Life is a struggle between the needs of order and chaos.
We are constantly seeking order in our lives but it is pushed aside
by the chaos of our surroundings.
It is not the order that is important
but the process of seeking that order.
Without chaos our lives would become stagnant and bland.
But with too much chaos our lives would be overwhelmed.
I am trying to keep the balance between these two forces
in my Art work and my life.
Being thankful for the challenges that life brings
not sinking under them.

In my art, I am searching for order
but at the same time giving space for chaos.
Striving to be better but giving room for the unexpected,
Balancing planning with spontaneity.
Balancing order with chaos.
My search for this balance brought me to Japan twenty years ago.
I was seeking a teacher to guide me through the art of clay.
In my search I found no such person.
My original plan was to study for a three year apprenticeship
with a master potter
This plan lasted three month.
Instead I found a community of teachers.
Experts of clay, experts of glazing, experts of tile making,
but there was no one teacher.
That is the way it should be.
By gathering influences from around oneself, it is the artist
who weaves them together in his own way.
Another's balance of order and chaos is not ones own.

Now some twenty years on, I have created
my home, studio and life in Tokoname Japan.
Inspirations come from ancient artists
Chinese, Japanese, Cypriot, or Peruvian.
Seeing how they dealt with the balance of order and chaos.
This is where humor plays into my work.
For it is the spot of chaos that brings the smile to order.

Albert Sussler