2 + 2 = A GROUP

Illustrated is a group of four spirit or bourbon cups I made a while back and shipped West. They were thrown out of a sandy small batch white stoneware and roughly faceted before two were amber glazed and the other two were given the Oribe treatment. All four were thrown off the hump and perhaps my favorite feature beyond the lift off the taller feet is the areas where the amber or Oribe glazes have collected creating deep, dark pools, a perfect accent for the forms. This picture was a rather quick, impromptu photo of the “gang of four” and will have to act as the only record of these pieces which actually started as nine and was whittled down to four by the customer acquiring them for a friend cross country.

HJW 1953-2025

I learned recently of the passing of a fine collector and friend, Dr. Howard J. Waldman of San Diego. Howard was beyond generous and gracious and had collected most of his life from bonsai to glass paperweights and objects to modern Japanese pottery. He collected pottery up until a few years back where he donated a portion of his collection to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, parted ways with some pieces and kept a few select pieces to enrich his new environment in San Diego. We bonded over pottery when he discovered Japanese modern pottery through my blog and shared a real love of the work of Tsukigata Nahiko though he was interested in mainly Ningen Kokuho. Howard had a dry and insightful sense of humor and wit and I can only remember disagreeing with him on one single event regarding a Bizen vase. He was always willing to share and was a wonderful springboard regarding collecting and was also willing to share his keen medical insights on more than one occasion. I mentioned Howard’s generosity and interest in Tsukigata, he was the first collector that I knew personally that had a rather nice Oni-Shino chawan and sensing my envy, one day it just showed up here as a gift to my wife and I as our anniversary present. I am sure there is a lot more that I could write about Howard but what I can say is that his presence was a gift and his passing will leave a void that his memory can only marginally fill, he will be missed.         

This photo was taken in Kansas City before Howard relocated to San Diego, the top shelf shows a small portion of his collection. From top left to right; Shimizu Uichi, Miwa Kyusetsu XI, three Shimizu Uichi, Tsukigata Nahiko Oni-Shino mizusashi and a very early Oni-Shino hanaire which was illustrated in the book, ONI-SHINO.

THREE-PART

I am sure if you happen to read any of my blog-posts, it seems like an overused description but when I first saw this pot, timeless just echoed through my mind at literally the speed of sound. This very well fired Shigaraki hanaire is by Furutani Michio and is clearly inspired by the Chinese cong form crafted in jade and ceramics that dates all the way back to the Shang Dynasty. Totemic in its form and aspiration, this bottle was hand-built for a coarse clay with alternating impressions decorating the surface and breaking up the long planes of each side as well as catching ash for a rather appealing effect. The ash runs a wide array of colors surrounding the vase from greens, greys, light blues and even rich emerald greens making for a rather abstract landscape painted across a rich ceramic canvas. Though clearly based on a form that goes back perhaps 3000 years, Furutani Michio has blended the old with his inner voice of what is possible where vision, influences and tradition come together like a great three-part harmony.

ELEMENTS

I really enjoy making covered pots, especially easy to use, not too large, not to small pieces of which I think this pot is a classic example of. This is from a series exploring a form that blends my old “whirling dervish” pots with an exaggerated bamboo node association. The thick combed slip has the look of sudare, bamboo blinds while at the same time could be seen as a dense bamboo grove swaying in the wind finished off in my Kuro-Oribe surface from top to bottom.    

Beyond the form, this pot is about the movement of the glaze partially created by the thick combed slip, moving diagonally while creating dark pools of green to black on the highpoints and transition lines which is clearly highlighted by the sun in the second picture. There is nothing earth-shattering about this form, the scale or even the surface but I would like to think when you assemble all the elements it is certainly a bit better than any single detail and as a potter, I think that is the best I can ask for.

 

Kyoto Shino

I guess when you think about it, Shino and Kyoto don’t necessarily spring into mind at the same time but so many styles and traditions are being undertaken vast distances from their origins, it is just the way things are. This shimmery Yohen Shino guinomi was made in Kyoto by Nakamura Kotaro and has a rather pleasant form that is reminiscent of larger chawan with a perfectly proportioned foot that has a slight hexagonal flair to it. The guinomi has areas of thick Shino applied over a thinner base of glaze while much of the interior and exterior are blanketed in an iridescent sheen which is unmistakable even in dim, low light. I should also mention the lip is highlighted by a wonderful blue-grey collar that is also tinged with areas of dark, deep black for another eye-catching detail on this small little gem. This was my first actual encounter with Nakamura Kotaro’s work and certainly makes me look forward to seeing more, a nice big chawan would be most welcome.

 

SOLO

I posted this photo up covered in some Xmas trapping back for Christmas and thought to present it in a more uncluttered fashion. This intricately glazed Shino oval baker form is adorned with a solo fish motif and just enough other glaze accents to bring the piece and its imagery to life. Made by Bruce Gholson, sometime in the 1990s, this was a last-minute Christmas gift that we purchased for each other as finding pots in this style seems to be a bit less easy than expected. At over 21” long this makes for a wonderful using piece as well as just looking darn good just sitting around and collecting dust. As I mentioned previously, I was first exposed to Bruce’s work way back at the American craft Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio and we have moved his pieces from location to location over the years and though I am not relishing any more moves, I could be perfectly fine with finding another Gholson pot or two.

CHIPPED SURFACE

Illustrated is a stoneware teabowl that has a random, almost chipped surface, a type of faceting that has been around for quite some time. This bowl was glazed in my Kuro-Oribe style surface but for some reason has a lot of rather runny, droozy effects cascading down the bowl and collecting on the ridges creating a rather pleasant deep black to dark blue appearance adding a bit more to the landscape of the bowl. Though this was not intentional, it happens now and again when I get a bit aggressive in the final glaze applications.  This teabowl and a few others were recently added to my Trocadero marketplace if you want to see a few more pictures;

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/catalog/

FORM CONSCIOUS

I have to say, this is a form that you don’t encounter that often by the versatile and very form conscious mind and hands of Kawai Takeichi. As is pretty clean, this is a molded henko form and since I am not really so good at making molds, I suspect this is a four-part mold, correct me if I am wrong. The angles, planes, dividing boundaries and mouth all work in perfect harmony with the form if just a bit busier than I am used to seeing from the potter. Using all the lines of the piece, Kawai Takeichi skillfully applied shinsha, gosu and tetsu-yu glazes to create this patchwork assemblage across a tall and commanding monolith that is clearly rooted in some architectural elements or another. The glazing and firing carefully present a semi-crisp landscape where the edges and meeting junctures blend ever so little in a soft and appealing manner. As I said, I don’t usually see such complex forms among the Kawai school potters but this one is clearly a welcome addition to Takeichi’s body of work and the tradition in general.

TEABOWL EXHIBITION

Just wanted to call attention to the third Philadelphia International Teabowl Exhibition curated by mark Tyson, this starts on 2/1 and can be seen in person in Wallingford, PA or on the internet at; https://communityartscenter.org/. As mentioned, this is the third such exhibition and includes pieces from around the world, over 400 pieces will be on display. This is absolutely worth checking out!    

I wanted to mention that I was lucky enough to be included in this exhibition, showing three Oribe style teabowls, two thrown and alter with cut feet and the third a more conservative thrown stacked stones style piece. Illustrated is one of the T&A bowls, thrown out of a small batch clay with sand, the form was slightly manipulated and then softly faceted exposing more texture before the base and foot were addressed using a small piece of wood to cut away the unwanted clay. The feet are on the smaller side as I really enjoy this look and precarious feeling, where the pieces were fired on pins, the marks were then covered over in small dots of gold lacquer epoxy.     

This is a new style of bowl for me, well new for 2024 and has sprung out of more conservative attempts at making such pieces and hopefully have a slightly more casual and free spirit. The Oribe glazed used, which I refer to as Kuro-Oribe has quite a few tones of Oribe green through-out the form and also shows off a degree of blue-grey drooze as gravity certainly played its part in the making. In point of fact, it is gravity that has driven me to firing these on pins as a teabowl lugging around a heavy shelf is surely less functional than I intended. If you go to the exhibition, please be sure to give these bowls a once over.

 

RAQQA-DUO

Though not an exact match, these two Toruko-ao guinomi, currently referred to as the Raqqa-duo are close enough in form, surface and design. Collected separately over perhaps a half a year, these guinomi are both nearly the exact weight, size and though the decoration is a bit different, the glaze is spot on enough for them to be a pair. Though I constantly refer to myself as an “accidental collector” of guinomi, I truly enjoy Kato Kenji’s work and once I ended up with the first one it seemed a bit of a shame to pass on the second. Now that I have the two, I guess the next plausible step is to search around and find a tokkuri that matches and if along the way, numbers three, four and five show up, then kismet has interfered once again in my collecting.