SHIMMERING GEOMETRY

Illustrated is a well thrown yuri-hakkin-sai hanaire with very pleasant proportions and measuring just about a shaku in height. Made by Furukawa Toshio most likely in the late 1980s or early 1990, this glaze and the geometric patterning is typical of his work where he cut shapes from platinum foil and then using sgraffito he animated the surface. In this particular case, Furukawa relied on a much more geometric design, less organic than some of his pieces where thin columns of foil give way to large rectangular devices where the form reaches its fullest volume. The vase is further divided into six distinct segments into which the repeating patterns are applied and carried out creating distinct fields of shimmering geometry.       

Expanding on his seiji and seihakuji techniques, Furukawa Toshio created quite a few of this yuri-hakkin-sai style work, many of which ended up being featured in national exhibitions across Japan. Like with his celadon works, Furukawa used this glaze/ foil technique on a wide array of forms and sizes ranging from guinomi and koro all the way up to large tsubo and rather expansive hachi. This vase is just one of a myriad of pieces that harken back to the works of Ono hakuko, Kato Hajime and the older Chinese wares from which this technique sprung but it is a fitting addition to an idea and ideal that has become almost synonymous with Japanese potters of the Showa through Heisei eras and now beyond.          

On a personal note, given the chance, seeing Furukawa’s yuri-hakkin-sai work in the sunlight is in my opinion the very best way to look the view away in one’s memory.

ROTATION

I realize that I put up a post on this chawan quite some while back but this was up for rotation and I decided to have a bit of photographic fun with it before just letting it hit the shelf and start to collect dust. The previous post, entitled, HIER EN DAR revolved around how differently a pot looks between varying photos and light sources, one being taken in situ and the other coming from an exhibition catalogue. Though a new post, you can see that I did decide to stay on topic, referencing photography as I decided to pull out a number of Hollywood style backdrops for this bowl since the past couple of days have been quite dreary, downtown days*.      

Illustrated is another photo of a rather dramatic and bold Iga chawan by Kishimoto Kennin. Using a photo of a half-moon that I took a long while back, I created this image without the aid of any photo manipulation or AI, just old fashion 1950s technicolor technology. I choose this moon image because as with most wood fired chawan, the front and back usually have different landscapes, in this case, the from is juicy and wet and the back is drier ash and hi-iro but the textures of both images seemed to work well to my eye at least. Having the chawan in hand, I also find it quite interesting how it affects my mood more so as the sun goes down allowing the bowl to “dance by the light of the moon”, balancing skillfully, exuberance and a sense of impermanence. It may sound overly sentimental but I am struck by the solemnity and moodiness of this chawan; was it intentional, baked in or is it just me?

(* A B-52s reference and homage to Quiche Lorraine)

RELUCTANT II

So, this is where the “magic” happens or at least begins and I think it is pretty clear from this photo what meticulous planning, measuring and precision goes into my hand-built pieces. This photo is of slabs for an order, a simple 16” or so tall vase, carved and to be glazed in my saffron glaze provided it survives my brutal and speedy process for construction devoid of any patience and less tolerance for perfect lines and exact dimensions. Rolled out of stoneware clay, the pieces are clearly marked for what is the interior of each side, so I bevel the right edges, the top and bottom and the solitary slab used to construct the neck/ mouth making this project entirely built out of slabs. Normally many of my hand-built pieces are a marriage of slabs with some hand-thrown addition for the neck and mouth but in this case the body and neck are to echo each other in form so throwing was out. 

These slabs are all quite wet and once a bit drier, the forms will be addressed closer to how they should look and the edges, the sides will have a bevel created and then scored for better assembly. I think I have repeatedly made it clear I am not much of a hand-builder, always reluctant to move in that directions but there are always those times when what I see in my head and want in three dimensions defies throwing, no matter how much you rely on the concept of T&A (thrown and altered) and that is exactly what is staring me in the face this time around.

EGGPLANT, REALLY?

 

Illustrated is another chawan by Kimura Morinobu and like most of his glazes, the base of this surface revolves around ash. What makes this perhaps a bit less like other ash glazes by Morinobu, apparently (?) this surface is based on eggplant ash, eggplant (なすび), really? The hakogaki reads, Nasubi-yu, eggplant glaze and I have seen about a dozen of his pots in this glaze surface ranging from guinomi, hanaire and of course several chawan. Though very simple and direct, this chawan has a wonderful fullness to the form, broad and full of volume coupled with this evocative surface that just reminds me of the Kyoto aesthetic where there is a mixture of nature and nobility written into the bowl. The serene landscape is interrupted by the iron peaking out of the lip and from the marks on the bowl meant to break up the continuity of the piece.       

As a bonus, this nasubi glazed chawan is also exhibited in a Mitsukoshi show from Heisei 14 (2002) and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue. Photo can be seen as an inset at the far right-hand corner. It is always interesting to see and handle illustrated pots as in general it makes me think that the piece is either above average or quintessentially classic in its presentation. Either way, this quiet nasubi-yu chawan is yet another pleasant encounter with Kimura Morinobu where I look forward to the next meeting with pottery that continues to define the simple and complex.

M3 #2

It will likely come as no surprise that I have chosen a pot by Tsukigata Nahiko as my second entry into my museum mentis meae and hopefully my explanation will excuse my personal bias toward the potter. The placement of this mizusashi in an uncluttered, display case gives a visual depth to the pot which as with many pictures, pots can suffer from their intentional austerity or their clutter of every day displays. This simple form was classically employed by Tsukigata Nahiko over the breath of his career, examples date back to the late 1960s and early 70s and run at least until 2001, the last “datable” mizusashi I have encountered of this shape. In defense of my choice, I should also mention that there are two mizusashi that are similar in style to this piece at the Tsukigata Daitobu Museum, one with a ceramic lid and one with a lacquer lid. This particular piece belonged to an advanced collector who shared my interest in the potter where it commingled with a wide array of pottery by mostly Ningen Kokuho and certainly, in my opinion held its own.         

Depicted in my mind’s museum with the help of AI*, this mizusashi is a classic representation and even near perfection of but one of the many specific types of Oni-Shino, the surface is clear, active and even luminescent with areas of ash built up around the entire form and appearing like a tamadare style waterfall cascade at the very front of the form. Among this avenue of Oni-Shino, there is a singularity of nobility present in this pot which Tsukigata choose to name, “Snowy Egret”. With the name, it clearly echoes the regal and naturalistic qualities and there are few better examples where form, surface, firing and concept all have pulled together through experience and serendipity to create a museum level work. As you look beyond the depth of this complex surface, the bones of the pot are pure functional simplicity, cloaked in a lyrical and contemplative visual narration of fire and a coalesced landscape present a near perfect object for the ritual of tea ceremony. In the end, I choose this mizusashi for my museum because of its sustained nobility and its classic character and characteristics of Tsukigata Nahiko, qualities the best pots exude and many pots and potters should aspire to.

“To appreciate the noble is a gain which can never be torn from us.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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

WBW

So, here is an oldie for a way back Wednesday post. I can’t actually say I remember when this fully functional teapot was made but I was going through this phase of myths and mythology imagery around 92/93. I can also say that this hunting centaur teapot was more than likely made for a show but there in ends the details of when though I can say it was made in University Heights (Cleveland). As for specifics, this was slab-built terra cotta and slips under a thin clear glaze using the abstract background and silhouettes inspired by ancient Greek pottery as well as the myths of Greece and ancient Rome. If memory serves me, these teapots were mostly large, perhaps close to 15” long, 13” tall and about 3.5” in width. This time period is also when I stated notching out the handle for a thumb rest which usually coincides with the sweeping curves of the knob of the lid, I liked that confluence of movement. At any rate, this myth teapot was from way back when my hand building was in its very nascent stages so judge accordingly though I should probably say, I am not sure it has really progressed much further along after all these years except perhaps in my mind.

COMPLETE

As odd as it may sound, especially considering I would never use a chawan I have collected, I can’t look at a pot without thinking of Rosanjin’s concept that a pot is complete only while being used or in use. To that end and complete with my small inventory of faux flowers, here is an Iga vase complete through its colorful red and white arrangement adding a sense of fait accompli. This rather sturdy, squared up Iga vase was made and fired by Kojima Kenji with some of his tell-tail characteristics including his addition of quirky lugs or ears and a fired surface that at least to my eye is just a bit unlike that of any other working potter. The form is all purpose with some perfect additions of the potter’s marks and a rolled up or over foot that gives a visual and actual sense of stability needed to off set the weight of flowers or a branch, cantilevered off to the side. Though I find Kojima’s pots thoughtful and an excellent blend of form, function and aesthetics, I must admit, this pot with or without flowers real or imagined, is about as complete as they come.

E&G

Illustrated is what at first glance could be confused with the somewhat ubiquitous Toruko-ao guinomi under a full moon by Kato Kenji but in this instance, this is a less frequently encountered chawan. Over the years I have seen quite a number of vase and varying guinomi forms but this is only the second chawan that I have personally had the pleasure to handle. This particular chawan is a natsu-wan, a summer chawan in Kato’s transparent soda blue style with vivid, black decoration creating alternating panels around the bowls interior and simple banding around the lip and exterior of the bowl. The glaze stops abruptly short of the kodai showcasing the natural coloration of the reddish clay which stands in a stark contrast to the blue though very complimentary. On a rather personal note, I am rarely surprised by scale and volume but despite measuring just shy of 14cm, this both has a compact and almost fragile appearance. The low bowl does not contain “heaps” of volume but has an elegant and graceful sensibility, quite diametrically opposed to your average Kumano chawan, I must say. In the end, the proportions of this bowl are just classic in nature, without the context, could it be a chawan or a guinomi, either way it works quite well. 

RETRO SET

I’ll start out by saying I am not sure why this photographed this color as in person it is a richer, more vibrant soda blue like all the other pieces I posted. At any rate, this was a shadow set of a retro tea set that I made a while back in which I made two of each piece and this was what was left over. The general concept was a soda blue set based on a retro feel using the bamboo form for the water jar, teabowl and tea jar. The combed surface and the ridges make for excellent glaze collection areas creating a distinct look across the set and the small tea jar was finished off with a white lid to simulate the ivory of original Japanese chaire. In discussing this set, the original idea was for the tea jar to fit in the teabowl and the teabowl to fit in the water jar but the scale got a little out of hand so this was what was decided on in the end. I have to admit, I like the general concept of the pieces nesting into one another and may try that one of these days but the proportions of these three pieces fit the needs of the owner and as is, theywork well together and that is as good as it gets.

JUST A BOX

Well, to be honest, today was quite the day and not in a good way. The sun has given way to night and tomorrow will be another day which is bound to be a bit better. I basically ran out of time and thought posting this large, classic covered box by Kawai Takeichi would make for a simple and interesting post, I hope you agree.