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?
.JPG)