Library Research Guides: Studio Craft at Indiana University: Artistic Practice

Art Practice

Karl worked in earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. He specialized in creating experimental glazes, merging his knowledge in chemistry with his artistic skills. Karl also made linoleum-cut prints and watercolor paintings.

Karl initially worked as a studio potter in Nashville, IN, where he experimented with glaze recipes and sold his ceramic wares. His time at Black Mountain College introduced him to scholars and artists of the Mingei movement. The Mingei (“folk-craft”) movement emphasized the beauty in simplicity, functionality, and nature within traditional crafts. Karl attended a pottery seminar in 1952 taught by British studio potter Bernard Leach (1887-1979), French ceramic artist Marguerite Wildenhain (1896-1985), and Japanese Mingei potters Hamada Shōji (1894-1978) and Yanagi Sōetsu (1889-1961). Hamada was a mentor and friend of Sakuma Tōtarō, who Karl would later work with in Mashiko, Japan. Hamada applied Mingei principles to his pottery while working in Mashiko.

Karl completed a sabbatical from September 1st, 1963 through January 31st, 1964 at the Kyoto University of Arts where he learned about materials, glazes, and kilns used in Japanese pottery. He studied sometsuke (blue and white porcelain) with Kondō Yūzō and toured pottery villages all over the country.

In a five-month period during 1971-1972, Karl studied with Seto Hiroshi (1941-1994) and Sakuma Tōtarō (1900-1976) in Mashiko, Japan. They worked with wood-fired, multi-chambered Noborigama kilns, also known as climbing kilns. Other potters shown in the photograph collection include Shimaoka Tatsuzō (1919-2007), Philip Kan Gotanda (1951-), and Sandy Brown (1946 -). Karl's wife, Becky Brown, worked at the Daisei family studio. The Nakamura, Susukida, and Kikuchi kilns are also pictured in the collection.

Karl was also inspired by Chinese and Iranian pottery.

Midwest Designer-Craftsmen Exhibit, Kalamazoo Art Institute, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Fort Wayne Art Museum, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1954
Four Potters, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1961
International Ceramic Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan, 1964
Indiana Stoneware, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, 1974

To view other artwork by Martz, see these websites:

Becky Brown (1914-2011) was born in Bowling Green, KY and attended Indiana University. She created ceramic art and frequently worked with her husband, Karl Martz. She worked with the Daisei family pottery studio in Mashiko, Japan for six weeks while Karl studied with other ceramic artists in the region.

Becky Brown at Daisei's, 1972. Indiana University Archives.

Philip Kan Gotanda (1951-) was born in California. He initially attended UC Santa Cruz, and in his junior year he traveled to Japan to study pottery with Seto Hiroshi. He then transferred to the University of Santa Barbara where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Art Studies. As of 2024, he works as a playwright and filmmaker.

Philip Kan Gotanda stoking kiln, 1972. Indiana University Archives.

Sakuma Tōtarō (1900-1976) was born in Mashiko, Japan. He studied at the Mashiko Pottery Institute. He apprenticed with his father and worked at his family’s pottery workshop. He also studied with Hamada Shōji (1894-1977) and worked in the Mingei tradition.

Sakuma Tōtarō at work, 1972. Indiana University Archives.

Sandy Brown (1946-) was born in Hampshire, England. She worked at the Daisei studio in Mashiko, Japan from 1969-1973. She opened the Sandy Brown Museum in 2014 and has exhibited her ceramic work around the world.

Sandy Brown unstacking plate, 1972. Indiana University Archives.

Seto Hiroshi (1941-1994) was born in the Tokushima prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan. He studied industrial design and pottery at the Kyoto City College of Fine Arts. He apprenticed at the Tsukamoto kiln in Mashiko after graduating. His wife, Takai, is shown in photographs working alongside him at his studio.

Seto Hiroshi stoking kiln, 1972. Indiana University Archives.

Daniel Rhodes (1911-1989) (pictured left) was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He studied painting at the Stone City Art Colony and Art Students League of New York, then later studied ceramics at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and New York State College of Ceramics. Rhodes designed for Glidden Pottery and taught ceramics at Alfred University.

Hamada Shōji (1894-1978) (pictured right) was born in Kawasaki, Japan. He studied ceramics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Hamada was a major figure of the mingei "folk art" movement and worked with British studio potter Bernard Leach.

Rhodes and Hamada at the studio of Hamada Shōji

Shimaoka Tatsuzō (1919-2007) was born in Tokyo, Japan. He studied at Tokyo Technical University along with the Mashiko Pottery Institute. He apprenticed with Hamada Shōji (1894-1977). Shimaoka is known for his use of rope impressions of the Jōmon tradition and his involvement in the Mingei movement. Several rope impression tools are pictured in the photograph collection. Shimaoka is recognized in Japan as a Living National Treasure.