The snow is lazily falling outside my studio windows, while I listen to Toshiko Takaezu talk about the first time she saw snow in 1951. There is something thoughtful and candid about the way she tells her story. She acknowledges this by saying several times, "I don't know why I’m telling you all this,” but she is true to the moment. 

I, of course, want to make some poetic connection to the moment, snow, and Toshiko, but it feels forced as I listen to her talk about Hawaii, water lilies, frogs, and her creative practice; her conversation is more akin to warmth than the crisp qualities of snow. But maybe her voice is the whisper of spring. These lazy snowflakes don't seem to have the energy to fight much longer; they are content to come and go, disappearing by the week’s end.

If Toshiko’s voice is the lullaby for winter and the welcome of spring, then this month's issue dips its toes into themes of disappearing practice and reemerging growth. In February, we called for article pitches that explored “Disappearing Practices.” This topic was so warmly received that we will do a monthly series on the theme. What I have come to find in our authors' submissions is less a chronicle about the disappearance; rather, they are narratives that cultivate “Reappearing Practices.” 

This month, we welcome you to read three articles and listen to Toshiko’s two-part archival audio release on our new podcast. In the article "Breathing New Life into Craft – Ban Workshop," Imann Gaye finds solutions to the question, “What does the future hold for ceramics in Senegal for younger generations if the traditions, crafts-woman-ship, knowledge, and material culture cease to exist?” In the monthly FREE article, Stephen Driver documents the work of Keaton Wynn and others in their efforts to develop an official ceramic educational system in Gansu province in the article “Ceramic Education in Western China.”  Studio Potter editor emerita Jill Foote-Hutton reviews Donna Ray’s solo exhibition at the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery. Donna explores themes of women's equity, gender fluidity, and financial histories. And finally, we encourage you to follow and like Studio Potter – The Podcast, which is available on all of your preferred streaming services. This month, we will release an interview between Gerry Williams and Toshiko Takaezu. Part one features Toshiko's upbringing and early career. Part two features Toshiko’s contemporary work, creative practice, and philosophy. 

This month's issue will keep you in good company as we welcome the "reappearance" of spring.

Randi O'Brien, editor