MONDAY BLUES IV

For a long time I have been interested in making pots that are just on the verge of instability. Through trial and error, I realized that there is a fine line with these leaning pots and if they are ultimately to be functional, there is only so far askew that they can go. In the end, I figured if it works for a famous leaning tower in Italy, it can work in pottery. The two illustrated mugs were thrown round, cut, darted and end up with a distinct lean. The pair is terra cotta with slips and a Persian glaze over. Though neither leans that much, the really interesting part of these is that when filled with liquid, the liquid is level to the surface they stand on and the lips curve down to the contents. It presents a rather fun dimension to the mug and sometimes gives you the feeling the cup is moving. Probably the perfect cup for a different perspective, to start another week.

“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I am going to be happy in it.” A Quote from the Zen master of innuendo, wit and sarcasm, Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

ELEMENTARY

Over the years, I have certainly watched more than my fair share of movies. From classics to modern action, I have a veracious appitite for the moving image. Among my favorites has always been film noir and the detective films with such notable characters as Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade and Shelock Holmes. I was particularly biased toward the 14 Sherlock Holmes movies made by Basil Rathbone, one of my favorite actors. Little did I know, all those movies would play into my study of pottery and pots.

“Elementary, my dear Watson”, what I am actually getting at is the detective end of things when a Japanese pot shows up at the door in its hastily inscribed wood box and no other information or identification. At the heart of this detective mystery is a modern Japanese chawan in its original box which is signed and sealed, but in this case, by whom? Many an unidentified piece has come my way over the years and trying to identify some of the potters is next to impossible and in fact, some are never identified. The research end of Japanese pottery has always intrigued me and armed with some essential tools, I set about doing the necessary due diligence.

Since the calligraphy on the box is nearly unreadable and the seal is in modified seal script, the first thing I do is translate out the description, which in this case was rather easy; ONI-SHINO CHAWAN. I know have a time reference as the term Oni-Shino originated in the early 1970’s with Tsukigata Nahiko. Next consulting the SHIN SHODO JITEN (a book on the various ways to write kanji), I find the first kanji nearly right away. After a few false starts, I am able to crack the second kanji and now have the GO (art name), in this case; SOSHU. I consult the GENDAI TOGEI SAKA-IYE JITEN only to find out he is not in there or in any of the other conpendiums I have. Well, when I have exhausted all my reference books, there is only one other option, check the internet.

Though I was extremely skeptical that the internet would yield information on what I suspected was an obscure potter, I was happily surprised when I stumbled on a single entry for the only name I had. The potter’s name is Kajiura Soshu (Shintaro), born in 1916. He is from Ichinomiya City in Aichi prefecture and studied with Hayashi Sekko and Kimura Giichi and is known to have been active through the Heisei era. Besides making pottery, he also did calligraphy and paintings. Beyond this info, it is possible to gleen additional info regarding his work, the chawan in question is obviously wood fired, with a level of skill that should indicate familiarity with that style of firing. As mentioned before, this bowl was definitely made after 1972 and indicates another potter working outside the conventional box of modern Shino.

It is very satisfying cracking the who/what/where/when conundrum in regards to Japanese art, but sometimes it is simply a matter of coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, plain old fashioned luck or cosmic confluence that you ever figure out who the artist is (was). This one goes in the win column, case solved.

Illustrated is the chawan in question, by Kajiura Soshu, circa 1975. The bowl is low and broad and the face is covered in naturally occurring wood ash over tetsu-yu and Shino glazes. The most amazing feature of this chawan is how light it is, considering the intensity of a wood firing. Despite its weight, it has not sluped at all with minimal distortion around the lip.

POSTURE

As much as anything about pottery, I love the posture of a good pot. It conveys attitude, mood, presence and purpose. One of the reasons I am particularly fond of Japanese pottery for tea ceremony is that the pots are created to help the narrative of the tea ceremony. They aid in setting the visual tale that a chajin (tea person) wishes to express through their skillful use of pottery, kakejiku and floral arrangement.

The illustrated pot is a predominantly hi-iro Bizen vase by the late Bizen potter; Masamune Satoru also known as Kengo (d.2006). This pot captures the movement of softly thrown clay and conveys an animated spirit and casual and relaxed posture that few can achieve. The neck is next to collapsing, yet made it from greenware to fired pot and compliments the sagging base which was intentionally distorted. The key to any manipulated pot is to have the contrieved appear uncontrieved. This pot succeeds where others may fail.

YES, MORE TESTS

In the first group of my recent tests, I have been working on inlaying glaze into other glazes. I am using wax, latex and masking tape as resists and these tests are using glazes I already know to work, so no surprises beyond the normal. Several of the glazes are crawling away from each other, some are coming out so-so and several are proving to be somewhat promising. In this group there was also an odd result on a saffron glazed yunomi. Using a clear glaze and the saffron glaze, I inlaid a tomato red glaze into the surface. What is odd about the results is that the saffron glaze is rather runny and for some reason, it ran along the edges of the tomato red, as if somehow deflected from the surface. I wasn’t expecting this and am running the same test again to see if this is how these glazes react to one another. It makes for an interesting effect and now I am hoping I can repeat this test. It never fails, one thing really does lead to another. Isn’t testing wonderful?

“I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)

TORUKO-AO GUINOMI

Illustrated is a sweet Turoku-ao, Persian style guinomi by Kato Kenji (1933-2008). The soft curving bowl shape rests on a perfect pedestal style foot and is decorated with casual and fluid underglaze black decoration under a soda blue glaze. Kato Kenji was a veteran Mino potter who made works in a wide variety of traditional styles, but in my mind, he was a Persian specialist. His Persian styles consisted of this wet, transparent glaze, a thicker, more opague blue glaze and his overglaze enamel decoration in Persian, almost Scythian motifs. Though greatly influenced by various archetypes, Kato Kenji’s pots are readily identifiable as his work. Though modern (20^th century) in exectution, the one thing that Kato captured above all others, is a sense of timelessness. When encountered, there is that lingering question, are these new or are they old?

TESTING; ONE, TWO, THREE

There are times when I wonder if I am a potter, chemist or alchemist. There are also times when I wonder why I am compelled to continue the incessant testing that follows nearly every cycle or so. My current testing is revolving around altering my soda based clear glaze into a variety of “colored” glazes with a focus on trying to produce a nice powder blue Claire de Lune style glaze. So far, the results have been muddy or washed out. It is unfortuneate having a predetermined glaze in mind and falling short of the mark, thus far. It reminds me of a student back at CSU that was trying to “perfect” a green glaze for his anatomical sculpture that he was making. For months pieces would go in the kiln only to be broken when they would come out. After this when on for quite a while, I confronted TB and asked him what was up with all the broken heads? His answer was simple; they didn’t match 100% with what he saw in his mind’s eye. I made it clear, they looked great and NO one else would know they weren’t exactly how he saw them. He stopped breaking them.

The truth is that for me, testing is an essential part of the process. It keeps me thinking and new glazes mean new surfaces and the larger the visual vocabulary, they more I can draw from. Over the years testing has lead to some rather nice glazes and surfaces from oilspot (yuteki) to copper red, a myriad of shino(s), ash glazes, iron glazes and even reduction luster style glazes. Illustrated is a close-up of a tiger stripe yuteki glaze that I came up with by using iron chromate and dark yellow ochre. The truth about testing is that like fishing, you are never sure what you will end up with at the end of the day and some are bound to be keepers.

UN REGALO

“I don’t make pots as a blank canvas for decorating. I consider my glazes as clothing for the pots, you have to accept that clothing for what it is.” Warren MacKenzie

Illustrated is a large “simple” thrown stoneware bowl with temmoku and oatmeal trailed glazes by Warren MacKenzie. The pot is solid and the epitome of functional; it performs its given task well and tells its story while in use, at rest or on display. Warren is truly gifted in the art of understatement, yet the casual and lyrical decoration has a lot to say. The use of a lighter glaze, effortlessly trailed over the temmoku brings the piece to life and infuses it with movement. Truly a remarkable feat, for someone who doesn’t even think of his pots as a canvas.

KORE WA KIYOMIZU-YAKI DESU KA?

Though somewhat less than a dinner and a movie, maybe more like an M&M and a teaser, this short clip is an interesting portrayal of an early 17th century potter at work from the classic movie; MIYAMOTO MUSHASHI SHOWDOWN AT HANNYAZAKA. There were five movie serializations from 1961 to 1965 staring Kinnosuke Nakamura based on the novel by Yoshikawa Eiji (1935). In this series there is also a wonderful glimpse into the relationship between Musashi and Honami Koetsu, sword connoisseur, master potter and arbiter of taste. At one point in the series, Honami Koetsu is showing a commissioned Aka-Raku chawan to the steward of the Hosokawa daimyo, complete with its wood storage box. The devil is certainly in the details in great old films.

In this short scene a potter is at work on the outskirts of the Kiyomizu-dera, an area known for its pottery production to this day. Musashi is known to have taken every opportunity to study master artists and craftsman at work and is shown studying the potters movements, no doubt in an effort to make use of the potters art in his own art, the way of the sword. It is worth a watch as is the entire series of films.



“Study the way of all professions.” From the BOOK OF FIVE RINGS (GO RIN NO SHO) by Miyamoto Musashi

A PLANE IDEA

Starting in the early 90’s, we were fortunate to take a number of trips to Japan. One of the real eye opening experiences that came along with this was the lengthy plane rides that went with getting to and from. Departing from Cleveland or New York, you are able to see the country from a wonderful perspective giving new insights into the heartland as well as such incredible sights as the Grand Canyon and eventually Mount Fuji from 30,000 feet. One outcome of this travel was seeing the farmland of not only the US, but Japan from an entirely new vantage point. The sectioned and furrowed farmland, rivers and roadways painted a wonderful design that I translated into a wide ranging series of designs I refer to as Landscapemen.

I use the Landscapeman design primarily in the tebori carved ware, black and white slipware and the ishime-ji inlaid engobe pottery. The design has a myriad of uses as it is easy to adapt from form to form, from plate to jar and most pots in between. I have enjoyed using it and seeing the design morph as each style and pot are decorated in a somewhat spontaneous manner. The space, form, volume and curve all dictate how the design evolves on each pot. With each new pot, comes a different design. It surely keeps the process from becoming boring.

Illustrated is a mizusashi form; thrown in stoneware and decorated in a grey-black engobe and then has a white engobe inlaid in the incised decoration, the interior is glazed in a clear liner. The design was cut into the stoneware while still wet using a sharp knife made of bamboo. With each turn of the pot, the design changes and presents a different landscape that makes me anxious for my next plane ride!

AM I BLUE

Illustrated for another blue Monday, is a wonderful soft blue celadon koro, incense burner by master renaissance potter; Kishimoto Kennin. This kannyu-seiji-koro is thickly glazed with the ridges having been thinned down to show off iron highlights around the pot, breaking up the celadon surface. The koro measures just shy of 9” tall and was prominently featured in a book on Kishimoto Kennin’s Seiji works.

To round out this Monday, we have the great Hoagy Carmichael and Lauren Bacall duet from the excellent Humphrey Bogart classic; TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. Short, but sweet, enjoy.


(Illustration used with the permission of a collector.)

MULTIPLES II

I think back to stories from Warren Mackenzie, Bill Klock and Jeff Oestriech discussing the series, multiples of pots they were responsible for while at the Leach Pottery. I have heard this very same thing from a number of potters working with the likes of Hamada Shoji, Shimaoka Tatsuzo and many others. For some potteries, the multiples were the standard ware of the kiln, sometimes impressed with the masters’ seal, other times clearly defined as work of the kiln and not the master. For some potters, especially Hamada, Shimaoka and Kawai, there were a variety of molded pieces, henko, etc. made by the students or specialists which were then later decorated, marked or glazed by the master of the kiln.

I am unsure where I came by the illustrated picture, but it clearly shows Kawai Kanjiro surveying a large grouping of multiples in various stages of completion. To the left are a group of finished pots, most of which are molded forms with iron and clear glazes and various colored underglaze decoration. In the middle of the photo is a group of recently molded greenware pieces, ready to be bisque and then decorated and glazed. The group on the extreme right appears to be a group of bisque molded covered box forms ready to be decorated, glazed and then fired. I have always been fascinated by this photo as it shows Kawai’s multiples in each stage of completion and is one of the few photos of this type that I know of. I guess it is true; you can never have enough of a good thing!

IN PROCESS

I have just finished firing my third kiln load of terra cotta, with quite a number to go. So far, the loss rate and seconds have been minimal, which is always a relief. I fired off a number of medium sized plates (16 to 17 inches), oval bakers, covered serving bowls and misc in several different styles including; IT’s STILL LIFE, ABSTRAKT RESIST, TEBORI and Black & White slip trailed pieces. Making the transition from the high fire stuff to the low fire is a challenge and almost always starts with my making a series of molded tray forms. This is the bridge that gets my mind back to the terra cotta and the challenges it poses in terms of throwing and decorating. It is an entirely different mind set working with color and low fire technology than it is working with stoneware, ash glazes and more earthy surfaces. Now that all the pots are made, decorated, bisque and glazed, all that remains is firing them all.

Illustrated is a small group of my Abstrakt Resist work. The plate is about 17” in diameter and the two oval bakers are about 17” long each. All three are in a “spirali e tagli” design.

CONVERSATION

If every pot and potter has something to say, what does this Tsukigata Nahiko have to tell us? In most of Tsukigata’s Oni-Shino pottery, there is an aggressive battle played out between the glazes and the encompassing fury of the fire. These pots have a masculine, bushi like (samurai) nature dependant on the past, but essentially timeless. The shape of the chawan hovers, raised up on it well addressed kodai, inviting it to be handled and studied. The landscaped surface bares witness to the epic struggle of its fierce battle with the anagama like a badge of honor. I suspect, this chawan has a lot to say, conversant in a differing dialogue with each individual who views it.

As I study this bowl more, I am reminded of the Zen maxim;

SHIKITOKU SUREBA SANGAKU (NO) KOTO OWARU
(“If you grasp this, your study will be complete…………”)

It will be a while before my study is complete.

You can see more pictures of this chawan over on my marketplace website;

http://www.trocadero.com/albedo3studio/items/1102675/item1102675store.html#item