HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

From Craig, Mindy and Jun

WAITING ON THE PERFECT

As a collector and a student of pottery, in the broadest sense, I am constantly looking for the perfect piece. Though I know each individual measures the perfect object differently, we all do have those measures both consciously and sub-consciously at work each time we view an object. Another necessary factor at play, while pursuing the perfect, is the budget. Trying to acquire those pots that meet a certain standard, have a meaningful dialogue and fitting a budget are all parts of the puzzle.

My wife and I collect as a democracy and both approach the decision making from almost opposite ends, but there is one thing that we both agree on. It is far better to collect a great piece by a good potter than a good piece by a great potter. One exceeds his daily talents and the other falls short of his potential. In living with objects, we are constantly searching for pieces that complement our environment and are not necessarily redundant of what we already live with. This makes for a constant vetting process and we are constantly switching out the pieces on display, acquiring new pieces and letting other pots go on to new homes.

Quite recently, we encountered a chawan; high up on our, well mostly my, hit list. We have a mental list of a few pots we are on the lookout for and this piece seemed to fit the bill. At first glance there is that initial excitement, then the mental triggers kick in and the critical decision making comes in to play. The form was okay but not great, the lip and mikomi were not as well addressed as we would have liked, the surface seemed fussed with, the foot was just a bit atypical and the interior was soiled from some use. I know you are thinking, how could this chawan have even been on the radar? The faults I mention are not really that obvious, unless you take the bowl to task against other examples by the potter. In the end, it was obviously just not the right pot. Our long wait would just have to get longer.

Acquiring objects to enrich ones lives and environment is an ancient pass time going back to the time of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. It would seem to be part of many psyches and in fact, may date back to prehistoric man. Surrounding ourselves with objects of spirit and comfort just seems natural. I am sure there is some deep seeded psychological reason why [we] collect, but as long as I remember that I collect to live with the object(s) and not for them, I think all will be fine.

NEW FORM FOR A NEW YEAR

A while back I was asked to make a mizusashi for a New Year’s Tea Ceremony. The tea practitioner that was commissioning the piece had several very specific parameters that I had to work within. Size, form, glazes were the strictest requirements, together with the fact that the piece was to have a formal attitude and needed to “go with” the rest of his tea pieces (chadogu).

I made a number of sketches of things I thought would work within his requirements, some based on older designs, some that were evolving newer ideas and some I had never worked with before. He chose a form based on works I am currently working with and with some modifications, he approved the idea. I moved on to the prototype next, seen in the photos. It is loosely based on my interpretation of a Kawai Kanjiro façade to one of his henko forms. The glazing on the prototype was to be simple to show the form off to its best. The gallery was glazed as the mizusashi was to have a ceramic lid and a lacquer lid. I made this prototype with two different ceramic lids.

After the piece was fired, I showed it to the collector and he really liked the piece. I threw another, it was later glazed as he requested and fired in my last glaze fire. It came out exactly as he wanted and we narrowly got a lacquer lid back from Japan in time. It will be used for his first tea ceremony of 2011 and I was very happy to assist in the project and look forward to some pictures.

Illustrated is the prototype mizusashi with recessed lid and glazed in my medieval green and temmoku glazes. The chawan is a severely paddled haiyu glazed piece similar to the one he will be using. The second picture shows how recessed the lid is.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings to all!

SANCAI

Illustrated is a large and festive Sancai ware (three color) bowl by Ningen Kokuho; Kato Takuo (1917-2005). Thrown stoneware bowl with a thick incised white slip, rich alkaline clear glaze with accents of three colored overglazes.

Kato Takuo spent most of his life perfecting his pottery which was reminiscent of pieces that traveled the “Silk Road”. His Sancai and Toruko-ao (Turkish blue/ Raqqa) wares are exceptional and are a near seamless transition from the traditional to the modern.

MAJOLICA

Toward the end of my last pottery cycle, I was doing some studio management; inventory, cleaning up, straightening up around the studio. I came across a plastic bag marked “majolica” and realized at some point, I had a half bucket of glaze left and I dried it out and broke it up and stored it away in some grocery bags. This initiated a quick kiln load of majolica pots.

As a potter, I first encountered majolica glazing at CSU with Dick Schneider. His majolica style was fluid and abstract, it set a base line. Years later I spent a summer on scholarship at the Cleveland Institute of Art and was able to work around Bill Broulliard, Judith Salomon, Linda Christianson and Linda Arbuckle. It was my initial exposure to a high level of majolica ware with both Arbuckle and Broulliard having a profound fluency decorating on tin glazed pottery.

So two weeks ago, I threw a group of 8 plates, some serving pieces and some teabowls in terra cotta to make for a full majolica firing. I reconstituted the glaze, made a group of colored washes, bisqued the pots, glazed and set about using some of my old standard decoration on the pieces. This past Friday I fired the kiln and unloaded on Saturday. Everything made it through the firing, some pots looking better than others. It was a quick cycle and the surfaces are unlike anything else that I do currently. Decorating majolica is fun, each firing leads to new discoveries and tips on how to glaze, decorate and fire. Next time around, I’ll fire a cone cooler.

SCARRED BEAUTY

In the West where Brother Thomas is considered by many to be a pinnacle of perfection, the cracks, scars, clam shell impressions and even pottery fragments seen on predominantly Shigaraki and Iga pots would seem to be diametrically opposed, but not necessarily so. In Japan and among those who love wood fired pottery, such “flaws” are seen not only as a testament to the process but also as aesthetic enhancements that add to the character of the pot. In their own way, these scarred beauties are perfection.

From my experience, wood firing is in its way a cruel mistress. The process is one in which the potter is made to stand sentinel to the demands, groans and signals of the kiln. On the inside, the pottery is subjected to the violence and velocity of the atmosphere, constantly assaulted by flame, wood and erosion from the ash and fire. It is only inevitable that pots will have cracks and other flaws from the intensity of heat, from being struck by stoked wood, from rising too fast in temperature, hikidashi process and too quickly a cooling. Because these all affect the pot, it is an accepted reality that wood fired pots will bear the scars of the process, but it is this surface that can not be forged, forced or imitated. It simple adds to the identity and uniqueness of each pot. From Tsujimura to Tsukigata all the way back to the beginning of wood fired pottery, the process can not be separated from the pot.

Wood firing is an expensive process, if not necessarily in economic terms, certainly in sweat equity. The process is both demanding and labor intensive. The building of a wood kiln, acquiring and splitting the wood, the loading of the kiln in a confined and cramped space, the days of constantly stoking the fire all add to the investment in time, labor and money. Everything about wood firing is about a commitment and choice that also demands salvaging as many pots out of a firing as possible. In the early days, all of the various flaws were just accepted as scars of the process and as long as the pots were able to be used they were seen as a narrative of the kiln. Pots that couldn’t be used, were sometimes adapted to use by means of reconstruction, sometimes yobi-tsugi (making a single pot out of the pieces of several) and other times kintsugi (gold lacquer repairs).

All of these scars from the ash impregnated clam shell patterns resembling pate de verre glass, to cracks and fissures to imbedded shards and shadows of other pots in the firing, all add to the complex landscape, keshiki of wood fired pottery. Pots that are a throwback to the medieval times, today show every sign of blending tradition with the modern. All you have to do is take a look at the pottery of Tsujimura Shiro, Kojima Kenji and Kon Chiharu to understand why a potter would subject his/her self to the demanding process that creates pots with cracks, flaws and other problems to create objects of scarred beauty.

Over the years, I have handled a great number of Eastern and Western wood fired pots and have truly come to appreciate the battle scars of an intense process. Remebering my first exposure to Japanese pots was the Shino and Seto-guro of Arakawa, the Hagi of the Miwa and the glazed wares of Hamada and Kawai, it took me some time to accept and grow fond of kamakizu (kiln flaws) and the like. My tastes have matured and my understanding of the pots has grown as well. A few years back I had a wonderful opportunity to examine a collection of Shigaraki and Iga works by Tsujimura Shiro. Most if not all of them bore the scars of the process and in all honesty, many have benefited from such additions to the landscape of the pot.


Illustrated are two pots made by Tsujimura Shiro. The first is a medium sized Shigaraki tsubo with cracks from the coil building process along with the remnants of another pot (or two) where the pots were in contact with each other. The second pot, shown in a close-up, is a very large globe tsubo with the circular remnants of a guinomi or yunomi infused with wonderful blue-green bidoro.

THE CONTAINMENT OF THE EVERYDAY

What is it about lidded pieces that are so fascinating? Is it the myriad of forms, types of lids or approaches to decoration? Is it the mystery of what they contain, past, present or future? I find the possibility of not knowing the contents to be part of my love for lidded vessels, in the appreciation of them and the making.

A few years back, I read an article that got me thinking about “the handmade” in relationship to pottery in general. Since as a vessel, the lidded form has provided mankind a myriad of uses from protecting seeds/grain, food, herbs and medicines and a wide variety of ritualistic practices; it was (and still is) an essential part of human existence. I have thought that it can connect us in a modern age to what it means to be human and our vast history and experiences. Objects that are based on the handmade nourish our being and environment. The lidded form, from my perspective is essential for the containment of the everyday.

Illustrated is a large thrown and altered covered box form by Michael Simon. This piece was glazed first and then fired in a wood kiln that had salt introduced to the firing. The fit of the lid is exceptional and there is just enough throwing marks left on the inside and out to show how this piece started out. I do wonder what it holds presently and what it will hold in the years to come.

(Used with permission from a private collection of American and British pottery.)

OVAL CLOSURE

Someone emailed me over the weekend and asked why I hadn’t posted up a picture of the finished oval covered piece that I had shown as greenware back at the end of Oct. Honestly, it just slipped my mind.

I had made a group of them, in for a penny, in for a pound. They all made it through the bisque and in the glaze, one lid stuck just a bit, but was easily to grind and save. Waxing can be as complex as constructing these pieces as I want a near perfect oval wax line on the inside of the lid and in the gallery. The bottoms of these pieces were all glazed and the pots were fired on wads, it makes for a neat look. I am pretty sure the illustrated piece is the one as greenware. It is glazed in my medieval green and temmoku glazes and measures about 12” from handle to handle.

NOTHING(NESS)

A close-up of a rather evocative scroll with a single kanji for MU, “nothing(ness)”. This calligraphy is by 20th century pottery giant; Kato Tokuro (1898-1985).

MORE ASH GLAZES

In recent weeks, I have been working on various ash glaze tests as they apply to the type of work I am doing now. Some batches of ash are good, other not so much and filled with contaminants such as too much iron, copper and bone ash. This got me thinking about altering a couple of glazes I have used in the past, some rather drastically.

As I am altering these glazes, I thought I would share the originals; all are for Cone 9/10 and I am not sure of their exact origins;

SPECIAL ASH
Ash 50
F-4 25
OM10 25
Cobalt Carb. 1
Rutile 5

THIN TAN ASH
Ash 30
Soda Spar 30
Kaolin 30
Dolomite 25
Flint 10
Whiting 5

Illustrated, is my first and still best ash glaze on a bamboo form vase. I have used this glaze since 1990 and it has served me well. It does run as you can see, so glazing up to the foot and inside the foot can be tricky, but the results are worth it in my book.

AT THE MOVIES

A while back, I was asked to recommend a movie about a potter or pottery. The first question I asked was, something in the fiction or non-fiction category. He replied, fiction, something like Ghost. That of course ruled out all of the documentaries I could think, as well as THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and LAST OF THE MOHICANS which prominently feature hand made pottery. What sprung to mind is my favorite potter movie of all time.

UGETSU MONOGATARI (1953) is a phenomenal Japanese cinematic masterpiece by director Mizoguchi Kenji and starring Mori Masayuki and Machi Kyo. The title means; “Tales of the Moon and Rain” and is about a Momoyama era potter and the turmoil of the age. Briefly stated, the film is about two men, one a potter and the other a farmer who wants to be a samurai. It is an exceptionally filmed movie with great performances all around, great sets, scenery and costumes and a great story.

Weeks later, I heard back from my friend who immediately let me know that Ugetsu is nothing like Ghost and wondered what was I thinking. After taking just a moment to think about it, UGETSU MONOGATARI is in fact, very much like Ghost, a love story with extras. If you haven’t seen this movie and have a passing interest in Japanese cinema, than you owe it to yourself to see this film. It truly is Japanese cinema and Mizoguchi at his best.

ARAKAWA AS PAINTER

Arakawa Toyozo ( 1894-1985) is arguably the greatest Mino potter of the 20th century, known for his wonderful Shino, Ki-Seto and Seto-Guro masterpieces. Though known as this masterful potter, there is another facet of his artistic endeavors that one rarely sees excepting the occasional illustration in a catalogue or book. From early on, Arakawa painted in ink and watercolors, including a scroll of the famous Mutabora-gama which was his impetus for the rediscovery of Momoyama Shino.

Arakawa has left a fairly large number of his painted pottery, from stark and expressive sometsuke wares to colorful underglaze and overglaze enamel painted pottery running the gamut from traditional Japanese subject matter of flora and fauna to his own unique Nihonga inspired paintings. Some of these pottery works are iro-e style porcelains while others are seen in almost Rimpa, Ogata Kenzan inspired designs on slipware together with iron (tetsu-zu) designs on slipware and on and under Shino glazes.

Back before his discovery of the Mutabora-gama, Arakawa had been an assistant/student of Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959). Rosanjin was a strict task master, a powerful ego and an artist of numerous talents which included pottery, calligraphy, painting and the designing and decoration of lacquer, metalwork lamps, furniture and seal carving. It was in this fertile and multi-disciplined environment that Arakawa was exposed to Rosanjin’s exceptional calligraphy and paintings (panels, screens, scroll, shikishi, etc.) that he also adapted to his pottery. With the literati tradition that Arakawa was exposed to under Rosanjin, it was only natural he would use his pottery as canvas as well as creating two dimensional arts as well.

There are quite a few scroll paintings (kakejiku) and shikishi (board) paintings left that illustrate everything from his friends, adventures, flora, fauna, pottery and his own artistic unique renderings. All of the works I am aware of were painted in sumi ink or watercolors. His style of painting can be divided into three main categories; simple Momoyama inspired “ink traces”, Rimpa and Nihonga inspired designs with color and definition, but not overly detailed and lastly, his detailed and precise painting showing highly rendered images. The same three broad categories are also seen on his pottery, to included precisely rendered enamels designs and patterns on porcelain. His paintings are all very expressive, individual and free spirited.

I have seen several Shino chawan and several other pots that were accompanied by kakejiku depicting the pot along with a short narrative. There are also pieces that have shikishi that were included along with a wide variety of pots. The illustration is of a Shino chawan and narrative by Arakawa Toyozo. It depicts a typical Shino chawan with underglaze iron decoration of mountains and pine trees. No doubt this once accompanied the illustrated chawan but has now been separated from the piece.

The relevant question, where is that chawan?

COPPER & STONE

Something a bit different, but a technique I have been using for some time now, ishime-ji. This tall citadel jar is surfaced using several engobes and an inlaid line of white engobe into a white stoneware clay body. The jar has a clear glazed interior and a pierced copper handle. The decoration is an offshoot of my “landscape man” design which I used to try to emphasis the verticality of the jar. The term ishime-ji literally means, stone ground (surface), it seemed the best way to describe the visual as well as the texture of the technique.

BANURA SHIRO FOLIAGE MIZUSASHI

I came across this photo the other day and immediately knew it was a pot by Banura Shiro. This mizusashi is tall and has a graceful form that plays host to his Rimpa inspired decoration of iron, overglaze gold and silver foliage accentuating the vertical quality of the piece which is punctuated by a spire like finial knob on the lid.

I am always impressed with the wide array of forms Banura is known for and how adeptly he tailors his designs to a wide variety of work, from jar to hachi to chawan. There are a number of potters whose works are (or were) inspired by the Rimpa school, but I think Banura Shiro has added a modern edge to an age old tradition made famous by Ogata Korin (1657-1716) and his brother, the potter, Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743).

CAT & MOUSE

A pair of earthenware teabowls by Georgia potter and educator; Ron Meyers. Deftly animated painted designs of a large fat cat and a fleet footed rodent making its hasty retreat decorate these bowls which though not intended as a set, certainly work as a pair and found themselves in a private collection. This pair was actually collected two years apart, but do seem to work so well together.

Using local red earthenware, a thin dryish white slip, underglaze pigments and a very thin clear glaze, Meyers works his magic at cone 03 and animates his pottery with florid images of animals and nudes. He does seem to be particularly fond of fish, rabbits, cats, chickens, hogs and the female nude as they make their way on his oxidation and wood fired pots quite frequently. It seems his pots always have a story to tell…………….

(From a private collection)

THANKS

I am sure like many people, I have much to be thankful for. I am able to wake up each morning and make pots through the day, spend time with my wife and cat and go to bed thinking about making pots tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

(A closeup of an aventurine temmoku glaze on a vase by me)

L'ULTIMO SPUNTINO

Anyone that has ever been to Japan can attest to the assault on your sense of smell from all of the wonderful restaurants and vendors in most cities. Aside from all of the culinary dishes of Japan, there is a wide array of bar food and appetizers that get the mouth watering. Negamaki, gyoza, yakitori, okonomiyaki and of course sushi and sashimi are just a few of the treats available and many of them are served on handmade pottery made by local and nationally famous potters. While at a sushi/sashimi bar near Osaka, I was served crimson red maguro on beautiful Oribe hachi by Kishimoto Kennin.

Since it is somewhat difficult to get Japanese food products in central New York state, I know it is hard to believe, we get a care package from Japan 3 to 4 times a year. In it is various powdered sauces (like tonkatsu), spices, udon, and a variety of other sundries. This of course includes both Pocky and Pretz. For you unfamiliar with Pretz, especially my favorite Tomato Pretz, you certainly have no idea what a culinary delicacy you are missing. One thing that is an absolute, without Pretz, the earth would surely stop turning.

ANOTHER FIRING, ANOTHER PITCHER

It has been one of those weeks. Getting things bisqued, cleaned, prepped, waxed, glazed and fired, as well as normal household responsibilities and squeezing in a movie or two on the tellie. Here is the run down;

Sun: Loaded kiln for bisque, ran a bunch of errands
Mon: Fired Bisque
Tues: Unloaded bisque, cleaned and prepped bisque, waxed and glazed, pack/ship a small order
Wed: Finished glazing, clean glazed ware and loaded kiln
Thurs: Fired kiln
Fri: Unloaded kiln, photographed pots, packed up small 3 orders

I have been getting about a 90% success rate out of most firings, though this kiln was just a bit less. It was made up of medium size serving bowls, a group of lidded oval pieces, a group of 4 vases, several covered cap jars, 3 “mizusashi” style covered jars, a new winged lidded form with two lids, some teabowls (as tests of course) and some pitchers. For years I was reticent to make pitchers and now it seems every firing has at least 2 or 3. I like pitchers, the various forms, different ways to handle them and possibilities to glaze them. If it is another cycle and another firing then it is another group of pitchers.

IT’S ALL IN THE ATTITUDE

Now I realize we all have varying perspectives of what is cool and what is not. Sometimes I think in the sheer act of talking or writing about “cool”, the farther away something is from cool. But when I first saw this Shigaraki mizusashi, all I could think was how “wonky cool” it was.

The attitude of this pot is a wonderful blend of medieval pottery with the zeitgeist of the 1970’s when it was made. The posture of the piece has an animated character to it that is accentuated by the hi-iro coloring, incised makings and balance of the essential elements. Made by Ota Minoru, a veteran potter who specializes in not only Shigaraki, but Hagi and Shino as well, the casual approach to potting and forming that loose, but so appropriate lid, comes from a lifetime of handling clay.

From my viewpoint, that is just a cool pot with plenty of attitude.

SOMETHING TO WATCH ON IPTV

I realize many of you have most likely seen the attached four videos from Youtube, but in the interest of becoming a multi-media conglomerate, I thought I would post these all in one place. I enjoy watching these videos time and time again and marvel at the simplicity of the various approaches to the task of throwing.

Hamada Shoji Throwing 1


Hamada Shoji Throwing 2


Michael Cardew Throwing


Bernard Leach Throwing

KODAI (1)

I mentioned in a previous post, how it was easy to identify the pots of Hori Ichiro, just looking at the foot, kodai. The truth is this can be said for most of the better Japanese potters. Yes, the kodai will change from pot to pot as well as over time, but there are always the tell-tale idiosyncratic characteristics that point to the maker. When you look over the feet of Arakawa Toyozo, Kato Tokuro, Kawai Kanjiro, Shoji Hamada and many others, the kodai shapes the pot and lets a viewer know who made the piece. In a way, the kodai acts as a signature, especially for those who do not sign their works and is the most difficult part to fake for those who would do so.

Illustrated is the wonderful and powerful kodai of a Seto-Guro chawan by Hori Ichiro. Though it shows some influences of his teacher, Kato Kozo, I find his kodai to be exceptionally individual in approach. The casual appearance of the foot and base hides the reality of years of trial and error, study and repeated experience to create so grand a foot. It doesn’t have the appearance of being “fussed” with or contrived. To my eye, it has all the characteristics of a great foot and as I am constantly reminded, the devil is in the details……………….

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

We made our way down to CT today to drop off a group of mostly stoneware pots at Wesleyan Potters. Everything went smoothly and as a major bonus, we ate at one of our favorite Greek diners, NICK’S DINER in Guilford, CT. We lived in Guilford for almost 5 years and we loved Nick’s for his great cheeseburgers, gyros, deli turkey sandwiches and well done onion rings. If you are in the area, it is worth a side trip.

The pottery I delivered will be on display, along with the potter and misc crafts of a number of crafts persons for the Wesleyan Potters Annual Holiday Sale from Nov. 26th through Dec. 12th at;

WESLEYAN POTTERS
350 South Main Street
Middletown, CT 06457

TIME

"To realize the unimportance of time is the gate of wisdom."
Bertrand Russell

With that in mind, today, I simply ran out of time. This week is a bit busy as I pack and drive an order to CT and need to get things decorated and in a bisque. Several orders need to be packed as well.

I will be brief and remind all to enjoy each moment before it ticks away...........

KI-SETO

Back when I would periodically wood fire, I had developed a quasi-Ki-Seto matt glaze that I had moderate success with. It was made from rice-husk ash and pure yellow iron oxide and really needed the wood fired atmosphere to activate the glaze. In gas, it was too even and actually not interesting so I was able to do very little with this glaze. I have actually, of late, been working on a revised version of the glaze that is the glassier style and is actually a combination of mixed wood ash and rice-husk ash. The results have been mixed and the testing continues. The wood fired Ki-Seto pieces are all sold and long gone and all I have to show for that work is a few pods and some fading slides.

Western potters trying to make Ki-Seto glazes can attest as to how complex this deceptively simple glaze actually is. There are two distinct types of Ki-Seto glazes, the matt style (ayame-de or aburagi-de) and the glossier, glassier style. Though the formulas differ, the glassier style is fired to a higher temperature than the matt type. I far prefer the aburagi style Ki-Seto glaze for modern Japanese pots and very few potters do this glaze well.

I am not sure if you are aware, but there is a nice web exhibit of Hori Ichiro’s works, mostly Ki-Seto wares that can be seen here;
http://www.japanesepottery.com/exhibitions.php

I first became aware of Hori Ichiro during the 90’s and before our current internet was anything other than a fermenting idea in Al Gore’s mind. I was instantly impressed by how he handled clay, glaze and firing. Hori, together with Yamada Kazu and the late Kagami Shukai (d. 2009) represent what I refer to as the San Mino Momoyama-jin, the three Mino Momoyama men. All three have made significant additions to the art of the Modern Momoyama style which both Arakawa Toyozo and Kato Tokuro set a very high bar.

Hori Ichiro is my favorite of the modern (living) Mino potters. He studied with current LNT, Kato Kozo, who was a student of Arakawa Toyozo, and much of his teacher and his teacher’s teacher can be seen in his work. Using a specially constructed anagama kiln, Hori fires his modern Ki-Seto in a neutral to oxidation atmosphere, controlling his temperature and firing with exacting precision to produce his aburagi style pots with wonderful koge scorching. When you examine his pots, Hori makes the greatest kodai, highly active, animated and medieval; they are immediately recognizable as his work. Hori’s forms, made from great Mino clays, are strong and powerful expressions that harkens back to earlier pots and together with his exceptional glazes and great kodai, his pottery represents the height of what I think of as Modern Momoyama. In my opinion his ability to create works in Shino, Seto-Guro and Ki-Seto is outstanding and will stand as a new standard for the Heisei era potters and beyond.

GAMBATTE................

Remember the word “rambling” in my blog title? Well, here you go;

I first heard the term gambatte (kudasai) back when I was studying Judo. At first, I had no idea what it meant. It was later explained to me that it meant; “don’t give up” or keep pushing through all adversity.

Now I must admit that I am no fan of Larry the Cable Guy, but it dawned on me the other day that gambatte is now used in a colloquial style just like, “Git’er done”. Go figure. I guess the sentiment is just global in its very implication………………

TSUKIGATA NAHIKO ON IRON

“The ONISHINO when considered from the ceramic technical point of view, is the one in which the fusing effects of iron ingredients, namely, the iron in the clay, the iron in the feldspar glaze and that in the flames, are ingeniously vivified on the Shino ware. These three factors bring out the variety of different finishes.” *

Illustrated is the Oni-Shino vase from which the close-up in my previous post, comes from. It is just about 9” tall and has a wide variety of elements to the glaze surface for which Tsukigata is well known.

(Another excerpt from ONI-SHINO by Tsukigata Nahiko)

ECCENTRIC SHINO

I have always been a huge fan of Shino. The beauty of Momoyama Shino, contemporary Western Shino and especially modern Japanese Shino are all of interest to me. If you look over the past 60 plus years, the Japanese have resurrected and added to the Momoyama tradition with a wide variety of styles and glaze types. The three major pioneers of this resurgence of Shino were Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959), Kato Tokuro (1898-1985) and Arakawa Toyozo(1895-1985). It was the trail blazing inroads of these three that ushered in the interest of Momoyama Mino. They were followed by a number of great potters who used and built on their foundations. Potters like Suzuki Osamu, Kato Kozo, Hayashi Shotaro, Wakao Toshisdada,Yoshida Yoshihiko, Ando Hidetake, Toyoba Seiya and a number of others are adding to the Modern Momoyama aesthetic.

Within the modern Shino fold, there are two potters who stand out as innovators and eccentrics. I am talking about Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006) and Kumano Kuroemon, the bear of Echizen. Kumano’s pots are bold, hard fired and mostly oburi in nature and he uses what he calls Kumano-Shino and Matsuzaka-Shino (after a type of feldspar he uses) on his pots and they are then fired intensely in his anagama at nearly 1500 degrees Celsius. Kumano’s works are immediately recognizable for their scale and extreme surfaces.

Tsukigata Nahiko would seem to be the opposite of Kumano, reserved, introspective and on a spiritual journey to enlightenment of mind and work. He was an accomplished shakuhachi player, calligrapher, oil painter and sculptor of which many of his bronzes were cast in editions. Tsukigata studied and worked with Arakawa Toyozo and inherited a certain amount of his style, technology and firing methods. But there the similarities end.

After working with Arakawa, Tsukigata began to experiment with styles and firing methodology. He worked in Ko-Shino, Shino, Nezumi-Shino, Aka-Shino,Ki-Seto, Kohiki, Hagi and even Shigaraki. Then he coined the now famous term, Oni-Shino and also Oni-Iga to describe his new work. His Oni-Shino works are raw power and present a landscape, unseen in Japanese pottery before his “creation”. They are essentially Shino and iron glazes fired in an anagama to cover and activate the glazes with the deposit and build up of natural ash glaze circulating in the kiln. Tsukigata fires his kiln to a very high temperature and through the use of different types of wood, he is able to build up ash on his pots that fuses, like glass over the course of the firing. The results are wondrous.

The approach to wood firing Shino is a pathway of dedication. Since the 1950’s many potters have chosen to gas fire as a means of control, repeatability and expediency. The choice of the anagama and all of its variables makes each pot unique because of the process. For Oni-Shino, there can be no short-cuts.

Through wood firing his pots, Tsukigata made sure the each pot would have a differing story, a narrative, ensnaring the viewer with a tale of the intensity of the potter, process and the fire. His chawan, mizusashi, chaire, tsubo, hanaire, wall plaques, tokkuri, guinomi and yunomi, though all related through the potter, clay and process, stand alone as a statement in which the past and present collide through the violence and velocity of flame.

As you study Tsukigata’s pots, you can see the strength of potting, the quality of the clay, his attention to detail, the Shino and iron glazes over run by ash deposited during the firing. But as you look closer, you can see the furrows cut through the Shino glaze, like tamadare runs, by the ash built up like molten lava and running down the surfaces of the pottery. Within the running ash and areas of built up ash, there is a myriad of pattern; matsukawa-ji (pine bark ground) and chirimen-ji (crepe silk ground) spring to mind. There is much to see in his work with a dialogue that stirs the imagination.

I have been very fortunate to see, handle and study a number of works by Tsukigata Nahiko. In time, I began to realize that the Zen aphorism, Zoki-Nichigetsu (Together sun and moon all the brighter) is very indicative of Tsukigata. The meaning of this aphorism is that with each and every new enlightenment (his) heart shines all the brighter. With each new pot, each new firing, he came closer to the creation of his ultimate Oni-Shino.

There is a great book on the Oni-Shino works of Tsukigata Nahiko, simply entitled; ONI-SHINO. The array of work is breath taking and these serendipitous creations are truly the soul of the fire and artistry of Shino intertwined. “The reddish pottery created from the flame that could make an Ogre cry… from here Oni-Shino is born.”* Today, there is a large number of pots being made and described as Oni-Shino, but when I think of that term, only one name springs to mind and that is Tsukigata Nahiko……………….

Illustrated is a large Oni-Shino Chawan (used with the permission of a private collector) and a close-up of a Oni-Shino hana-ire, both by Tsukigata Nahiko.

(* an excerpt from ONI-SHINO by Tsukigata Nahiko)

A SEED PLANTED....................

I usually plan out my next kiln load and work cycle rather well. Not that I am inflexible, just want to make maximum use of clay, glaze and kiln space. Invariably an order or a mere suggestion ends up sending me off the deep end. This time, Mindy casually remarks, “haven’t seen you make any lidded oval pieces in a while”, you can guess how that went.

So, the seed was planted. I tried pushing the comment to the back of my mind, but just ending up dreaming about throwing the parts, rolling the slabs and building the darn things. So, you probably know where this is going.

After putting handles on some pitchers and tooling some jars and lids, I set about throwing a group of cylinders and rolling out slabs. Today was spent building and fussing with a group of oval serving pieces. What took 75 minutes to throw and roll out, took 6 hours to construct and fine tune. I probably spend way more time on these then I need, or it shows, as I am extremely particular about how all of my lids fit. For these oval pieces, I make the lids .25” too big and whittle away at them until they fit just right and snug in their gallery. It is worth it, as a sloppy lid, ends up being a broken pot……………..

JUYO MUKEI BUNKAZAI

A List of the current and past Ningen Kokuho of Japan for Pottery (Yakimono).

Each potter has his working dates, year they were made LNT and specialty;

Tomimoto Kenkichi (1886-1963) 1955 Iroe
Ishiguro Munemaro (1893-1968) 1955 Tetsuyu
Hamada Shoji (1895-1969) 1955 Mashiko
Arakawa Toyozo (1894-1985) 1955 Seto-guro
Kaneshige Toyo (1896-1976) 1956 Bizen
Kato Hajime (1900-1968) 1961 Iroe
Miwa Kyuwa (1896-1981) 1970 Hagi
Fujiwara Kei (1899-1983) 1970 Bizen
Nakazato Muan (1895-1985) 1976 Karatsu
Tsukamoto Kaiji (1912-1990) 1983 Seihakuji
Miwa Jusetsu (Kyusetsu) (1910- ) 1983 Hagi
Kinjo Jiro (1912-2004) 1985 Okinawan Pottery
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) 1985 Tetsuyu
Kondo Yuzo (1902-1985) 1985 Sometsuke
Tamura Koichi (1918-1987) 1986 Tetsu-e
Fujimoto Yoshimichi (1919-1992) 1986 Iroe
Yamamoto Toshu (1906-1994) 1987 Bizen
Imaezumi Imaemon XIII (1926-2001) 1989 Iroe
Matsui Kosei (1927-2003) 1993 Neriage
Kato Takuo ( 1917-2005) 1995 Sansai/Sancai
Shimaoka Tatsuzo (1919-2007) 1996 Jomon style
Fujiwara Yu (1932-2001) 1996 Bizen
Suzuki Osamu (1934- ) 1994 Shino
Inoue Manji (1929- ) 1995 Hakuji
Miura Koheiji (1933-2006) 1997 Seiji
Tokuda Yasokichi III (1933-2009) 1997 Saiyu
Yamada Jozan III (1924-2005) 1998 Tokoname
Sakakida Kakiemon XIV (1934- ) 2001 Iroe
Yoshida Minoru (1932- ) 2001 Yurikinsai
Ito Sekisui V (1941- ) 2003 Mumyoi
Isezaki Jun (1936- ) 2004 Bizen
Hara Kiyoshi (1936- ) 2005 Tetsuyu
Nakajima Hiroshi (1941- ) 2007 Seihakuji
Kato Kozo (1937- ) 2010 Seto-guro

Banura Shiro Deuxieme Partie

The “fall bowl” post got me thinking more about Banura Shiro and I remembered a picture of a set I had handled and photographed. The set is a Hagi gohonde style serving bowl and set of mokozuke, all decorated en suite in varying tones of iron on slip and under an ash glaze. The surface is rich with spotting caused by the slip under the glaze and activates the form even more. The potting on these bowls is wonderful and one can easily image using them. Having seen and handled a number of his works, I am always amazed at how deceptively simple and honest his pots are.

Banura Shiro was from Iga prefecture and studied with Kawamura Kitaro before setting up his own studio. He had his first major exhibit at Nihonbashi Takashimiya in 1972. Exceptionally proficient at glazes and firing he worked with a wide variety of clays, glazes, underglazes and overglaze techniques and was very fond of “old style” under and over glaze brushwork and designs.

Perhaps his best known and most famous works are the collaborative pots and platters he made and his brother-in-law, Matazo Kayama decorated using techniques and technology developed by Banura. Kayama made majestic and sweeping designs heavily influenced by the Nihon-ga tradition he came from. A masterpiece can be seen in the Madame Kikuchi collection catalogue; JAPANESE CERAMICS TODAY. It is a large platter, over 51cm and depicts a mikazaki crescent moon over breaking waves.

Besides adding to the Rimpa tradition, Banura had several noteworthy apprentices, including Yasuda Michio (b. 1949) who carries on the pottery Rimpa style and Yoshitaka Hasu (b. 1949) who specializes in unique Iga anagama fired pottery with iron glaze additions.

(Used with the permission of a private collector)

VELLUM UPDATE

Just a quick update to show the amber version of my vellum glaze I am working on. Up for your approval, a porcelain teabowl with my tigerstripe pattern under the amber vellum (AM10-10). The surface has that “old” look to it which is just fine by me, given how much I look the old studio pots of the Arts & Crafts Movement and really old raqqa ware.

I was able to make several different varieties of this glaze and am just not sure how to proceed with them. The crystalline white vellum shows promise, but I need to work on the ideas more as a large white vellum pot needs the right decoration and form.

Many thanks go to Colin Pearson, without whose original formulas, my vellum would still be in the testing for eternity stage.

A FALL BOWL

Wonderful rustic chawan with Rimpa style decoration in black and gold by Iga based potter Banura Shiro (1941-2001). Banura was a potter of tremendous skill and artistic sensibility and his chawan and mizusashi have a simple Edo style to them. He treated many of his pots, especially his hachi platters as paintings, adorning them with various foliage, fish and other fauna. He made some collaborative works with his brother-in-law, the famous Nihonga painter, Matazo Kayama (1927-2004).


Subtle mizusashi surrounded by falling maple leaves over a stone like surface and finished off with a rich black lacquered lid.

Banura is one of the outstanding Rimpa style potters of modern Japan and his works show the influence of Ogata Kenzan among others. Having handled a number of his pieces, his chawan feel wonderful in the hand and this chawan just make me think of “fall”.

LINGO

Here are a few Japanese terms used to describe wood fired potteries or Bizen, Shigaraki, Iga, Echizen, Tamba and Tokoname among others.

Tamadare- (ball runs) running lines from the ash flow, some ending in a ball or droplet of vitrified ash

Yohen- kiln change(d), surfaces changed by the atmosphere or the kiln, fire changed

Bidoro- from the old term vitoro, glassy, running deposits and droplets of vitrified ash sometimes ending in green “tear drops” called tombo-me, dragonfly eyes

Yu-Damari- pools of natural ash glaze, especially seen in the mikomi

Goma(bai)- small, spotted areas deposited during the firing, speckled ash

Sangiri- areas of localized reduction created where the pot sat in a charcoal bed

Hi-iro- fire color/ flame color

Koge – “burnt”, areas where ash and charcoal build up and appear burnt in brown, black or grey tones mostly

Hishoku- bright red hi-iro, mostly seen on Bizen-yaki

Bota-mochi- bean rice cakes, areas that are mostly bare clay from clay wads to act as resists

Shizenyu- natural ash glaze deposited during the firing, to occur naturally

Ishihaze- stone bursts, a common trait in Shigaraki-yaki where the clay cracks around feldspatic stones within the clay

EMA HIROSHI

Illustrated is a tokkuri by Ema Hiroshi (b.1953). Ema studied in Bizen and now works in Honju. Using indigenous clays from the area and making Someya-yaki, Ema is committed to make simple and traditional wares almost as a counterpoint to our modern age. This piece and all of his work is fired in a large or medium sized wood fired anagama. More of his works can be seen at the Vessels.jp website;
http://www.trocadero.com/Dabido/catalog.html

What drew me to this piece is the ancient Sueki tokkuri form and the banding of varying hi-iro colors that circle the base and foot of the piece. This modern rendition of an ancient form is timeless, inviting and comforting and shows the essentials of form without any superfluous additions. One of the real pleasures of this piece is the warmth it exudes while being used and the sound of the sake as it pours out of the mouth. It reminds me of a babbling brook breaking over small rocks. It is quite wonderful how such a simple hand made object can bring a certain amount of solace to a hectic environment.

GUINOMI

Though I like guinomi, I have never really gone out of my way to collect them. I realize there are a lot of people who collect shuki (sake articles) or guinomi exclusively looking at drinking sake in a nearly ritualistic manner just like chanoyu. My wife and I have instead, tended to collect chadogu, preferring the larger objects that hold greater volume and visual presence.

That being said, recently I was looking around on the shelves and nooks and crannies of storage areas and had to conclude, we do collect guinomi, there are dozens of them. Over the years, popping into antique stores, flea markets, treks to Japan and now with the electronic age firmly planted, internet auction sites, we have put together a serendipitous collection of guinomi.

Some are occasionally used, others out and about as gem like accents, but all possess the qualities of chawan that we are so fond of. Despite their size, a potter has to work just as hard to create a good form, interior, foot and surface as he would on a larger teabowl and counter intuitively, mistakes on a guinomi seem far more exaggerated than on their larger kin.

We have been able to find pieces from a wide array of styles and artists, from Bizen to Shigaraki, Hagi, Karatsu, Mashiko and many more. In truth they certainly store easily enough and their use, can be down right intoxicating

TGIF?

Working in a studio that is in a home is a blessing and a curse. The temptation to “goof off” is sometimes pretty hard to resist, especially when AMC is playing MOBY DICK or Bogart in SAHARA. Thank goodness for DVR and DVDs. The blessing part of a studio that is always open is that you can monitor the kiln, bisques and drying during all waking hours and if an idea hits, you can run down and throw a form or make up a glaze test all during a commercial break.

The truth of working at home and on a house as well, is Fridays just don’t have that special meaning they did when I was a kid or when I actually have had traditional jobs in the past. Friday now symbolizes a sort of phase two for the week in which my wife Mindy is home, though never far from thinking or working on work stuff and we have a series of prescribed tasks and errands to run before the alarm goes off on Monday morning. “It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is what are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau

As the normal work week ends and the weekend begins take a moment to enjoy the boundary between work-work and life-work. Some good spirits may assist in this task, kampai!

(Illustrated are a tetsu-yu tokkuri by Yamada Hikaru and an enyu-guinomi by Iwabuchi Shigeya)

INTENTIONS

I have completed preliminary “pod” testing on several glazes including variants of the vellum glaze and a soft Ko crackle glaze. I had every intention of being much further along with the testing by now and on to phase 2 which would entail glazing up small cups or yunomi in the test glazes and different ideas I have worked out for each.

So, I sat down today and threw a group of test cups off the hump. At least this way, I am somewhat committed to seeing this through. Step two will be to make up the three test glazes up in 500 gr. batches and wait on the cups to be bisqued.

I have been rather remiss to get further along with these glazes as several web orders, gallery orders, holiday sales and even house/studio issues have been taking up a lot of time. Spending time on testing is some what of a luxury and does have to take a back seat to selling pots. The reality of testing is it cost both time and money and though some results make their way to occasional use, most second and third stage tests just end up the way of the dodo……………….

EMPTY BOWL

“Clay is molded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing… Thus, taking advantage of what is, we recognize the utility of what is not.” Lao Tzu

ANOTHER FIRING

Unloaded the glaze yesterday and was mostly pleased with the results. There were a few stand outs, a nice katazome style covered jar and two pitchers as well as a really nice cylindrical vase, also in katazome style in my Ao glaze. I have been trying to blend the glazing in each firing to include the temmoku, haiyu, medieval green, TP clear and the Ao to make for a visual variety.

I am currently working on a few gallery orders as well as pots for several seasonal/holiday shows, so I will be working in terra cotta, stoneware and porcelain. The terra cotta pieces will concentrate on slipware and painted abstract resist and tebori carved slip. Though I like to work in terra cotta, throwing clay with less body than porcelain has its moments and demands its due.

Illustrated are two temmoku & haiyu stamped pitchers and an Ao katazome style cap jar with bloesem panels around the form.

PATIENCE

I know I have mentioned my need to understand and even master the art of being patient. It would seem to be that patience is as much a part of any craft as is technique and technology and in a way, of far more value. As a beginning potter, I had less than zero patience and I find now 20 years later, though I am certainly far more patient than I was, it is never enough and in somewhat short supply. When you think about it, we all probably wait away a third of our lives and another third sleeping. This is not to say that while waiting, valuable pursuits are not achieved.

Last week, my patience wore thread bare waiting on pots to dry and to get a bisque fired. Today, I am at the upper temperature range of a glaze firing and as I find myself checking the kiln every 10 minutes or so, I realize, I am no more patient than I was many years ago. I am sure once the kiln is off, I will try to tear down what remains of my pottery patience waiting to crack open the kiln and get the pots unloaded. As the quote goes; “endurance is patience concentrated………………..”

GLAZDAY

Today and tomorrow are glazing days, which sometimes leads me to think back on epic glazing sessions. Today I was thinking back to the summer I spent at Kent State on scholarship. The summer I was working there was dominated by Kirk Mangus, Eva Kwong, John Gil and Marie Woo. We were involved with throwing, hand building, glazing for gas and salt firing and firing the anagama. Out of the summer came a wonderful group of wood ash glazes that were in use at KSU in the mid-90s and are probably still in use today.

What follows is some of the cone 9/10 wood ash glaze recipes we developed and used;

WOO’S ASH
Ash 50
Wollastonite 50
Cu.Carb. .5 to 1%

KSU White Ash
F-4 50
Kaolin 25
Ash 25

KSU Green Ash
Albany Slip 33.3
Custer Spar 33.3
Ash 33.3

KSU Runny Ash
Albany Slip 50
Ash 50

KSU Black Ash
Albany Slip 50
Redart 30
Custer Spar 10
Ash 10

(Illustrated is an ash and slip glazed bottle from techniques that I developed during the KSU summer)

PACKING FOR TRAVEL

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been asked, what is the best way to pack a chawan for shipping? Having verbally described the method three different times, I decided to post a little narrative of my packing method. What follows will seem nothing more than common sense, but I am continually amazed that packing is another discipline that needs to be learned through practical experience. As a side note, we won a large tsubo off eBay many years back and when it arrived in NH from Hawaii, there was a 14” tall by 18” wide tsubo in a 20” square box, no packing material except the pot was filled with peanuts. It arrived in perfect condition, so go figure.

The first caveat is that there is no one way to pack ceramics for successful results. That being said, in 25+ years of shipping chawan, I have never had one arrive broken and cannot say the same for pieces coming to me.

The first thing I do is to cut two strips of small bubble, bubblewrap just slightly longer than the circumference of the box and just the width of the box opening. I lay these strips in a cross, one “vertical, the other “horizontal” (see illus. A), then place the paper wrapped chawan into the box, pushing the strips down. I then fold the excess wrap into the chawan. In the next step, I take four, previously prepared bubblewrap rolls and stuff each one into a corner of the box (see illus. B), this makes sure the bowl will not shift during shipping.


Next I take a piece of bubblewrap, roughly the size of the box opening and twice as long, fold it in half and place it on top of the packaging (see illus. C). Now I put the wood box lid on and gently, yes gently, shake the box. If there is any movement in the box, you need to stuff more bubblewrap either in the corners or on top of the packaging. One real beauty of packing the bowl in its box, is according to most shipping requirements, all fragile objects should be double boxed and what is better than a wood box in a cardboard one?

Once this is worked out to your satisfaction, tie the box shut, wrap in a layer of bubblewrap and place it in a box with at least 1” on all sides (though up to 4” is preferable), top and bottom, pack the voids with a layer of cardboard on all four sides and fill with “peanuts" and this should do the trick.

As custodians of these pots, it is important to pass the pieces along in the same condition as they arrived. Enough cannot be said for packing for traveling and getting there all in one piece.

Important PSA; Don’t drink and pack and ALWAYS pay for the insurance

LEAVES INTO SILK

I am not really sure that there is anything that tries my patience as much as waiting on pots to dry and get them into a bisque. The last few days, I have been watching pots dry which I must admit is probably better than watching paint dry, anticipating that moment when I was relatively certain it was time to load the bisque. As I waited on the pots, I got a large batch of the Ao glaze made up for some wax resist design vases and covered jar I had thrown.

Most potters are experienced with the results of firing damp pots, or firing too quickly. The dull pop that emanates from within the kiln is unmistakable and in its unleashed fury, it is most likely to destroy anything within its proximity. Given that I would like to avoid that outcome, I wait, ever so patiently as the pots dry.

The bique is loaded and rather full and I will fire it off on Thursday. I will finish my prep work for the next glaze firing on Thursday and Friday and will actually glaze on Monday and Tuesday. “Patience is power, with time a mulberry leaf becomes silk”, an old Chinese proverb.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

I was rummaging through a box, looking for old test pods and came across I teabowl I saved from a few years back. The teabowl is porcelain with a Shino glaze and ash accents. I made this bowl as a demo while teaching at Wesleyan Potters. The kilns were mostly fired by Ryan Bothamley, the studio tech prior to going off to RIT for grad school, so I have him to thank. Based on the amount of unexpected carbon trapping, it must have been in the right place at the right time.

ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS

“Clay is the continuity between raw earth and food on the table, a connection through which each pot fulfills not merely its utilitarian function but carries complex iconographic and spiritual message’s to do with life’s renewal.”

David Lewis from the book; WARREN MACKENZIE An American Potter

(Illustrated is an amber glazed porcelain faceted vase, a gift from Warren MacKenzie)

C + Ss = EV

I have often though how wonderful it would be if there were formulas like in physics and mathematics, though less complex than Fermat’s, to appreciate and measure emotional occurrences in our lives. For instance, we own a simple 20th century Oribe candlestick, it doesn’t hold much monetary value, but the emotional impact is immeasurable. Think of a great Monet painting, a well used pottery bowl or a daughter’s finger painting, the value of these objects is beyond conventional value.

In a recent email exchange, a customer expressed the notion that; “the form is the function”. While I can partially relate to that concept, I believe that the function of an object can be purely the emotional value; the function of the object is beauty. I think that though many objects are certainly made to be used, their use does not strictly define their function. An object’s presence and appreciation can enrich a viewer, add to their environment and give back inspiration just by being. A chawan does not necessarily have to be used in chanoyu to be appreciated and enjoyed on a different level than through its use. Think of a great Faberge egg, is it a bookend, paperweight, doorstop? Its entire reason for being is in its appreciation and beauty.

I am in complete agreement with Yanagi’s statement; beauty born of use, but believe the use of an object can be the simple impact it has on one’s daily life.

(Illustrated a Kuro-Iga chawan by Kojima Kenji and an Iga chaire by Furutani Michio (1946-2000), both from a private collection)

MONDAY BLUES

Recently I have been playing with the combination of my version of a toruko-ao glaze over my neriage. At first, there were a few stumbling blocks but those seem to have been solved. This glaze has taken a complete metamorphosis since I originally got the recipe from Colin Pearson back in the mid-90s. I embarked on the task of morphing the glaze into a vellum style Persian blue glaze (toruko-ao) that was very influenced by the work of Kato Kenji

This glaze started out as a semi-opaque copper blue glaze which ran like the dickens and was splotchy and uneven despite a careful application. Over the years it has been altered so much, that the current recipe does not even resemble the original in content or percentages. The current version, TA-Variation-56s, can be used thin or thick without running and now works well over various underglaze slips as well as the cobalt rich black neriage porcelain I use.

Aside from the luminous quality of the glaze, the richness of the blue has a timeless and ancient quality to it. It seemed only fitting that I used it over the black & white neriage pots I have been making which are influenced by suminagashi style paper marbling. The real appeal of these pots though, is the cool and inviting softness of the vellum glaze texture. It has a feel unlike any other glaze texture I know and is truly enjoyable in the hand. It would seem to be the perfect Monday blues……………

(Illustrated are four teabowls and a close-up of a bowl, unloaded from a kiln this morning)

SIMPLE FORM

I have been interested in chawan and more specifically Shigaraki and Iga chawan for a long while. Though there is a myriad of shapes, it is the tsutsu-gata, cylindrical form that I am very fond of. The concept of the cylinder would seem somewhat defined and finite, but there are a number of Japanese potters who make the simple form so articulated and animated and distinctly their own in a nearly infinite variety of subtle interpretations.

This anonymous Iga chawan has a wonderfully glassy surface which at some point in the past, covered the makers mark and now the identity of the potter is lost. The robust form was fired on its side on clamshells and has compressed a bit to alter the tapering cylinder. The shallow glass coating is all running to the clamshell marks left, fossilized from the firing. The play of the horizontal glass running opposed to the verticality of the form is frozen in a moment when the chawan was pulled from the hot kiln, hikidashi style to cool and freeze the surface forever.

The second chawan is an older Shigaraki piece by pottery maestro Tsujimura Shiro. The surface is the opposite of the previous chawan, showing minimal natural ash deposits, rather favoring the rich hi-iro fire color that accentuates the wonderful posture and form of the bowl. The “wonky” lip just adds to the motion of the form and beckons the viewer to look within the chawan. What will you discover?

HANDLES

I finally got around to throwing the last pieces for my next firing, a group of large pitchers. The inevitable part of throwing pitchers is that you have to put handles on them. After waiting forever for them to firm up, I pulled a group of handles, with two extras and set about putting the handles on the pots. I pull the handles first, though sometimes I pull the handles off smaller pitchers. In this case, I pull the handles first, attach it and finish pulling it on the pot.

The whole process of then fusing over the handles is just a pain. I probably would be less particular if I didn’t have to meet up to a standard I have set. For pitchers, especially, I measure my work against Bill Klock, Warren MacKenzie and several of the British pitcher makers. I think by doing this, it keeps my work honest and gives me the push to make each pot better than the last and distinctly my own thing.

My original intention was to throw larger pitchers, but a last minute addition to the firing, a group of 5” tall serving bowls, has altered my original plan for 17” tall pitchers and reduced them to just under 15” wet. Doesn’t sound like much, but in the end, it will help me load another full, cramped and well planned out firing. Just two more handles to put on…………..

THROWN SLABS

While in Japan I was fortunate to see a demo by Koie Ryoji. In the demo he threw a bottomless rough cylinder and when it firmed up just a bit, he cut it off the wheel, cut through on side and stretched it out to make a long, flatish “slab” plate. It was a very interesting use of the wheel.

I have used the same technique on and off for some time and have also at times taken it just a bit further. Once I have thrown the cylinder, without any tools and leaving rough throwing marks, I wait for the clay to firm up and then cut it into five or six equal pieces. I then occasionally add feet and have a set of matched plates. The throwing marks and some added distress to the surface makes for very tactile and user friendly pieces. I use my Oribe glaze quite a bit with this technique, but also works well with ash or amber glazes.

SIMPLICITY

“My Pots are not about risk taking. They are about serenity-clarity-simplicity. Some people climb mountains, I like to walk through meadows of wildflowers.”

Excerpt from the artist statement of David Shaner (1934-2002), a generous teacher, pioneer and potter.

A simple wood fired teabowl by David Shaner, circa 1995.

BOWLS, BOWLS & MORE BOWLS

As I am working in a new cycle, I have decided to limit the number of bowls I make for the next firing to see how I can manage the kiln space without those ubiquitous forms. I have already thrown a group of 12” U bowls and that is where I draw the line, well maybe a teabowl or two and who knows what else could come up, maybe a last minute order (one can hope). I guess the cards will fall as they may.

The reason for this restriction on bowls is that it has occurred to me what a large percentage bowls are of my total output. Though I make a lot of covered jars, lidded serving pieces, plates, teapots, bottles and vases, bowls seem to be the ever present form that helps plan and fill each kiln, fill orders, fill commission orders and are special ordered. I make a wide variety of bowls as teabowls, soup bowls, catch all bowls, pasta bowls, wall bowls, salad bowls and every other bowl you can think of including popcorn bowls. They are not all round, some are lobed, squared, faceted, pierced and so on, but they are still bowls.

After the countless thousands of bowls I have made, you would think I would be tired of making such forms, but honestly no. Like any other form, the bowl makes for a rich surface and space to work with. In reality, were would we be without bowls? They have served man well for thousands of years and the bowl is certainly far better off being of any form of handmade pottery than out of some vacuum injected plastic or other lifeless material. I am glad I make bowls and maybe will make a few more to fill the nooks and crannies of my next firing……………..

(One set of four temmoku and medieval green soup bowls from the last firing)