FIRST QUARTER

Illustrated is a large Shigaraki tsubo by veteran potter, Otani Shiro. Fired to create soft textures of tsuchi-aji and hi-iro, the tsubo has a soft, noble and contemplative nature to it as it sits at home in his studio. The transitional band between the blond clay texture and the reddish orange hi-iro shows delicate and wispy bands of varying colors before each yield to the dominate tones on either side of the tsubo.  Reminding me of the first quarter moon, this tsubo is one of those perfect pots that fits into a sense of pathos and poetic lyricism that is one of the essential elements of Japanese art. There is no pot so cherished as a simple pot that is filled with tension, emotion and dialogue and it is Otani Shiro's experience that creates such fine tuned simplicity.

"Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it." James Baldwin (1924-1987)