Stoked: Five Artists of Fire and Clay

I am in a place of excellence, peace, and earthiness,” wrote the young American in his journal, “with an unbelievable knowledge of clay.” That place was a heavily wooded mountain valley on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. The date was August 1975. And the 22-year-old with bright eyes and an easy smile was Richard Bresnahan, a small-town boy from eastern North Dakota.