The Lessons That Shaped My Work: A Month with a Master in Germany
- Yuko Kikuchi
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
【日本語でのサマリーは文末にあります / Japanese summary below】
Among the moments that shaped my work today, one stands out — a decision I made eighteen years ago.
It became one of the foundations of everything I create.
A hunger to learn
When I first began painting on white porcelain in Japan, I fell in love with it almost instantly.
And very quickly, that love turned into something more serious: I didn't just want it as a hobby. I wanted to become a professional.
But I was also working full-time at a company, and time was my greatest obstacle. Learning a traditional craft to a professional level usually takes many years of slow, patient study.
I admired that path deeply — but I knew myself, and I knew my circumstances. If I wanted to reach a true level of mastery while building a career, I needed the most direct way possible.
So I made a decision: rather than learn gradually, I would seek out the one artist I admired most, and ask to study with him intensively, one to one, from the very foundations.
A fateful meeting
While teaching myself from every book I could find, I became captivated by the work of one painter — Uwe Geissler, a renowned former painter of the Meissen tradition, and one of the most respected names in the world of porcelain painting.
I found his contact details, and I wrote to him from Japan. I told him simply that I was an admirer of his work, and that if there were ever a chance to learn from him, it would be my dream.
To my amazement, he replied — and by pure coincidence, he was coming to Tokyo the very next week for a seminar. We arranged to meet at his hotel after my work finished. Sitting in that lobby, I gathered all my courage and told him my wish: to learn from a master, from the foundations through to the finest details, in intensive one-to-one lessons.
His schedule was booked a year in advance with seminars all over the world. The only time he had free was during his summer holiday in August — and only if I could come to him, in Germany.
I knew, with complete certainty, that I could not let this chance pass.
Giving everything to the decision
It was not a simple thing to arrange. To have a renowned master entirely to myself, the lessons cost several times the usual rate — something I covered from my savings.
The greater challenge was taking a full month away from my company.
In Japanese working culture at the time, a one-month leave was extremely difficult.
I applied for it fully prepared to resign if it was refused. I was fortunate beyond words that my workplace supported me, and I remain deeply grateful to the colleagues and managers who made it possible.
In the weeks before I left, I handed over my work, often staying late into the night — but I barely noticed the lack of sleep.
I was too full of anticipation.
On the long flight to Germany, I fell so deeply asleep that I never even felt the plane take off.
A month that never wasted a minute
For one month, I went to his atelier every weekday, from nine in the morning until late afternoon.
He taught me everything — how to design, how to think about composition, the foundations of technique, the finest materials, and the delicate final touches. Because it was a private lesson, he kindly allowed me to film, which is normally not permitted. I recorded everything in detail, determined not to lose a single word.
He told me I was the only student he had ever taught this way — the first, and it turned out, the last.
I also had the honor of private lessons with Margret Pitzler, a master of gold painting, formerly of Fürstenberg.
Back at my hotel each evening, I reviewed everything I had learned that day. Through every weekend, I stayed in and painted, preparing my work and a list of questions for Monday morning.
August in Germany is beautiful, with long, light-filled days.
"There are wonderful places to see — go outside a little!" my teacher told me.
But I felt no value in anything other than painting.
Looking back now, I have not a single regret about how I spent that time.
What I carried home
When I returned to Japan, I practiced endlessly, reviewing my videos and notes again and again — first to come close to his example, then, slowly, to find my own voice.
Over the years that followed, life took its turns. There were even periods of more than 5 years when I could not paint at all.
Sometimes weekend were already full, I had to also go to the office to work, and supporting my family was important. But that one month remained the foundation of everything.
I could not let go of my passion.
From my first solo exhibition in Japan in 2013, I began, piece by piece, to build a body of work that was truly my own — and eventually, the dream of creating my own brand.
Why that decision mattered more than I knew
That same year I studied with him — just three months after our lessons in Germany — Uwe Geissler passed away suddenly while traveling. He was only fifty-one. He had been so well when we were together that I could not believe it.
If I had not made that decision — if I had waited, or told myself there would be another time — I would have missed him forever.
That experience taught me something I have never forgotten: the people we are meant to meet, and the chances we are given, may never come again.
I think of that every time I sit down to paint.
I gave everything to that moment. And it remains the foundation of every piece I create. （日本語サマリー）
私の創作の礎となったドイツでの一ヶ月
今の私の作品の原点の一つに、18年前のある決断があります。
日本で白磁絵付けを習い始めてすぐ、私は「プロになりたい」と強く思うようになりました。
会社員として時間が限られる中、最短で本物の技術を身につけたい。 そう考えた私は、最も尊敬するペインター、マイセンの元ペインターであるウヴェ・ガイスラー氏に日本から直接連絡を取りました。
偶然にも彼は翌週東京へ。 お会いして熱意を伝えると、夏の休暇中にドイツでマンツーマンの集中レッスンをしていただけることになりました。
貯金を充て、会社には辞める覚悟で一ヶ月の休暇を願い出ました。恵まれた職場に今でも感謝しています。
一ヶ月間、毎日アトリエに通い、デザインから仕上げまで全てを学びました。
金彩はマーガレット・ピッツェラー女史に師事。
夜も週末も、ひたすら描き続けました。
実はガイスラー氏は、そのわずか三ヶ月後、51歳の若さで急逝されました。 あの時の決断がなければ、彼に出会うことは二度となかったのです。
出会いも機会も、その時を逃せば二度と訪れないかもしれない—その想いは、一つひとつの作品に全力で向き合う基ともなっています。
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