FOUR SEASONS

Illustrated is a Kutani style porcelain vase that we refer to as “the Vivaldi vase” due to its rich decoration showcasing flowers unique to the four seasons along with bold calligraphy in gold in a cartouche adjacent to each respective panel. Made of a pure white porcelain, this vase was then glazed and fired and later covered over in a rich surface of red enamel before gold, purple and blue were applied. The gold was detailed by way of sgraffito that brings that surface to life and adds more depth to the surface. This rather ornate vase is just a perfect blend of old-style Kutani technique and workmanship while showcasing the efforts and innovations of a century’s long tradition. 

This vase was made by Kitade Seiko (b.1926),born in Kaga Prefecture and student and son of Kitade Tojiro, launching his career in earnest when he was selected for the 6th Nitten Exhibition in 1950. Like his father, Seiko adds naturalistic, Kutani inspired devices, designs and decoration to his work which is meticulously crafted and painted where sometimes simplicity rules and others where the surface is densely decorated with complex and well thought out patterning. Working in stark decoration over white porcelain, using cobalt or red pigment as a canvas or the combination of the prior, this octagonal gourd style vase is a wonderful example of his work which is true to the style of his father, Kaga and Kutani while leaving room for his own unique interpretation of all three.

LOCAL INSPIRATION

What appears to be just another teabowl is in fact, a small serving bowl so it is true, appearances can be deceiving. This single hexagonal bowl was actually from a group of four that were ordered a while back but being me, I ended up making six to make sure I ended up with the number required. Thrown out of a white stoneware, each bowl was made roughly hexagonal and they had strips applied and flame blossoms, well that’s what I call them, inlaid as alternating decoration. Once bisque and reasonably sure they had made it, they were glazed in the soda blue glaze I have been using and there it is. I will mention that one feature that I like is where the blossom was inlaid, the glaze helps create this droozy effect where the black runs a bit, creating a softer line than when it was first done.       

I should say, to some, very small degree, I have used the work of Victor Schreckengost as inspiration, a designer and ceramic artist from Cleveland (Heights) who I actually had met back in the very early 1990’s. Though maybe you have to put on your imagination caps, much of the black underglaze decoration comes from seeing Schreckengost’s marvelous Jazz bowls showing off his carved and fluid designs under a Persian style blue glaze, how can you not be inspired by such brilliance that was lingering right in your own backyard?

 

FLOATING CLOUDS

At its core, this is a rather simple vase, elegant in its presentation with hints of Chinese porcelain thrown in for good measure. This hanaire has all the characteristics of the evolved tradition where over the centuries Takatori ware became more elegant and cultivated in form and surface to both meet the prevailing tastes and to create a ceramic canvas for a specific ideal. The crisp lines and subtle details act as a vessel that in some ways in this instance is a pedestal for the exotic fish lugs that have become a calling card among the modern, posts 19th century Takatori Miraku potters right down to the current head of the family, Miraku Kamei (Masahisa) XV. Springing from a century’s old tradition, dating back to almost 1600, modern area potters relied on older Takatori ware ideals/ archetypes to appeal to the somewhat conservative nature of the establishment chajin and under Kamei XIII the Takatori teawares moved from being a regional pottery to having far greater national exposure. At its core, Miraku Kamei XIII (1883-1956) made his pottery specifically oriented toward those who practiced (chajin) and collected articles (chadogu) for the tea ceremony (chanoyu) and over time he gained the reputation as a nearly peerless maker of chaire.               

As you can see in this vase made by Miraku Kamei XIII there is a streamlined elegance to the form, the superfluous details are cast away relying on the purity of line/form and enticing and intriguing surfaces. By combining oyu (straw yellows) and rokushoyu (green-blue) glazes, Miraku has brought movement and life to a rather simple and stylized form acting almost like floating clouds on a static form pointing to the highly detailed and articulated fish lugs and broad distinct mouth and lip of the pot. As I stated, this is a simple form with intriguing and curious details that are highlighted by a complex surface of movement and subtle painterly qualities that are as timeless as the Takatori tradition now in its 15th generation and moving toward another century of dedication to an ideal and devotion to purpose and ceremony.

ACCOMODATING

A short while back someone messaged me and ask if I could post an overall picture of the Kumano chawan from a post several years back. It took a while to find the photos which were taken some while back and narrowly missed being either deleted or corrupted in a major PC melt-down but I do my best to be accommodating when possible. What I can tell you is this bowl was quite memorable, quite large and the face gives way to vivid Yohen-Shino with an almost chaotic field of texture and color. Though this is an old photo, likely taken with my old Mavica and saved on floppy discs originally so it is not the best quality to show off this rather nice Kumano chawan but it will just have to do.  

The original post can be seen here; 

https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2021/07/crucible.html  

WHAT IS THE PLURAL OF FLUTE?

                                 
                                   

            

This was clearly an end of day pot, not thought out and just thrown using some clay already wedged up. Obviously, it was slightly thought out as it was thrown thick enough to flute vertically and horizontally which interrupts the flow of the movement of the surface. There is a simple lid surrounded by concentric bands to add so movement and interest to that as well and completed with a slab impressed handle based on a Cubist apple stem. The idea to this spur of the moment pot is pretty simple and since a fluted surface looks good, I went with my Oribe and accents of iron which have created cascades of color running down the furrows. By the way, what is the plural of flute in this context, is it as simple as flutes?

NONE THE LESS

Though not made in Shigaraki, this simple, lobed mizusashi is Shigaraki none the less. Having studied with Tsuji Seimei, Kon Chiharu made this classic vessel for tea ceremony which was then fired in an anagama to create a classic, even traditional style of pottery that is synonymous with Shigaraki. The form of this mizusashi is somewhat simple and entirely functional where impressions were made while the clay was still wet and a practical lid was thrown completed with knob so that it would sit just atop the pot, closing the opening and at some level hiding the contents from view. When fired, this pot was fired upright, the lid was wadded to the piece and the form was fired on wads as well, the large botan-mochi style area on the face of the pot was created by some pot acting as a defensive linebacker keeping some of the flow and velocity of the fire and ash from reaching its intended target. The majority of the surface is covered over, excepting the one resisted area on the front and a small area on the rear, in a coat of wet ash presenting a sense of being freshly washed, a feature that I am always drawn to. Everything about this pot speaks to centuries of a medieval tradition even if it was made and fired a few miles away, clearly Shigaraki to the very bones of the pot.

WHO?

Illustrated is a detail from a large covered box form by Ito Hokuto (b. 1961) a student of Ningen Kokuho, Fujimoto Yoshimichi. Using porcelain as a canvas, the form is first glazed and fired and then the magic of varying overglaze colors, techniques and textures take place in this case creating this evocative owl design, one of three perched upon a lone branch and high-lighted in silver overglaze with sgraffito detailing. The planning and execution of Ito’s work is rather inspired a blend of the chaos and formality using quirky designs to tell stories and articulate the surface and form. More to follow. (Short post, lost all track of time today!)

ANGLES AND CURVES

Illustrated is a seriously well thought out and conceived covered box form by Canadian potter, Bruce Cochrane. Though moderate in scale, its impact is larger than it proportions where intersecting angles and curves create a form that moves along with the eye as it is traversed. In some aspects this covered form reminds me of the Cubist paintings of George Braque manifest in three dimensions where the use of Shino glaze and the process of wood firing have created a landscape that highlights every plane and surface to maximum effect. As I study the piece and especially the form, there is movement in the lines and I am clearly reminded just how complex simplicity can be. 

 

WEE BIT-O-GREEN

So here is a wee bit-o-green for Saint Patrick’s Day or should I say a pot full of green? This bowl was thrown out of a rather sandy stoneware clay and then while still rather wet, quickly and unevenly faceted to show off the texture hiding under the surface of the clay. The foot was tooled on the wheel but still has a rough, natural appearance because of all the tearing from the sand and once bisque it was glazed over in my Oribe combo producing what I tend to refer to as Kuro-Oribe due to the dark, droozy blackish surface. The combination of the sand punctuating the surface along with the running tendrils of color and the deep collected pools of green make for an interesting landscape that may or may not remind one of Ireland but since it isn’t easy being green, this is about as close as I could get.

OSC REVISITED

A while back I suffered a rather catastrophic computer crash and have been working daily rescuing data from the old computer and recently came across this older slideshow video. I realize I posted a static photo of this Oni-Shino chawan by Hayashi Shotaro previously but thought the group of photos helps fill in the blanks, adds detail and perhaps builds the sense of volume of the piece that a single picture certainly would not. Enjoy!