PALE BLUE MONDAY

Illustrated is the interior of a chawan by modern Mino potter; Kato Toyohisa (b.1962). Kato refers to the style of glaze as Murasaki(no)Shino and it appears to be based on a slightly cobalt richer Nezumi-Shino; though the way the pot is glazed is aggressive and modern, it is built on the best features of the tradition, making his pottery speak out. The glaze has a wet, soft appearance and is infused with a myriad of white speckles and ringed in hues of iron blushes around the mikomi and up the walls of the bowl, settling into a rich ring defining the lip. The smooth variations of the glaze are timeless and create an evocative landscape that is both hard to leave and even harder to forget.

"Recollection is the only paradise from which we can not be turned out."   Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825)