For a number of years
while living in Plattsburgh, I was involved as a docent and research assistant
at the Rockwell Kent Gallery at SUNY, Plattsburgh. I was enamored with Kent's
painting/prints and style as well as the adventurous life he led. Among my
favorite paintings are his winter landscapes and among those, FROZEN FALLS is
my favorite. The balanced vertical element of the frozen falls against the
horizontal motion of the clouds just appeals to me on a number of levels. For
anyone who has been around dense vertical ice flows, like the one depicted in
the painting, the color of the ice is striking and etches itself into your
subconscious.
Recently, I was able to
handle a striking vase form by Iga master potter, Kishimoto Kennin. What
immediately struck me was the resemblance it had to the FROZEN FALLS painting
by Kent. The vase, made of wonderful Iga clay, is balanced with areas of hi-iro
and the face of the piece displays a running stream of bidoro in its own way, a
frozen fall created by the intense fire of an anagama rather than from canvas
and oils and a vivid imagination.
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