THE ROCK ON IPTV

For those that have not seen the documentary, THE ROCK OF ST IVES, here it is, in three parts posted up on Youtube. Though certainly not in HD, the grainy video, often with poor sound is still an outstanding testament to Bernard Leach and the movement around him including footage of Hamada Shoji, Michael Cardew and David Leach. Well worth a watch and a great insight into a potter and pottery of the period.

THAT INCURABLE SPARK

“Book collecting is an obsession, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those that do it, must do it.” Jeanette Winterson (b. 1959)

I have been fascinated with this quote by acclaimed British writer, Jeanette Winterson. It is an insightful and very accurate perspective of the psyche of a collector, not necessarily a book collector, but any collector who has that spark, a passion for what objects they surround their lives with to nourish the mind and spirit. For me, this quote could have started out by saying; “Pottery collecting”. Over time, making pottery and living with pots has become an obsession and this obsession does not necessarily bow to reason or logic, it is an incurable spark. The owning of pots is not for me the end all of the obsession, rather it is wanting those specific pots around to study, to learn from, to converse with and maintain a meaningful dialogue with. Living with pots is the important part, the ownership is secondary as no one can really own anything, at some point, it gets passed along. It is the time you spend with these objects and what they do to help you maintain a truer path in life that is important and each and every successive owner will learn their own lessons from each object they enter into the dialogue with.

Illustrated is a large, O-Tsubo by Karatsu veteran potter, Nakatsuka Takaya. Tell me, what is not to be obsessed with?

BACKFIELD IN MOTION

I like Bizen pottery, probably as much as the next guy, but the one thing about it is at a certain level, much of the pottery looks about the same. Much of Bizen appears to be the same forms, same surfaces with very little to distinguish it from other potters and kilns. Enter a select group of Bizen potters who never fail to disappoint or impress with their exceptional knowledge of firing, wonderful forms and great and varied surfaces. One potter who fit into this group was Ningen Kokuho Fujiwara Yu (1932-2001). Though a lot of his work is on the very pragmatic end of Bizen-yaki, Fujiwara Yu is best known for his well fired tsubo and hanaire, some of which have withstood the extreme crucible of wood firing.

Illustrated is a truly exceptional hanaire by Fujiwara Yu. The surface is alive baring witness to the extremities of the firing; the ash is suspended in motion as if someone just hit the pause function on the remote. Obviously fired on its belly, the botamochi areas are surrounded by liquid tamadare runs, some ending in monumental drips of vitrous brown glass. All in all, a rather totemic form with a surface any collector or potter would be more than happy with.

HAPPY THANKS GIVING

I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. I know we (my wife and I) have much to be thankful for, thankful for work, family, friends, pottery and so much more. Also, thank you for visiting my blog. Any thoughts or input is always appreciated.


If you are taking a break from stuffing yourself to the limit, the following “editorial” is worth a read. It comes from potter, Michael Kline’s blog and is a look into a simpatico viewpoint about the “state of simplicity” (copyright!) by veteran potter, Don Pilcher;

http://michaelklinepottery.blogspot.com/2011/10/put-in-my-place.html



Illustrated is asteroid YU55 which recently passed between the Earth and the Moon. In celestial terms, this 1300 ft chunk narrowly missed the Earth through no lack of trying on the part of Klendathu. Despite assurances of astronomers, scientists and news casters (yes, you Brian Williams), I am exceedingly thankful that it missed our little planet.

MAGURO (!)

I am a huge admirer of design from the 1950’s and its spill over in the 1960s. The pottery world was just moving at a million miles an hour during those decades and many great designer and potter made not only a name for themselves, but also left a lasting impact on the field. When I think across the myriad of designer/potters of the period, I constantly go to Kyoto native potter, Shinkai Kanzan. For me, his work is all about movement and fun and you can not help but have some of the positive buzz of his works rub off on you.

Shinkai, born in 1912, made use of a wide array of materials, glazes and decoration, but one style that stands out is his “sprigged” on design work which I associate from the 1950s to 1980s. Throwing stoneware as the basis for his pots, he would then sprig on porcelain decoration encompassing a wide variety of decoration, though birds and fish appear quite often. Using a number of carved stamps, Shinkai would cut out the basic porcelain shape for his design(s) and then impress a wide array of texture to help animate the design prior to sprigging it onto the stoneware surface. He had a profound knowledge of technology and technique and was adept at marrying the two materials together and then glazing them over in a number of different glazes, many being alkaline based glazes.

Illustrated is a close up of a bowl with a sprigged on porcelain fish design with a number of textural stamps being used to bring the piece to life. Though its start was born in the 1950s, this work has a playful and timeless quality that most likely, will stand the test of time.

TIME OF YEAR

I just finished packing a commissioned personalized “utensil jar” with the name of the soon to be owner on it. Personalizing, is one of the advantages of the carved slip or black & white slip trailed work. Once this piece is mailed out tomorrow, I am completely caught up with commissions and orders for the holiday season. Last Friday was the trek to CT to deliver work out to Wesleyan Potters (and to Nick’s a cheeseburger/onion rings) and last Saturday to Syracuse to drop off work at Eureka Crafts and to pick up some clay supplies at Clayscapes. Over the past several weeks, with trips to the post office and UPS, I have either hand delivered or shipped out quite a bit of work for holiday shows, gallery orders or individual orders and commissions. There may still be some odds and ends to finish, but from past experience, mostly smaller pieces (in terra cotta) to contend with, though I do remember a year where on Nov. 21st, I received an order for dinnerware, place settings for eight. Dinner plates, luncheon plates, soup bowls and handled mugs, all in painted terra cotta and needed to arrive before Christmas, that was fun.

Though it feels rather good to be all caught up, this is the period that happens every year in Dec. and Jan., the down time. This is not to say I am not making pots, though the first week usually revolves around cleaning the studio and doing a comprehensive inventory of materials and other supplies. As winter closes in on central NY state (we received about 6” of snow today!), it is important to get any materials I may need that can freeze and freezing temperatures are just around the corner hear. The studio management can only last so long and then back to working on tests and throwing, starting slow with teabowls and moving on to covered jars, teapots and plates. I may be finished with my orders and commissions, but based on the volume of sketches and notes, I am hardly done with what I want to make. Maybe in a lifetime of two, I can finish of what I have yet to do. Iguess the down time doesn’t have much “down” in it, after all.

On a side note, now through Dec. 25 I am offering a 20% discount on any pots made by me (mostly in the #4000 series) on my Trocadero marketplace. Please come by and take a look;

http://www.trocadero.com/albedo3studio/catalog.html

Illustrated is a carved black slip porcelain bowl with a modified bloesem design.

“I feel the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.” Jonas Salk (1914-1995)

PERFECTION

It is amazing to me that the concept of perfection could be such a broad and nefarious concept that for modern pottery, it could encompass the beautiful porcelain works of a Brother Thomas and the intentionally distorted and even misshapen works of Arakawa Toyozo. How is this possible? Over time, I have come to terms with finding perfection in objects that seem diametrically opposed, but at a conceptual sub-atomic level, in fact have much more in common that it would seem. Both ends of this perfection have spent their lives pursuing the pinnacle of their vision, the one making objects based on recognized archetypes of the classical realm, the other to create objects of organic, contemplative beauty born of the Momoyama era. One may find perfection in the intellect, while the other defines its perfection through emotion. Has either of these failed to reach the lofty perfection of their craft (art)? At either end, it is the refinement of the spirit of these pots that ultimately defines their perfection.


“If a man should happen to reach perfection in this world, he would have to die immediately to enjoy himself.” Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw 1818-1885)

IPOMOEA NIL

Illustrated is a very Rimpa influenced scroll painting and a pottery platter (hachi) by noted potter Wakao Toshisada (b.1933). Born and working in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, Toshisada is one of the truly gifted Mino tradition potters and is exceptionally well known for his Rimpa inspired Shino pottery, a style that goes back to the days of Honami Ko’etsu (1558-1637, Tawaraya Sotatsu (d. 1643?), Ogata Kenzan (1163-1743) and his brother Korin (1658-1716). The water color scroll of a Japanese morning glory (ipomoea nil) is reminiscent of paintings by Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828) and his student Suzuki Kiitsu (1766-1858) who is particularly well known for his rendition of morning glories. Though it evokes comparisons to older paintings, anyone familiar with his work can see his hand in the portrayal and in the way the image fills the frame of the scroll as if he was thinking of it as a tray or platter.

This illustration of a ceramic hachi by Wakao shows how closely his paintings and pottery go hand in hand. This vivid Rimpa tray is glazed primarily in Nezumi-Shino with areas of iron slip showing through the glaze and painted gold accents to bring the design to life. It is truly wonderful to be able to see the scroll and pot side by side and get a glimpse into a potter’s creative process. Toshisada’s works are an exceptional addition to the Mino tradition and help usher the Rimpa pottery tradition well into the 21st century.

SIMPLE GOALS

“That is what I try to combine in my work; the right clay (Iga clay), the right temperature, the right fuel (wood).” A quote from Iga potter, Kojima Kenji when asked about how to achieve the correct look of Momoyama Iga-yaki.

It is a wonderful thing to have such clarity of vision and such highly thought out, yet simple goals. Kojima Kenji is a masterful potter, who’s modern Iga exudes the presence of the old (Ko-Iga) as well as the spirit of the new. His work is so casual and honest, that it born of his love and conviction to the old while living and thinking in the now.

Illustrated is a simple, yet exceptional Iga chawan by Kojima Kenji. The posture and rhythm of the bowl animate the pot and suspend it in perpetual motion.

“Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

UNE V-CUVETTE

Illustrated is a close-up of a recently fired V-bowl. I am rather fond of this particular form and it is the most thrown object I have made as a potter. Over the years, I have constantly been asked if throwing the same thing over and over again is monotonous, but how can doing something you truly enjoy be anything but fun. This particular v-bowl is glazed in my temmoku with a partridge feather iron glaze trailed over. If you look at the temmoku glaze, the background, you can see that the area is proliferated with small oilspot like effects and where gravity pulls at the trailed glaze, it is forming tendrils which are moving their way into the center of the bowl. You have to love gravity when it comes to glazes, not so much when throwing.

This V-bowl is very similiar to a bowl that I posted a video of me throwing for a previous blog entry. The video can be seen here;
http://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2011/04/iptv-throwing-v-bowl.html

“Monotany is the law of nature. Look at the monotonous manner in which the sun rises. The monotony of necessary occupations is exhilarating and life-giving.” Gandhi (1869-1948)

HAIKABURI

Illustrated is a magnificent, thrown and squared yohen-haikaburi Shira-Hagi mizusashi by Ningen Kokuho, Miwa Jyusetsu XI (1910- ). Unlike most Hagi-yaki, this monolithic form mizusashi has a wide variety of color and texture from the use of a rich iron slip under the glaze, iron over the glaze and the results of an intense wood firing in which areas of the pot have been covered with ash as well as reducing areas of the underlying slip. As much sculpture as it is tea utensil (chadogu), this pot is a tour de force by Kyusetsu and aptly depicts why the Miwa “dynasty” leads the way among all of Hagi. The real brilliance of this style of pot was succinctly pointed out as having “prioritized form over function” by Miwa Kyusetsu XII (formerly Ryosaku), son of Miwa Jyusetsu (formerly, Kyusetsu XI). Once able to break away from the convention of absolute utility, this body of work has added a new vocabulary to the Hagi tradition. Today, Jyusetsu’s works act as a new, modern archetype for anyone interested in Hagi-yaki.

(From a private American collection)

ANOTHER STARTING POINT

Here are two (okay three) formulas for very nice base glazes (Cone 9/10) that come from Cleveland State University. I am not sure if they originated there, but well before I got there, they were being used as a jumping off point for a variety of glazes by a number of students. I am also including a formula that acts as an approximate substitute for Cornwall Stone. I used the 2001 base more frequently than the 1001 base and was able to come up with a large number of Cone 9 glazes. They are dependable and worth a shot. With the right base glaze, the possibilities are nearly endless.


1001 BASE
Cornwall Stone 75
Whiting 15
Gerstley Borate 10


2001 BASE
Nephaline Syenite 33
Kaolin 15
Whiting 20
Flint 32


CORNWALL SUBSTITUTE (Approximate)
Custer Spar 67
Flint 22
Kaolin 11


Illustrated is a large severely paddled, covered mizusashi form glazed in one or another of the base glaze concoctions that I developed at CSU.


“Results! Why, man, I have gotten lots of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work. “ Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)

WHAT HE SAID

“Use has many meanings. To hold and use something on a daily basis is one meaning, but display is also another type of use. Will (one of his pieces) be a display piece, or put away as a household treasure, or be physically used as a utensil? That is up to the owner. I try to make pieces that can play any number of roles.” A quote by Matsuzaki Ken from the book BURNING TRADITION


I can’t think of any potter that I know, have met and have read about, that didn’t have exactly this thought about the pots that he/she makes. At the end of the day, how someone uses a pot, is entirely up to them. I have seen mugs used as small planters, tumblers for pencils, pitchers as vases, covered cassorles used to store misc. objects from tacks to keys and I have even seen a Kawai Kanjiro chawan being used as an ashtray (it was rescued from that use!)! The use is all up for grabs and certainly the simple act of displaying a handmade pot is probably the most useful use of them all. The beauty of the handmade on display can only brighten up ones mood and make one’s environment, that much more satisfying. Go ahead, make my day, take a mug out for coffee or tea………….

"Beauty is not caused, it is."  Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)