UTILITAS

As a potter, there is little more satisfying than knowing your pots are being used. Coming from a mostly functional background of three Leach students, my work is about use and accomodation. As I sketch out and throw or build new pots, my foremost thought is about the function and that they perform without any real problems. That means handles, knobs, lids and feet all make for a pot that is meant to be used and its purpose is fulfilled when it is being enjoyed for a variety of tasks.

Going all the way back to the beginning, I have always been captivated by various tea utensils and as such have made chawan, mizusashi, full tea sets and various other components. Though I have exceedingly little experience with chanoyu, I have done what I could to understand the function of each piece and have added my own nuances. Over time, I have had a lot of feedback from tea people (chajin) as to how pieces have preformed with subtle suggestions and input as to how to make varying objects. There are a number of my pieces that are being or have been used for chanoyu and kaiseki by the Urasenke and Omotesenke schools of tea ceremony. Seeing my pots in this setting being used, is about the greatest feeling I can imagine as a potter.

Illustrated is a close-up of the chaki of Urasenke tradition practioner, Todd Frey of York, PA. The mizusashi and matching shakutate are by me and are porcelain neriage with my Ao glaze. They are part of a set that includes a chawan, mizusashi, kensui, shakutate and futaoki. Todd has a wonderful authentic “tea house” in York and gives chanoyu demonstrations. You can learn more about him at;

http://www.gessha.com/

(Photo graciously provided by Todd Frey)

UNDER & OVER

Illustrated are two yunomi illustrating two different uses of “red” as the primary method of decoration. On the right is a porcelain yunomi by yuriko copper red and sometsuke underglaze specialist, Yoshida Takashi (student of both Kondo Yuzo and Tomimoto Kenkichi). The yunomi has a pleasant and appealing rounded form and has an underglaze red banded design of grapes, grape leaves and vines. It is a nice and casual use of the red and has just enough pure white showing to intensify the red. The yunomi on the right is an aka-e (no) kinrande decoration with a sometsuke banded line acting as a border at the lip of the cup. This cylindrical porcelain yunomi is by sometsuke and enamel specialist, Shofu Eiichi (who also studied with Tomimoto Kenkichi). Both made very good use of different approaches.

For a Monday afternoon could there be anything better than to sit around and enjoy a nice cup of tea out of a simple handmade yunomi?

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”      Albert Einstein

POTTERY TIP #302

PT #302; Always maintain a good field of vision when reaching into a container filled with sharp implements. (I am not sure if this is covered under the ‘never run with scissors’ rule or not.)


Better safe than sorry is the expression and I wished I had paid heed to that sage maxim. Yesterday while finishing up tooling of some pasta bowls, I leapt before I looked and grabbed for a trimming tool and when pulling back my hand, I had a fettling knife deep into the cuticle of my left thumb. I normally have my sharp tools pointing downward to avoid such problems but in a hurry to clean up the day before from finishing the oval serving pieces, I just scooped everything back into the contained for tools. Being that the knife is a bit old, rusty and covered with a concoction of terra cotta, stoneware and porcelain, I now have an infection in my thumb. This is certainly not the first, nor I doubt it will be the last, infection I will get from some errant injury to the digits, but it did keep me from throwing today. Luckily, I have the weekend, peroxide and neosporin to get things back in order and hopefully back to throwing on Monday.

Check back for more pottery tips as I manage to create chaos and mayhem out of clay.

THE RECALCITRANT POT

In an email exchange with a friend, I mentioned that I had started throwing terra cotta and unlike stoneware, it was getting the upper hand and certainly not just going along. He joked that I needed to show that recalcitrant pot who was boss. Since I am in the midst of an extended terra cotta cycle, it seems like every day is more challenging then it needs to be. I have been making pots for a variety of surfaces, including black & white slipware, carved tebori and abstrakt resist. I have made a number of forms from small bowls and molded trays to composite vases, covered jars, pasta bowls and plates and now am on to some throw & altered and constructed forms.

In order to mix things up, yesterday I threw a group of 4.5 lb cylinders, without bottoms and later pushed them oval. Today I set about giving them slab bottoms and handles, ending up with a series of oval serving pieces. I am intending to decorate these in abstract resist once they have dried. Trying to get them exactly as I wanted them, as they area bit larger at 17” long, they just seemed to flop around, kicking back and deciding on their final shapes, though I exerted what control that I could. In the end, these pots aren’t that defiant, but terra cotta is unforgiving and no where near the ease of working with stoneware. Tomorrow, once I have tooled some pasta bowls, I’ll set about making parts for a new composite covered jar idea that I have, as they say in Poker, I am going all in.

AROUND THE WHEEL

In high school, I remember watching the series, Meeting of the Minds*, a Steve Allen TV show on PBS (1977 -1981) which operated on the premise that you could bring three historical individuals together at a table to ask questions and debate issues. In my mind I have always wondered what it would be like to assemble Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji and Kitaoji Rosanjin at a table on; AROUND THE WHEEL. I have no doubt that it would be an exceptionally enlightening discussion and a great, if not limited audience TV show. In the meantime, the closest I can come today is carrying on a dialogue between each individual’s pot and myself as viewer. This will just have to do for the time being though I do have ideas for several other shows; Kato Tokuro, Arakawa Toyozo and Tsukigata Nahiko and for another Hon’ami Koetsu, Raku Chojiro and Ogata Kenzan. I think I could get at least 3 or 4 years worth of shows! Now all I have to do is sit back and wait for all of that TV production development money!

(Illustration, left to right; Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji and Kitaoji Rosanjin)

*  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_Minds

IT IS WHAT IT IS...............

“They have no hidden symbolism or meaning,” he said, “They mean whatever you see in them. Any work of art belongs to everyone, because it is whatever each person sees in it.”      Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966)

Though at the time, Kawai was speaking about his carved wood sculpture, he said nearly the same thing about his sculptural henko forms. His commentary was that they were for whatever someone intended them for and it is this casual nature where he creates and gives over the creation to “everyone” that is one of his most admirable qualities. His belief that he was the creative conduit for the creation of his pots and sculpture is based on his serene belief and practice of Buddhism in which he credits that spiritual reality for his creative abilities. By looking at many of his pieces, it is easy to see their contemplative and Buddha-nature looking into their plastic form. From this perspective, Kawai was arguably, the most adept potter to accentuate form with his intentional decoration. Few others have risen to the level that Kawai Kanjiro achieved during his lifetime dedicated to clay.

Illustrated is a large henko by Kawai Kanjiro. This large molded bottle form has a clear glaze over the rocky Shigaraki blended clay body with large, spontaneous “splashes” of deep green and orangey red overglazes. This picture was taken at the KAWAI KANJIRO HOUSE museum on Gojozaka in Kyoto on one of our trips to Japan. If you are a potter or pottery lover, this museum is the first place you should visit in Kyoto!

IPTV; IN THE ROUND

I was recently asked to express the volume and scale of some of my teabowls as I am prone to describing them as large. To me large is usually over 5” across and the bowl displaces a significant volume. Trying to imply the volume a pot has is difficulties, even with a picture, so, since the measurements don’t always convey the scale of a piece, I thought to try a video of a recent teabowl. Maybe a moving image, in the round, will help a bit more.

This video is of one of my Karatsu influenced tataki teabowls and glazed with a Haiyu and Temmoku glazes. There is a variety of tones in the Haiyu glaze running from green, olive, tans and rust that all accentuates the tataki paddled surface. Though not of a Kumano Kuroemon scale, at over 5.5” across, it is large and generous in its proportions.

MONDAY BLUES III

It is another one of those Mondays in central NY today, cloudy, rainy and just plain dreary. Add to the weather several chores and appointments that keep me away from the studio and you certainly have another blue Monday. As I have mentioned at least once before, the best cure for those Monday blues is looking at a good pot. I think this fits the bill.

Illustrated is a porcelain coffe pot with blue and amber translucent glazes and an appliqué celtic knot design around the pot. The details of this pot are wonderful with a tight fitting lid and a well conceived and sevicable handle. This pot was made by Alfred University MFA graduate Ryan Greenheck who lives and works in Philadelphia and teaches at the Clay Studio. Looking over the design elements, forms and glazing techniques of Ryan’s body of work, there is a strong continuity that ties his work together from teacup to teapot and all the pots in between.

IPTV; NEBULOUS REVISITED

I first came in contact with the Shino pottery of Sakai Kobu back in the mid to late 90s. I was immediately struck by his unique approach to Shino and his patented Kobu-Shino glaze. Given one’s point of reference, it is possible to see almost anything within the glaze, though the surfaces and decorations are based on Japanese traditional archetypes. Since my first contact, I have watched as the works became more loose and soft in appearance and the surfaces just seemed to become more and more drifting and nebulous.

Fast forward to about two years ago, I came into contact with this new Sakai Kobu chawan. I enjoyed having it around for a short while and tried to learn all I could from it, but like many pots, it went off to another home. With its recent return, I decided to try to make a short video of this chawan and try to capture the ethereal, nebulous nature of the piece.

You can see more pictures of this chawan at the attached link;
http://www.trocadero.com/albedo3studio/items/1094512/item1094512store.html

BACK TO BASICS

I am back to the basics this cycle, throwing terra cotta for several kiln firings. The goal is to get a good blend of tebori carved, black & white slipped ware and some abstract resist pieces. Honestly though, terra cotta is a real love/hate relationship and there are times when trying to throw it is just a huge pain. Heat and humidity certainly don’t help in the attempt as pieces begin to dry unevenly and warp where the air current is greater in the studio, so fans are a no go! The surfaces on these pieces is the more “fun and whimsical” stuff that I do, but during the summer, terra cotta is anything but fun!

I think back to those early days at CSU, there was an amount of naiveté when it came to clay and temperature options, but as I watched Dick Schneider and several other students using terra cotta, I thought what the heck. In the beginning when my throwing skills weren’t very well developed, trying to make 20” + platter with terra cotta was frustrating. I could throw it as I wanted it, but within a day, they were all warped. Luckily I have come quite a ways since then, though I am always mindful to give the terra cotta the respect, TLC and understanding it requires. The end results of that rich red clay with a wide variety of surfaces makes the struggle that much more enjoyable!

Illustrated is an 18” terra cotta “Go Fish” platter with black & white slip trailed design.

INCOMING

I have been around pottery for quite a while now and in that time have met a number of potters and collectors who have graciously shared pots, information and ideas. Among those interested in pots, I have been extremely fortunate to know a number of dedicated and longtime pottery collectors who have been very open to sharing access to their collections. Our first real contact with a pottery collector was in Cleveland when I had just started making pottery. It was rather interesting being able to handle and examine everything from Momoyama Shino ware, a sancai style Betty Woodman pillow pitcher, a nice collection of Beatrice Wood and Laura Andresen, an extensive collection of American studio pottery including many museum quality Grueby and Rookwood pieces as well as a large array of American, British and Japanese pots by modern studio potters. To this day, I carry on long distance relationships with a number of these collectors.

In the past hand full of years, I have also been able to help some of these collectors downsize, refocus or sell off their collection because of my Trocadero website. Many of the collectors are now retiring and moving to smaller accommodations or even out of country. Some other collectors are refocusing their collections and moving into different collecting avenues, so some pots must go. A friend of mine is just such a collector. Having started collecting only a few years ago, at first, he was collecting pots that appealed to him at the time and were good pots. Recently while collecting, he hit on a particular strategy and focus for his collection and decided that he would part with pots that didn’t fall within these refocused parameters.

Fast forward to last week and this week, with on UPS box already arrived and two on the way, in comes another small collection to help find new homes for. This grouping consists of primarily traditional tea wares, including a work by a Ningen Kokuho and a Prefectural Living Treasure.

The following is a list of pots coming in that I will post on Trocadero over the next week;

Suzuki Goro Yashichida Oribe Chawan (Sold)
Miwa Kyuwa X Hagi Lg. Plate
Yoshiga Taibi Hagi Chawan
Takahara Shoji Bizen Chaire
Kawai Takeichi Tessha Chawan (one of the finest I have ever seen)
Sakai Kobu Shino Chawan
Kamiya Eisuke Yohen Tetsu-yu Chawan
Ishii Takahiro Oribe Summer Chawan

Illustrated is a detail of the inside of the yohen-tetsuyu chawan by Kamiya Eisuke. There are a variety of effects ranging from streaking hare’s fur to radiant iron crystals.

CARBON & SILICA (C&SiO2)

Since it is Friday, I thought I would  post a simple pot. Illustrated is a loosely, for me, thrown porcelain teabowl with large impressed medallions glazed with a good old Foote Minerals spodumene Shino glaze and accented with  bidoro-yu in the impressed areas. Once again the teabowl was in the right place and a whole band circling the top portion of the bowl has carbon trapped accentuating the form and throwing rhythm. I don’t think I could have planned the piece any better than what the kiln did on its own.  Isn’t it amazing what simple carbon, silica and 2380 degree can do?

YASHICHIDA-ORIBE

One of the real intresting aspects of Oribe is the nearly infinite variety of green that is manifest through varying glazes used over the centuries. When you add the various styles of Oribe, the tradition is just full of potential and possibilities for the modern potter. Of the wide array of styles, there is one in particular that sprung on the scene in the Momoyama period and almost as quickly disappeared, Yasachida-Oribe. Yashichida-Oribe is awhimsical and playful style of Oribe that was popular during the renaissance of the late Momoyama to early Edo period, spontaneous and casual lay dormant until the style of decoration was revived by modern master potter; Suzuki Goro. This technique epitomizes the playfulness in Japanese art and highlights the creative genius of Suzuki and is used as an overall design that encompasses the pot or is focus in “panel” style decoration and surrounded by large areas of Kuro-Oribe or Ao-Oribe. Though Suzuki is a master of everything he tries and is considered a consummate master of Ki-Seto and Seto-Guro, it is his playful, Momoyama infused works in Yasachida-Oribe style that I believe he excels and propels the possibilities of a tradition into the 21st century.

Illustrated is a bold Yashichida-Oribe chawan by Suzuki Goro. This chawan is large with an exillerating foot and panel  “free-style” decoration with a variety of marks in rich iron, greens and corals on a creamy ground under a clear ash glaze and surrounded by a feldspathic glaze over a rich charcoal black background. The beauty of this work is the timeless nature it exudes while confidently serving as a bridge between the old and the very new.

More pictures of this chawan can be seen on my website at;
http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1092571/item1092571store.html

EVOLUTION

In these days of e-books, kindles and closing book stores, a real book in the hand is still a wonderful thing, and MICHAEL SIMON: EVOLUTION is a wonderful book. With a forward by Warren MacKenzie and commentary regarding the pottery by Michael, this is an insightful and well illustrated narrative about a potter’s life in pots and the decisions made along a lifetime. From his thrown and altered “Persian boxes” to his utilitarian pitchers, bowls, plates and vases, the glimpse into the evolution of a potter is related.

One of Michael Simon’s comments about Warren MacKenzie is vivid and I think many potters can relate to; “I still hear him [Warren] in my brain, and I still think about him whenever I have to make a decision. He is my touchstone, he is the figure that I think through. He was very important to me. I didn’t know it at the time; really I wasn’t conscious at the time of Warren’s value.” It is this personal observation and thought that most potters and craftsman can understand but Simon’s articulation is simple and to the point. The commentary and observations made by him reflect his pursuit of the personal and this alone makes this a book well worth owning. I recommend this book without any reservations for potters, collectors and those interested in the evolution of a personal process.

Illustrated along with the book, MICHAEL SIMON: EVOLUTION; is a small salt fired Persian box form by Simon. It was thrown and altered in such a formulaic method that only he could have achieved. It was decorated and the kiln did the rest. On the lid of the pot are three spots where wads were placed around the decorated “spot” which adds to the surface and gives one a perspective of how the pot was fired and how it stood as a pedestal for another, smaller pot. In my mind, this is a metaphor, as Simon’s pots will stand as a pedestal for generations to come.

“The merit of originality is not novelty, it is sincerity.” Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)