. program in East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.  She soon returned to Japan, spending 2 years there writing a Masters Thesis comparing the ceramic traditions of Hagi and Bizen, interviewing renowned potters including Shoji Hamada, Deika Sakata, Ryosaku Miwa, Michiaki Kanashige, and Yu Fujiwara.  Peter Voulkos, a professor at UC Berkeley at the time, was a reader of Jeanne’s thesis.

Jeanne next lived in Hong Kong from 1978-84, teaching at the HK Polytechnic College, the HK International School, and The German-Swiss School as well as maintaining her own studio. Producing handmade pottery of quiet beauty in this most urban, commercial environment was a challenge, but Jeanne says that her years in HK were a turning point in her life and her art. The determination to thrive and the boundless energy of the people of Hong Kong became her inspiration.

Jeanne has lived in New York since 1984 and currently teaches ceramics at the Pelham Art Center and the Clay Art Center.  Her own work is primarily wheel thrown and functional. She enjoys making simple large forms that are both graceful and powerful, glazed to accentuate the movement and serendipity inherent in the firing process.

Jeanne Carreau has exhibited her work in Tokyo, Hong Kong, California, and New York.
She delivered the lecture on “Contemporary Japanese Potters and Their Work” for the Festival of Asian Arts (Hong Kong 1981) and has published articles on Japanese pottery for the Encyclopedia of Japan (Kodansha 1983) as well as translating a book on Japanese folk pottery from Japanese to English (Kodansha 1981) and compiling the English language glossary for a book on Kutani Ware (Kodansha 1979).

Artist Statement

“Clay is a way of life for me. Working with my hands as well as my head and my heart is my secret to a happy life. All of my life experiences, good and bad, have provided a rich source for me as artist to draw upon.”  Jeanne Carreau

2009 Clay Art Center , Port Chester New York , “ Under Cover ”

2008 C lay Art Center , Port Chester New York , “ All Fired up: To Have and to Hold ”

2008 C lay Art Center , Port Chester New York , “ Flower Power ”

2008 C lay Art Center , Port Chester New York , “ PotPourri – Pots That Pour ”

2007 Clay Art Center , Port Chester New York , “ Cups Coming Together ”

‘08,‘07,'06,‘05 Clay Art Center , Port Chester New York , “ Members' Show ”

‘08,'06,'04,'02 Pelham Art Center , Pelham New York , “ Biannual Faculty Art Exhibition ”

'03,'02,'00,‘99,'98 Clay Art Center , Port Chester New York , “ Faculty Show ”

1996 Eastchester Library , Eastchester New York “ Hudson River Potters ”

1983 Societe Generale Bank, Hong Kong , “ Pottery-Jeanne Carreau and Mak Yee Fun ”

1982 Memorial Gallery, Hong Kong International School , Hong Kong , “ Pottery ”

1982 American Women's Association, Hong Kong , “ Charity Exhibition ”

1981 Hilton Hotel, Hong Kong , “ Four Potters in Hong Kong ”

1980 American Women's Association, Hong Kong , “ Potters Four ”

1976 Ginza Wako, Tokyo Japan . “ 1st International Art Friendship Exhibition ”

1975 Art Plaza Gallery, Tokyo Japan . “ Jun Oba and Students ”

Lectures

1996 Manor Club, Pelham , New York , “ A Potter's Apprentice in Japan ”

1988 Hudson River Potters, Port Chester New York , “ A Potter's Apprentice in Japan ”

1981 Festival of Asian Arts, Hong Kong , “ Contemporary Japanese Potters and Their Work ”

Publications

1983 Encyclopedia of Japan ( Kodansha ), various articles on Japanese pottery

1981 Folk Kilns I ( Kodansha )--translated from Japanese to English

1979 Kutani Ware ( Kodansha )--compiled English language glossary

1978 The Japanese Ceramic Tradition, Bizen and Hagi, Two Expres sions ( M.A. Thesis, UC Berkeley )

Teaching

2005-present Clay Art Center , Port Chester New York , ceramics classes for special needs adults

2000-present Pelham Art Center , Pelham New York, “ Adult and Tot Ceramics ”; “ Ceramics for Homeschooled Children ”

1998-present Clay Art Center, Port Chester New York, “A Japanese Way with Clay” ; “ Fine Tuned Wheel ”; “ Form Meets Function” , adult ceramics classes taught in Japanese and English

1986-1998 Small group ceramics classes, my studio , Pelham New York

1980-1984 Hong Kong Polytechnic College, Hong Kong , ceramics course lecturer

1978-1982 Hong Kong International School &The German-Swiss School Hong Kong , adult evening education classes in ceramics

1971-1974 Palo Alto Recreation Center, Palo Alto California , ceramics classes for preschool children

Education

1978 M.A. East Asian Studies, University of California , Berkeley

1974-1976 Apprenticeship to Jun Oba, Tokyo , Japan

1974 B.A. Japanese Culture, Stanford University