Form is truly magical, whether natural or manmade, it is
responsible for everything you see from Fujiyama to the Pyramids and even you
and me. Studying form is a wondrous pastime and among pottery, a great way to
study pure form is to look at the great Chinese monochrome porcelains. They are
uncluttered, most stripped to the barest essentials and pure in their creation.
Over the years I have been influenced by a wide variety of monochrome pots
while working out different forms that I am throwing, the illustrated pot is
just such an example. This particular vase, measures just over 13" and is
part of a group of pieces that owe their genesis to a Chinese vase I saw at the
ROM many years back. Glazed in my dark, rich temmoku, the simple form called
for simple glazing in monochrome with the interior of the foot ring being
glazed in clear to add the stark contrast.
Though I have made these forms in various sizes and glazes over the
years, it is the monochrome versions that give the fullest accounting of the
form and the space which the pot commands. The simpler the pot and the glazing,
there more it is all about form and space.
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