ON THE OFF CHANCE

Illustrated is my old amber ressurected and used on a test yunomi on the off chance that it would work with a bit of wash over the surface. This addition was last minute when glazing a couple of weeks back and made its way between some v-bowls filling those dreaded empty nooks and crannies of the kiln. The addition of the manganese/ copper wash really adds to this surface and creates a depth to the glaze that it lacks as well as a bit of motion to the surface. I am rather glad the idea popped into my head as I was glazing and am looking forward to trying it on a less textural surface to see if the surface is as interesting without all of the fluting. I am in the process of glazing currently and further testing will have to wait until the next cycle unless something comes up and it usually does.

B&T

Though this may not be the most informative photo of this Hagi style chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko it still clearly shows the classic form of the potter and its stoic posture and well dressed foot as well. This chawan has an inscription on the box lid interior, it is named; "Confederate Rose", more pictures to follow when I find them. Highlighted by both sunlight and shadow here is a different exposure to this chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko and as I have mentioned previously, I think there are subtleties and nuances that stand out in this type of presentation including the "bones and toppings" of the piece. 

PRIMO REPARIO

Illustrated is the first piece of pottery that I have ever collected with a kintsugi repair, I have a real aversion to pots with chips, cracks or any damage and this has lead to a rather long term internal debate. Over the years I have had more than several pieces arrive damaged and in need of repair but I have found that a horse of a different color and I think because the piece arrived damaged, the trama or experience colored my perspective of those pots ever so slightly. Last year I spotted what I would under normal circumstances consider to be a near perfect Iga chawan by Furutani Michio, the caveat was a pewter lacquer repair measuring just under 2cm long. Based on the topography of the lip under magnification it seems obvious that something stuck to the lip during the firing process and was removed and the bowl was repaired at that time. I should mention that if done by or for the potter, this would be the third piece I have seen with repairs, the two others, one with staples and one with lacquer are illustrated in exhibition catalogues so one can guarentee contemporaneous repairs orchestrated or conducted by the potter, this one is most likely the same but conjecture.       

At any rate, this Iga chawan was thrown out of a rather dense whitish stoneware in a rather classical Furutani Michio shape where the bowl form has a depressed area running close to the lip which has also allowed green ash to build up in and run down from. The entire chawan is covered in varying degrees of ash thickness with a wonderful run of a thick river up toward the lip culminating in a large bidoro drop and due to how the bowl was oriented during the firing there is a thick deep pool close to the lip on the interior which is quite prominent and very hard to miss. The foot has the least amount of ash buildup of the bowl and shows off the crisp cut foot with crinkled texture inside to its fullest advantage. I could go on and on about the chawan and what I discovered in deciding to take a risk on this chawan is that it has no impact on the pot from my viewpoint, someone, either potter, dealer or collector decided this chawan was just too special to discard and had it lovingly restored with the perfect choice of lacquer which has altered this piece into not only splendid work of a master at the height of his skills when made but a narration about survival and the need to understand that a kiln accident is not the end of the world but rather the beginning of a deeper conversation about the importance of objects to a tradition and humanity, the perfection of imperfection on full display.

HIGH TECH

Illustrated is the high tech and top secret process by which I achieve some of the surfaces I end up with on my glazes. Included in the photo is of course a banding wheel as old as time itself, a folded piece of cardboard covered with newsprint, the glaze to spray and the lung powered atomized all focused on spraying the small teabowl glazed in Oribe with a masked decoration created using an impromptu cardboard stencil. In this case there were only two teabowls that need to benefit from this high tech and streamlined operation both intended as tests while the bulk of the bisque pots wait thier results. I should mention that on the other side of the photo, I was wearing eye protection and a painters mask with a tiny slit cut in to admit the mouthpiece of the atomizer. I realize this is not necessarily the best operation but normally I would have done this outdoors in the fresh air and upwind but it was raining quite heavily. Tomorrow is a day filled with appointments and errands and I won't get to fire the kiln until Friday, better late than never.

RIN

Illustrated is a finely thrown and carved porcelain vase with a pale seihakuji glaze surface influenced by Chinese Song ceramics by Kurashima Taizan of the Daizan-gama. Working in Sue located in Fukuoka, the pottery of the Kurashima family is known as Sue-yaki and as mentioned and looks to both Chinese ceramics and Arita ware for its initial inspiration. This tsubo like hanaire was expertly thrown and is thin and light yet the procelain has been fired to create a dense and hard clay that rings finely when tapped. The mouth and shoulder area has been exquisitely carved to create a five  lotus leaf design to harmonize with the rinka style mouth all under the thin coating of a simple, elegant blue tinted glaze that highlights the form.    

Kurashima Taizan is well known for his wonderful, Song inspired ceramics and carving that runs from rather simple to very ornate and complex. As you can see in this simple, static photo, this vase embraces the concept of "RIN" or "quiet clarity" and his work was included in the exhibition, RIN (1996) showcasing his pale blue and ivory colored carved porcelains. As the accompanying catalogue details, Kurashima's works conjure up thoughts of purity and elegance and having handled a few of his pieces, it would be next to impossible to disagree with that conclusion.

MORE TO OFFER

Illustrated is a Shigaraki tsubo made by a Fukuoka native now working and firing in Yokohama which coincidentally,  is only about a four hour trainride from the cradle of this ideal and aesthetic. Made by Hoshino Ryosai, this medieval style tsubo with a vivid and classic  incised  fence decoration has a simple form with crisp lines to form the mouth and flange with a wonderful coat of ash from top to bottom presenting a true sense of antiquity and honesty to the pot. What is clear to see is the varying ash formation and color that has painted this pot ranging from tradition browns and greens to hints of lavender and blue strewn across the surface.     

Having shown his work across Japan and abroad, Hoshino has embraced the Shigaraki (haikaburi) aesthetic that relies on skill, experience and serendipity to complete his work in the anagama wood fired kiln. This pot, all naturally glazed, shizen-yu has a rough and tumble surface while still having a sense of nobility in the stance and posture of what is a utilitarian vessel with quite honestly, so much more to offer. Each encounter with the work of Hoshino expands the breathe of his output from simple to the complex masterful koro showing yet another potter not residing in the birthplace of the tradition making pots that display excellent examples of what is at the very heart of the Shigaraki tradition.

MOTIVATION

I finally got motivated to sand, decorate and load a number of greenware pieces into a bisque yesterday and another one today. I total there are about 140 pieces ranging from teabowls to dinnerplates and pasta bowls, some orders, commissions and pieces I made as tests or new forms. The truth is the real motivation to get these pieces fired was the weather as we are in the midst of cold, cold rain which is supposed to ice up and with ice comes downed trees and power outages. Since I won't be throwing I can get three glazes made and two topped off and get around to glazing by Friday as I have some other commitments tomorrow and Monday. It is funny how the weather finally gave me the kick in the but to stop throwing and get stuff processed before there was a mishap as storing all that greenware was getting tricky. Illustrated is just a group of carved slip porcelain bowls about 9" across ready to be cleaned and then glazed in either my Oribe, amber or soda blue, there are also combed stoneware slipbowls, some chatterware and a few teabowls meant as filler in the periphery of the picture. Now that the second bisque is finished firing without any power interuptions I am rather glad to have these pots in a more stable situation but I still need to figure out where to store them while I am glazing everything up, the pitfalls of a car garage studio and limited wall space.

TRICKY BOWL

I realize that I have posted this Tsukigata Nahiko chawan before but I ran across this picture of the bowl highlighted by both sunlight and shadow and thought I might as well give it one more go. I think this is a tricky bowl to decipher when loooking at it in a more convential setting, the quality of the glaze, the posture and overall feel of the form can easily get lost or become just a bit fuzzy. I am not trying to paint this as the end-all of Tsukigata chawan but rahter it has some rather special attribute which are best observed under a variety of light soruces and situations, the more you can see and converse with a piece or this piece specifically the more you get to understand it at its core from the bones to the toppings.  

As for my personal take on this chawan, this has been one of my favorites that I have handled by Tsukigata Nahiko. I am unsure exactly how to explain it but it has a sense of antiquity and an eminently casual demeanor, more like it just happened than was thought out, thrown, manipulated and tooled. The bowl feels natural, well balanced on its pedestal foot and welcoming in the hands, I am not sure you get all of this from this photos and others, along with a video that I have made but since it is rather happy where it is, as is the owner, I don't think it will be making the rounds any time soon so this will just have to suffice until another one shows up, fingers crossed.

STRIKE A POSE

I have to admit, I have handled more chaire by Honiwa Rakunyu II than probably any other modern potter. Rakunyu II must have been rather prolific in regards to chaire and unlike every other potter I have visited in Shigaraki (and Iga) at most they may have had one or two chaire on display, but at the Honiwa home there were eight or nine and even at the time I found this just a bit curious. Along side many of the chaire were two distinct types of shifuku bags, those of fancy, historic textile patterns and the simple honest and almost mingei style homespun made by his daughter, those bags have always been our favorites.     

Illustrated is an ever so slightly different piece by Honiwa Rakunyu, a tall, slender and graceful Shigaraki hoso-chaire with a Kyoto style textile shifuku and a well crafted and excellently fitted lid. This slender form was likely fired inbetween two pots, slightly behind them as the face is covered in a fine, wet coating of ash that feathers off to the rear that is a darker brown hi-iro that is surrounded by a thin transitional border of an almost goma-like effect. At over 11.5cm tall this is a simple, resolute form intended for one dedicated purpose but the more I look at it the more I see that it serves as much for the eye as it does the hand and in this light strikes a distinct and timeless pose.

SOLVING PROBLEMS

When working with stoneware and porcelain, I don't think it is that I get bored easily but rather that I like to make new forms and when necessary solve new problems. This Kuro-Oribe thrown and altered cap jar was for me a new form and solved the small problem of keeping several areas of the pot round while squaring up other parts, namely the top and bottom of the form. I have actually used this technique quite a bit over the years but normally on a closed form but in this case I needed to work to alter the form and keep the waist and mouth round which actually proved to be rather easy as I got to work. 

Once the form was fixed, I beat the base so that the center of each plane formed the foot and the corners were a bit raised which makes for a nice shadow. Small paddled lugs were added at the shoulder and the lid has a step down which adds dimension to the surface along with the glaze run that also adds quite a bit of motion. The shoulder and upper plane had iron sprayed on them but the bottom of the form is just pure, straight Oribe and looks quite radiant and enticing in the sunlight. My goal this year is to make some larger versions of this idea along with varying the proprotion to see what I end up with and even after making some small bottles and a few covered jar I think I am safe in saying, I don't think I will get bored with solving problems or this idea and form anytime soon.