STOPPED UP

To anyone who has seen or read my blog, it will come as no surprise that I am very influenced by the pottery (and philosophy) of Kawai Kanjiro. His ability to manipulate space through his forms and then ply them with beautiful surfaces is nothing short of wondrous and from my perspective, he is at the very panicle of pottery making in the 20th century. Among his forms that I am extremely fond of are his bottles with stoppers, very much like decanters and maybe just a bit like "genie" bottles. Over the years I have made a wide array of genie bottles, whisky bottles, decanters or whatever you wish to call them, with stoppers where the lid creates a nice gap above the mouth of the pot. Though I am influenced by Kawai, I have tried to make my own thing using the idea and think they have come out as part of my own vocabulary. It is a difficult road to travel where you are influenced but a potter without making copies of their pots.

Illustrated is a whisky bottle with a thrown stopper glazed in my lepidolite Oribe with black slip decoration around the belly of the pot, at the mouth and on the stopper. The goal was to make a bottle that fit comfortably in the hand, held a generous amount of liquid and still felt good in the hand. The stopper together with the broad cap, keeps the contents safe and sound and ready to be enjoyed; is there anything more fitting than serving Jack Daniels in an Oribe bottle?