Artigianati.com

"Shell Vessel," 1997, stoneware by Shoko Koike, one of the many Japanese women whose works in clay are on display at the Crocker Art Museum.

When she was young, Kyo Tsuji visited a ceramics workshop and was rebuked for trying to touch the potter's wheel because in Japan women were considered "impure."

At the time – the 1950s – potting had three rules: Women can't throw. They should work in the background. And they should not enter the kiln shed.

Tsuji, who died last year, was one of a generation of pioneering women ceramic artists who met strong opposition when they first began working with clay. In addition to being considered impure, women also were considered untrustworthy....

Read more at -  http://www.sacbee.com/art/story/2108074.html