RAPHANUS SATIVUS

Illustrated is a classical Ayame-de Ki-Seto hachi by legendary potter, Suzuki Goro. Decorated with an incised radish design with copper accents this hachi is the epitome of timeless and Momoyama inspired pottery. There are a variety of incised designs in the ayame-de style which includes irises, radishes, kiku blossoms, turnips and several others. The complex interaction between the wet and dry surface together with the skillful and fluid rendition of the design is quite wonderfully accentuated, even puncuated with the addition of copper about the bowl. When I think of this style of work, Kato Tokuro springs immediately to mind with his superb interpretations of such Ki-Seto glazes, designs and vessels which undoubtedly set the stage for this inviting serving piece. Suzuki Goro, along with Hara Kenji, Hori Ichiro and the late Kagami Shukai have all admirably master the Ki-Seto style of pottery and follow in the footsteps of both Kato Tokuro and Arakawa Toyozo.

SLICED EARTH

I received a package from Amazon yesterday and in it was the long overdue book; YASUHISA KOHYAMA; The Art Of Ceramics. I first heard they were going to publish this book from Wakae Nakamoto (Kohyama-san's assistant), nearly a year ago and have been waiting for it to go to the publishers. A few delays worried me that in this age of disappearing books, it may not be published, but my pre-order arrived and I am pleased to say, it is a very fine book with an exceptional array of photos and essays. The essays are by Susan Jeffries, Michael Cunningham, Yoshiaki Inui and Jack Lenor Larsen and through these, you get a perspective of the artist and individual who helped pioneer the age of the modern anagama in Shigaraki Valley. The illustrations show a nice selection of works from the 1980s to present and there are pictures of Kohyama-san with Hamada as well as working, loading and firing the kiln. I was rather surprised to see two photos taken while I was working at the Iori-gama in 1993 showing Kohyama-san stoking the anagama. For any one, potter, craftsman, artist or collector, I would recommend this book, not so much as a book about a Shigaraki potter, but about the work and life of an individual dedicated to an aesthetic and an ideal, over 50 years in the making.

"The essence of  Kohyama's work is a combination of physical aesthetics and the transfer of his energy, which gives each piece a unique life of its own."   Yoshiaki Inui

Illustrated on the book, KOHYAMA YASUHISA; The Art Of Ceramics is a wonderful Shigaraki mentori-object by Kohyama Yasuhisa. The object is cut with energetic slices and the surface is covered in a wet sheen of ash from the intense anagama firing. The shoulder of this sliced earth form is further accentuated by a thicker build up of ash that accidentally (?) accentuates the cut line of the body. There is a whole lot of energy is this great little pot.

THE ZEN OF WAITING

It will come as absolutely no surprise to any potter, that making pots is as much about waiting as it is the physical act of dealing with clay. Once thrown, there is waiting on pots to set up to tool and otherwise deal with them, after this, there is waiting on pots to dry to bisque. Once bisque there is the prep work with wax, more waiting, glazing, waiting on secondary glazes and then firing the kiln where there is another wait, fraught with anxiety, waiting for the kiln to cool and be unloaded. Granted, the time spent waiting, is used for any variety of pottery tasks, or just every day normal chores, even a cup of coffee or tea, a moment with a book, a bit of television, but make no mistake, running in the background is that "waiting program" capable of creating some mental systems errors along the way. Waiting and any sense of patience has been one of the hardest parts of clay I have had to deal with and I have written about this before. As each cycle passes, the waiting becomes easier to deal with and process; there are tricks and exercises to deal, mostly keeping busy with chores, tasks, tests and the normal daily routines, but make no mistake about it, there is a Zen to waiting as almost any craftsman can attest.

Illustrated is an "ITS STILL LIFE" end table entitled; "Waiting". Partially inspired by my understanding of the act of waiting, the tiled surface is an image that allows for the viewer to creates his/her own narrative. The wood table was bought at a bare woods store and then  stained and polyurethaned and the tiles are commercially available cone 6 porcelain on which I painted the still life and later fired with clear glaze. The tiles were securely attached to the table and then grouted for years of use. The subject matter and the process to get the table completed are as much about waiting as any project I can think off.

NOT POTTERY RELATED REVISTED

I'll start off by saying, this is not a beer commercial, rather just a blogger sharing an experience with a beer. About a year or so ago we were at our local beer store, not quite in the league of those in Cleveland, but well stocked none the less. We were on a beer run for Negra Modelo, Sapporo and some Sam Adams and while looking around spotted a few beers by the Wells & Young's brewing Co. in the UK. What caught my eye was the Banana Bread Beer and we bought it on a lark and the fact that it seemed to come highly recommended. My personal love of lemon and banana flavored foods lead me to hope that this would satisfy the palette and it didn't disappoint.  At 5.2% alcohol and served very cold, the crisp banana after taste is exceptionally pleasing and I recommend this to anyone who has a similar interest. It is especially rewarding after a good work out or a long day making, throwing pots.

Illustrated is a 4-Pack of the Wells & Young's Banana Bread beer with the requisite ceramic beer glass by Ryan Bothamley, which was a gift while I was teaching at Wesleyan Potters in CT. The stoneware glass was fired in a makeshift soda kiln which was reconstructed out of an old gas kiln and a handful of fire bricks.

CHAWAN OR GUINOMI

I am particularly fond of forms that in a photo present a mystery, could it be a guinomi or a chawan. Such pieces maintain proportions that blow-up or shrink down well, as to fool the eye (and brain) into questioning their scale. This elegant bowl form, thrown perfectly out of a low fire clay with intermittent incised decoration is glazed in an alkaline clear and then had washes of iron and copper pigment skillfully placed about the pot. Because of the potter's use of classical proportions, this piece really could be a chawan or guinomi, though it is the later. This sancai influenced guinomi was made by Kato Kobei VII and has a light and airy, even refreshing quality even without any intended beverage within.

"No object is mysterious. The mystery is in your eye."  Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973)

NO ALBANY, ALBANY

In a previous post about blended glazes I mentioned my original attempts to blend existing glazes while trying to come up with a substitute for an Albany slip glaze. Illustrated is a small bottle with the results, called NAA (No Albany Albany). The bottle was white slipped and had black slip decoration under the replacement glaze. Though this looks a bit washed out from the direct light, in person it is a rather rich and deep amber with a nice, oily appearing surface. The glaze came about by combining two glazes that I had been working with at a 60/40 blend and in all honesty, the blend was nicer than either of the two glazes on their own.

KIN NOT GIN

A friend and fellow collector sent me a picture of one of his recent acquisitions the other day. This beautiful little tsubo is by Shimizu Uichi and was likely made in the late 1980s. This style of yohen iron glaze is a remarkable characteristic of Shimizu and what sets this particular pot apart from the majority of this style is that instead of taking on a silver sheen in the wood firing, this pot has a distinct and bold golden surface. The addition of the finger raked design and thick feldspar accents only accentuate the golden ground that blankets the piece. I am also rather fond of the way in which the foot was cut, leaving several distinctive, sharp lines that further enliven the pot and add to its sense of rhythm which seems very much at home next to the massive Uraguchi tsubo in the background.  Both pots born of iron in their glazes, both so distinctly different.

KINTSUGI

I have written about kintsugi, gold lacquer repairs before, but I am struck at the varying approach to repairs from East to West. In the West many broken pots are discarded and those that are saved, the repairs or restoration is done in such a way as to mask, hide or fool the eye into thinking there is no damage. This approach is diametrically opposed to the manner in which Japanese pottery repairs are made. The kintsugi technique, not only reassembles the pot, but it highlights, even celebrating the repair. The piece, now repaired, is in a way reborn into a new pot, having a new personality and certainly a new appearance. The technique not only reassembles the pieces, but at times, it is necessary to "fabricate" missing pieces to complete the puzzle.

Illustrated is a rather fine Oribe mizusashi that had a large portion of the lip damaged, completely pulverizing the pieces. The restorer was left with little but ceramic dust to work with, but a two inch long, jagged wound needed repair. Using some magic filler, the area of the damage was first sanded and cleaned and then the repair built to mimic the original area. Once completed and sanded, the surface was coated in lacquer and gold dust powder was applied. The end result is a new pot, born out of certain tragedy and saved for future generations. For future reference, it would seem next to impossible to over-pack any pottery you intend on shipping, just a thought for the day.

FUJI-SAN

Illustrated is a colorful oil painting by Oni-Shino pioneer, Tsukigata Nahiko. I thought it would make an excellent counterpoint to his ceramic works and show the diversity of an artist, many considered the "Picasso of Japan". The canvas is a particularly vibrant work with a festive array of color and broad strokes. This work is only a medium size oil for Tsukigata and though I am unsure of the exact date, I believe it was painted between 1985 and 1989 and one can certainly see the influences of Van Gogh and Umeharu Ryosaburo in his work.

OFF SCRIPT

I illustrated a previous post with a hand tooled/carved foot recently that is a personal evolution in dealing with feet on teabowls. At one time, a one size approach was how I dealt with feet by tooling them on the wheel, conventionally, but going off script has its perks. The off the wheel approach gives quite a bit more freedom to accentuate and compliment the form. The illustrated teabowl is from that group that I later hand tooled the feet. On the wheel, it was heavily paddled, creating its own unique personality and later, once bisque, I poured some gray and white bisque slips over the bowl. The whole then was glazed in the saffron iron yellow glaze. The contrast of varying shades of saffron and the paddled texture add movement to the teabowl and bring the eye round and round the pot. I am thinking after I make a thousand or more, I may get the hang of this style.

"Doctrine is all very well, I suppose, but it seems better to me to broaden your scope and be able to act with complete freedom. "  Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959)

WHAT IS A MASTERPIECE?

I opened up a dictionary this morning to look up the definition of "masterpiece", there were no words, only this picture. What else could anyone possible say?

(Illustrated is a large Meihin Hagi Chawan by Miwa Jyusetsu)

HAPPY FORTH OF JULY

"Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty."  Thomas Jefferson

"Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have." Harry Emerson Fosdick