Monday, November 4, 2024
IMPACT (II) REVISITED
Friday, November 1, 2024
KI-SETO REDUX
(* https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2022/12/drama-not-tragedy.html )
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
THIS OR THAT
I should mention, being overzealous comes from the fact that the more glaze and glazes I apply, the richer and runnier the glaze get which is a positive thing in terms of the richness of the surface but not so much when it comes to gravity and basically liquid glass. For anyone following along, the fix is quite simple, use less glaze and thinner overglazes and this will diminish the running problem which is not a bad thing. So the fix is in but I have to say, the last bowl that ran badly had the penultimate surface of what I have been after but sometimes you have to choose, really wonderful shards or a a really nice bowl, you can get with this or you can get with that!
Monday, October 28, 2024
SLIPWARE
In short, his pottery is guided by the concept of looking back and studying the past to find and define his voice within a modern tradition which for Ogawa revolves around slipware and his choices of clay and materials. Though the idea, the concept, form and surface are all rather simple the presentation and aesthetics have a degree of complexity that is both visually and tactilely engaging though knowing a bit about the work of Ogawa Tetsuo, this comes as absolutely no surprise.
Friday, October 25, 2024
OLD SOURCE
From my observation I think one of the main reasons that Kato Kenji resonates so well is that he came to understand the "old source" materials, the pots of Persia and Turkey from antiquity and grasped the spirit and attitude of the pottery while moving onto his own vocabulary of forms and surface treatments he strove to imbue his own work with the ideals of the archetypes he studied. In the end, Kato Kenji was extremely adept at bringing clay, decoration and glaze together in harmony where each played its role in the creation of his work that spans the ancient Silk Road all the way to 20th century Gifu prefecture and Japan writ large.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
KATAKUCHI IN ACTION
I took a few minutes the other day to make this "stellar production" assisted by Industrial Lights & Magic* to give a rather quick idea of how my katakuchi actually pour. The Oribe hakeme katakuchi was filled about 70% and I could place my thumb inside the vessel without touching the liquid which was water for demonstations sake and I was able to fill all five, Kuro-Oribe mini-wan, bourbon cups and had enough left over to easily top all four cups off. The four cups are all made out of sandy small batch clay, gently faceted and glaze in what I refer to as Kuro-Oribe for good or bad. The lip was pulled a bit thin and sharp and works quite well to cut off the flow of the liquid without any dribbling and the channel that runs up to the lip isn't so aggressive as to overwelm the spout making for a good, even pour without any complications. This is a short video so I apologize there is no time for popcorn .
(*Okay, the Industrial Lights & Magic comment is hyperbole at best as is the thought this is a "stellar production" as it was filmed quickly on a faux tripod and my wife's old cell phone.)
Monday, October 21, 2024
THROWN, NOT SCOOPED
As for the kodai, it was crisply cut forming a bamboo node style pedestal giving the form quite a bit of lift but perhaps the most noticeable features is the dramatic contrast between the curdled, crawling Hagi glaze and the wettish, iron daido clay body peeking through like canyons or waterways on some distant planet. The ever so slightly off white glaze wraps the form and presents a stark sense of tension almost as if the form is being pulled apart while creating a unified presentation amidst the implied chaos. Kaneta Masanao has managed to create a chawan that straddles the old and new and brings balance to the simple and complex aspects of the bowl which is a perfect addition to the Hagi tradition and just another facet to a noteworthy career in clay.
Friday, October 18, 2024
JUST FOUR FOR FRIDAY; CHAIRE
Yamamoto Toshu started in clay at an early age and founded his own kiln in 1933 along the way he gathered a profound knowledge about antique Bizen, hand picked details and attribute from the past and folded into them dignity, honesty and sophistication of earlier pottery creating his own unique vocabulary. As he matured, his strong ability and technique on the wheel leads to a facility in creating outstanding chadogu painted by antique archetpes from his studies, modern trends perculating during his early and fomulative years and his own developing inner vision of Bizen. I believe the chaire of Yamamoto Toshu stand out to this day as an enduring contribution to the tradition and potter's art in turn becoming the archetypes and role models for many post-war (post 1945) potters and even those to this day and likely for quite some time to come.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
MICE & MEN
After a late breakfast/ brunch and a quick trip to run some errands I went into the studio and made the two replacement lids and four 3lbs bowls which then turned into making up 2000gr of white slip and 2000gr of black for the terra cotta pieces. What should have been a thirty minute project turned into over two hours after the throwing, slip mixing and decorating four blanks, also in terra cotta screaming at me from the shelf, "paint me, paint me now". So much for "the best laid plans of mice and men" as the lure of a studio just feet away from the comfy couch and TV, just seems to win out just like the siren's call to the men of Odysseus's ship and crew*.
(*Was that a bit too overstated there?)