The Mark

When I moved to Japan in the late '90's, my name morphed from the very Gemanic, "Kurt," to the very Japanese, "Ka-to." When I began to spend some time at Kusakabe-sensei's studio, helping out with firing and splitting wood, he made a stamp for me using Japanese kanji that incorporated my name with the symbols for fire ("ka") and earth ("do").

The Japanese kanji, "Ka," is the symbol for fire.

"Do," (pronounced "Toe") is the symbol for earth.

Together, these symbols are read right to left as "Ka-To", or "Fire and Earth," a fitting symbol for a potter.