THROWN, PINCHED & CUT

Illustrated is large yunomi teacup that I made a while back. Taking a few cues from a famous amber glazed Ohi chawan the piece was first thrown on the thick side and then once it started firming up, I gently push it a slightly off round and pinched the form to get it into the posture I was after. I let it dry a some more and then proceeded to cut fast and very random facets down its sides. I hand tooled the piece first with a sharp piece of bamboo to get the foot I was after and then used a small loop tool to excise some clay in the form of a sharp spiral. Once bisque, I glazed the yunomi in a medium coat of my lepidolite glaze and when fired the sharp lines from the faceted broke to a lighter color creating a nice vertical distraction around the pot. Where the glaze ran the Oribe is a vivid and rich deep green, particularly the cuts around the foot and in the pool of the cup. I am constantly amazed at the versatility and variations within the different Oribe glazes I use and can only wonder, what will the next pot look like blanketed in green.

"Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure." Petrarch (1304-1374)