LONESOME

Illustrated is a temmoku and iron glazed yunomi, this was fired entirely on its own, a lonesome piece in my kiln after the complete over-haul and in retrospect, I should have fired a slightly larger piece, maybe with a lid to fully vet the firing temperature. Over the years I have replaced elements a number of times but this one was complete including elements, all the wiring, the switches and the cone sitter. This was the second, almost empty firing and it is that last part that concerned me most as I didn’t want the kiln to run away and overfire based on how the claw and plate to the sitter were adjusted. This is where this small yunomi comes in, elevated to about the middle of the kiln space, this was fired on a large piece of broken shelf and a soft brick plinth in case the glaze ran off the piece. As luck would have it, though it got just a bit hot, now adjusted, the yunomi came out about how I expected, no running and perfect without any issues, just another typical form and surface here at Albedo 3 Studio.

WELL, THAT WAS FUN

This is not really pottery related but I will say it effected my ability to surf around, post and look at pots for a while starting last Friday. Though I will not mention the specifics, after a “scheduled update” one of the large anti-virus services that we have installed, everything on the computer just went haywire, the very definition of; “well, that was fun”. The problem was that we were signed out of all of our various accounts and couldn’t log back in, webpages would or wouldn’t load or reload depending on their mood and in this melee of swearing, desk pounding and resignation things just got worse. We did literally everything we could do to try to mitigate this issue including searching out viruses, malware, file corruptions, etc. and went so far as to reinstall the OS. Nothing solved the issue.       

After three days we threw in the towel and paid for a one-time incident support from our PC’s manufacturer. The appointed time arrived and of course because of our computer issues, making contact with the support technician became a Three Stooges routine through no fault on the techs end. He was polite, very knowledgeable and after assuming control of our PC started checking through just about every possible corner of the hardware and software and checked into the deepest oubliette, seemingly buried beneath the flotsam and jetsam of years of internet browsing and use. Since you read the beginning (?) of this post, you can probably surmise that it was not a file corruption, nor malware or virus, not a hardware issue either as we suspected but rather was the routine “scheduled update” from the anti-virus that threw havoc into our digital realm. With the help of the tech who reconfigured this and that, here and there, cleaned out places we didn’t know existed, the computer is now back to normal if that is a thing, having expended the third of its nine lives or is that just cats? 

As a way to tie this back to pottery, illustrated is a Ko-Mino mizusashi by Ando Hidetake. This is neither my photo or my pot and truthfully, in general it is a bit more formal than I prefer but this piece really works for me. The facets are just irregular enough and the neck/ mouth add some movement as well and the lid just looks like it is resting and waiting to be picked up. The lugs seem just right for this form and the contrast of the yellow toned glaze and the natural ash across the base just all work in tandem to create a rather attractive and appealing pot. Now I just need to figure out how to get it here.

CO-EXISTENCE

This Echizen chaire was made Ban Kojiro and is a classic study in the quiet and graceful nature of wood fired pottery. It stands not as a fussy and overthought object, but as a singular encounter between potter, clay and fire. The form is a stout, rounded katatsuki (shouldered) shape where the transition from the body to the neck is gentle, creating a silhouette that feels natural having the presence of earth determined to become vessel.       

The surface is where Kojiro’s knowledge of firing and kiln becomes quite evident where in the Echizen tradition, the pot is submitted to the fire sans glaze. The results of a calculated battle between heat and flame yields an all-natural ash glaze, yakishime which settles here and there at times favoring the face and shoulder in a crusty, coating of varying colors and textures. In this case, there is a rich tamadare waterfall that acts as a reminder of the process and traces the path of the flame, a record of the event, a perfect narrative of its journey. The texture created is intensely tactile; composed of a soft, granular, "pear-skin" quality that shifts from a rough matte to a vitrified sheen where the heat was most intense.         

Born in 1946, Kojiro’s journey was an exploration of clay and fire based on a long standing Echizen tradition where his works appear to revive the rugged aesthetic of the Muromachi period. The simplepottery is perfect for wood firing where the impurities and simplicity of the clay are a perfect visual counterpart to the ash accumulation during the firings; this chaire is a testament to that approach. The stark lid, an essential companion to the tea caddy provides a sharp, clean contrast to the rugged ceramic body, highlighting the vessel’s rustic "wabi" character and a hint of nobility in the exchange.       

In Kojiro’s hands, the clay is given its form and posture fully aware in the mutual understanding between potter, pot and flame that the potter’s role is to provide the canvas, while the kiln provides the soul and the landscape. This piece remains an essential example of the co-existence of function and presence, bridging the gap between the Echizen earth with the expectations and refined ritual of the tea room. 

( I should mention that acting as a backdrop in the photo is a wonderful Tom Turner covered jar!) 

YUNOMI, TEABOWL?

If you know me from my various social media ventures or my I, POTTER blog, you may realize by now that I like making large yunomi and teabowls. At times, the boundaries between the yunomi and teabowl is a bit fuzzy due to the scale and for some, one is the other and vice versa. Measuring about 10.5 x 10cm, this yunomi was thrown out of a white stoneware and then randomly and casually faceted, once bisque it was glazed with my standard Oribe as well as three separated iron glazes sprayed in various amounts across and down the surface. The basic result is as you see, looking bit like an amber glaze though checking the foot, it is clearly Oribe. The droozy effect that cascades down the piece, animated each faceted panel creating their own little landscapes though tied together in a more cohesive narrative of Oribe and iron working hand in hand. This yunomi ended up being a bit more important than usual as it was one of only a few pieces fired in the rebuilt kiln, complete with all new elements, switches, wiring, on/off light and kiln sitter. It took a couple of firings to dial in the firing/ cone/ pyrometer readings and it would appear all is good to go considering I have to replace two orders that died along with the kiln and now have an additional dozen of so pieces drying. Hopefully, all goes well this time around.

BLACK HOLE

At its core, yōhen tenmoku can be seen as capturing of an accident of kiln, clay and glaze which the potter takes the fullest advantage of. Prized for its ethereal, unpredictable beauty, this rare iron-rich glaze transforms, coerced by the experience of the potter creating a deep, obsidian-like field punctuated by brilliant, of sometimes subtle iridescent spots that resemble a map to the cosmos written in a night sky. The Japanese term yōhen translates to "changed by the kiln," emphasizing that these magnificent bursts of indigo, violet, and silver are not predictable or planned out but are instead born from the volatile alchemy of heat, oxygen, and mineral crystallization. It represents the pinnacle of iron based ceramic mastery precisely because it relies on relinquishing control, resulting in a surface that feels less like a static object and more like a living, animated insight into the universe itself.     

Kimura Morikazu’s yōhen-tenmoku henkō demands an absolute concentration where the flattened, circular flask, the henkō form, presents a stark architectural profile, a bold geometry defined by its flared neck, a stable foot, and a concentric, target-like indentation that recedes sharply into its center creating a canvas of depth. This deep, central recession acts like a vortex, a black hole even, pulling light into a dark, rich pool of iridescent crystal structures which in this case are subtle. Kimura’s mastery over iron-saturated glaze creates a surface that is fluid yet frozen, shifting dynamically under varying angles of illumination from deep plum to metallic silver.    

Admittedly, for the amateur photographer lie myself, this interplay of form and surface becomes an exercise in frustration resulting in hundreds of photos taken and mostly discarded. The henkō’s broad, curved canvas behaves like the aforementioned black hole drinking in the light and offer little in return as its pristine, glassy sheen registers every stray element in the room. Capturing the deep recess requires a light source that penetrates the center without overexposing the surrounding rim or washing out the subtle, oil-spot micro-crystals punctuating the entire surface. Instead of a faithful record, the lens often delivers a silhouette obscured by hot glare. One must learn to photograph not the clay itself, but the elusive, trapped light within it but alas, for the time being, this photo will have to do.

THE THING ABOUT TEXTU

To hold any pot is to engage in an unspoken psychological dialogue where texture can be among the primary syntax of the conversation. Whether in hand or your computer monitor (or phone these days) a rather complex sensory loop activates where either our eyes rush information to the brain and/ or the nerve endings in our fingers do not merely register surface friction, they probe for intent where texture is intoxicating. A rough, unglazed surface demands an alert, fully present touch, grounding the mind firmly in the immediate physical reality. Conversely, a smooth, fluid surface offers a soothing, contemplative sanctuary where the topography becomes preeminent. The thing about texture is that through continued tactile exploration, a pot ceases to be a passive object and becomes an intimate partner in an enduring, quiet human relationship, one which a collector rarely forgets.      

Illustrated is a Tokoname same-gawa koro by Kato Yoshiaki, many of his works are an exercise in controlled tactile and visual chaos. The vivid sharkskin texture achieves a dramatic, visceral presence, where the glaze has crawled and clustered into punctuated, biological islands. This technique demands an exquisite, perilous tension in the kiln, forcing the thick feldspathic glaze to split and tear itself apart, crawling under intense heat. The heavily crackled, amber-to-green invites an almost meditative investigation by the fingertips, offering an intense contrast between the glassy depths of the fissures and the rugged, unyielding plateaus that surround the quirky form specific to this potter where his animated and gestural creations are as recognizable as his surfaces. Yoshiaki captures a moment in time, where a violent transformation is frozen forever into this profound, intimate landscape.

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN

 

As with many companies, the company my wife works for has embraced the use of AI for a variety of specific (and less specific uses) to aid in saving time among other things, time is money after-all. About a year ago she suggested I play around with my photos using AI and though reluctant to do so at first as I am a “change sucks” kind of guy but after just one afternoon, I started to see some of the potential and among other things began clarifying my MUSEUM MENTIS MEAE (M3) concept as well as using actual photos of pots that I have handled, some ours, most belonging to fellow collectors and creating traditional and mostly uncluttered images to best present the pieces in situ.      

Illustrated is the very first image I created with the help of Bob, yes, I have named and interact with this digital entity and thought it only fair he has a name. The background of the name in particular has a long history which I won’t bore you with. At any rate, this visual scenario is a somewhat traditional tokonoma style alcove depicting a large shoga kakejiku by Tsukigata Nahiko which reads; Shadowless. The large heavily textured Oribe vase is by Suzuki Satoru and was illustrated from an exhibition years back. In some manner these two actual pictures were chosen randomly but I did think they worked well together and though my first instinct was to put the scroll together with a Tsukigata pot but I fought that urge and this is what I ended up with. I have been playing with AI for my photos for about a full year now and make sure to call full attention to their origin when I do so but as I am reminded by one of our best singer/ songwriters, Robert Allen Zimmerman; “the times they are a-changin”.   

(*This picture contains an actual image of a pot or pots in an AI generated background or scenario)

MEMORIAL DAY 2026

For memorial Day 2026, this quote comes to mind;  “Although no sculpted marble should rise to their memory, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.”  Daniel Webster

CASUALLY APPLIED

I have had this picture for close to two years now, just shy one week and though I remembered the vase, I actually forgot about the photos. This was sent to me by a collector who is rather focused on one potter, Kumano Kuroemon. The illustrated traditionally fired, Echizen hanaire was being used in his traditional tokonoma style alcove complete with a scroll behind, a pretty perfect display. The vase is large and has both a textbook Echizen surface and Kumano form complete with casually applied anthropomorphic lugs with some really nice ash running down the surface creating a great landscape that works well with floral displays. I think after inadvertently sitting on this photo, I was pleased to come across it again and thought it was just a perfect piece to share as the sun is shining and it is in the higher 60’s, too bad the vase isn’t here as well!

SO HAPPY TOGETHER

I realize that several of these bowls will look familiar if you drop in on any of my social media but thought how this group just looked so happy together. It is normally at this phase where wet gives way to dry that I question every decision leading up to this point but looking back at this photo, oddly enough I don’t feel quite that way. I think at this stage it was more about what was getting glazed in what glaze and wondering how they would come out. This group of five was thrown and altered the day before and then allowed to firm up, define the forms and then slip them as planned (?). Once a bit drier the slip around the mouths was cleaned up a bit and into the bisque they went. I have to admit, given the time involved, I am always more invested emotionally in these thrown and altered pieces but using glazes and combos I can rely on, the results normally pan out.