RDO

Admittedly, I am a glutton for punishment. The constant testing gets tiring at point, especially as the tests batches just don't yield anything worth pursuing. On a more positive note, the constant testing or tweaking of existing glazes can yield better, richer and deeper surfaces and at times morph into rather unexpected results. Though it is a constant love/hate relationship with testing, it is both an essential and rewarding part of making pots. The illustrated close-up is of my most current Oribe glaze that I am working on yet again. After the recent tests, I am able to get a more variegated surface with a clean iridescence about the pot. Before I glaze the piece I apply a thin iron-ash glaze to the impressed decoration and then dip it into the Oribe twice, the second coat is done rather unevenly. The result end up being a richer, deeper Oribe (RDO) and the impressions and area around them are well affected by the addition of the applied glaze. On second thought, testing isn't all bad and it keeps me moving forward.

LOCATION

Illustrated is a rather simple, even straight forward guinomi by veteran Iga potter; Kojima Kenji. The piece was thrown with a slight amount of rhythm layered into the surface, a practical foot and the rest was done by knowing where and how to fire the pot, after all, location is king. It may sound simplistic and obvious but each and every pot fired in yakishime style has to have its location and form well thought out prior to and during the loading process. Any well made piece can be fired willy-nilly, but the best show that their placement was thought out as to wrestle the absolute best from both pot and firing. I have seen quite a number of pots by Kojima Kenji and for the majority of his work, it is obvious that each piece, no matter how seemingly insignificance, receives the attention it deserves to be the best it can be and this simple guinomi is no exception. As I reflect on the wood fire potters that I most admire, it is perhaps this quality that is a common denominator that sets apart those who truly understand their kiln and firing and it shows on nearly every pot that they fire.

CHOY REVISITED

I wrote about the Choy glaze that I use in earlier posts and am constantly reminded how attractive and versatile this glaze is. Illustrated is a porcelain vase that was covered in thick porcelain slip that was then swiped using an old modified credit card. The pot was then dipped in the glaze and you can see one of my finger marks where I held the pot during the process. The beauty of the Choy glaze is that it builds up and accentuates varying point of a pot adding another dimension and articulation to the piece. The slip starts the pot into motion and the Choy completes the task.

TSUKI-GATA

Illustrated is a fine scroll by Oni-Shino potter, Tsukigata Nahiko. Painting in a thinned grey ink wash, the quick and steady tsuki-gata (moon shape) enso shows the remarkable calligraphic skills of the master of clay, fire, ink and oils. Tsukigata had a remarkable way with the brush which is readily seen on his signed boxes but of couse is best manifested on paper and he has left a large body of shoga (ink art) that draws on both Buddhist and everyday aphorism and imagery for inspiration. I have seen a number of staffs (bo) and enso painted in washed out ink tones as well as rich dark black calligraphy, either way, it is easy to see his samurai-like spirit in nearly all the works he has left us.

TIMING

As I was searching through some files of videos I had shot, the same file the Hayashi chawan came from, I came across a video of a wonderful Iga chawan by the late Furutani Michio. Finding this video file on the day it was found, the coincidence and the timing was not lost on me and I decided to put up the video despite the so-so quality. I thought that a video of one of his pots in motion, trumped the overall quality which I enhanced as best I could and once again, slowed down the frame rate.

The pots of Furutani Michio were and are special, even magical and a sure case for immortality. His pots embody the spirit of past and present and his exceptional use of material and fire make his pieces among the highpoint of wood firing in Japan during the 20th century. I think you would agree, this chawan is no exception.

"Immortality is the genuis to move others long after you yourself have stopped moving."  Frank Rooney (1884-1977)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO LOW

Illustrated are two low stoneware teapots with cut handles, vitrifying slip decoration and glaze accents on the lids, handles and bases of each piece. Thrown low, sometimes too low, each was coated in black and then had layers of iron, grey and white slips applied and then when thoroughly dried, the glaze accents were applied and the pots each once fired. These are both fun and challenging to make, the surface a bit of a curiosity how to decorate that both makes sense and works well with the form. Not unlike getting the pieces parts of a teapot to all go together to create a unified piece, getting the right decoration and glazing for the pot is equal to their construction. However you look at it, each piece poses it's own unique problems and for your average potter, this is just another day at the office.

"Curiosity is as much the parent of attention, as attention is to memory."  Richard Whately (1787-1863)

SHOTARO IN MOTION @ IPTV

I had completely forgot about this short video I had made of an Aka-Shino chawan that passed through my hands. The chawan is by master Mino potter, Hayashi Shotaro and is a vivid chawan with a tremendously active surface, luscious pure white Shino additions over the red glaze and a great kodai. I admit, the video is not the best quality as it was originally taken in haste, but I have done my best to clear up the image and slow down the frame rate a bit to which I have added one of my favorite musical score, I, ROBOT by The Alan Parsons Project. I hope the video gives you an insight or perspective of what the chawan looks like in person, enjoy IPTV!

SIDELINES

I find myself sitting on the sidelines as I watch a friend, an advanced collector, decide it is time to sell off his collection. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the collection is something of a rarity having been cohesively and thoughtfully constructed around the ideals of the revival of the Momoyama aesthetic. Pots by many of the most important and elite potters of the 20th century assembled are now to go the way of the clouds; they form, they come and go, they build like a great storm and then are dispersed by the winds in all directions. I can in no way take any credit for this amazing collection though we had discussed each and every piece, prior to purchase at some length by email and hour after hour of phone time. There is a sadness, a true melancholy; once at home within the companionship of each other, conducting their own complex visual symphony, once gone, each piece will end up as a singular expression of the potter's art. In my time around Japanese art, I have seen a number of good collections built, bought, sold and dispersed, but my feeling regarding this collection is that it was a unique expression of discipline, conviction and an idea that paid homage to a particular aesthetic based on a singular idea as it related to chadogu.

Illustrated is a fiery red Aka-Shino chawan by Suzuki Osamu from the mentioned collection. It is big and bold and the decoration, glaze and form are wonderfully complimentary of each other creating a perfect chawan. This piece has special meaning to me as I was fortunate to handle it at exhibition back in the early 1990's during a stay in Japan. It is large and powerful and just about as good a pot as one can imagine from this potter and the modern Mino tradition.

(Illustration used with the permission of a private collector.)

BASKING

Illustrated is a large porcelain covered jar by NC potter, Tom Turner. The pot has a tremendous volume and has all of the trademark attributes he is known for including the double dipped ash glaze pattern. The pot sits on a shelf about two feet off the ground and when the sun is actually shining in our neck of the woods, it takes full advantage of the addition of nature, basking in the sunlight. The way the light works in the room and on the shelves creates an infinite variety of ways to see the pot and the interplay of sunlight and shadow add both animation and emotion to the piece. It is a great pot and given the environment, it always has something different to say.

"Nothing's beautiful from every point of view."   Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 - 27 BC)

OUT OF THE PAST

Illustrated is a wonderful Iga mizusashi that definitely looks like it comes right out of the past. Part Momoyama and part modern art, this pot was made by Sugimoto Sadamitsu (b. 1935) and was both carefully crafted and skillfully fired by a master of his art. Made by the coil method, the casual construction is read on the vivid surface as the "seams" of each coil add greatly to the landscape of the piece, the Iga firing then blanketing the pot in a cloak of glass from the melted ash flowing down toward the foot. The pot is finished in a rich ri-iro black lacquers lid with wonderful texture creating a visually delightful conclusion to a classic and even nostalgic mizusashi.

Sugimoto Sadamitsu is a master of not only the Iga tradition but  Raku-yaki as well. Many of his works are infused with a sense of traditional classicism yet through his method of construction, his interpretation of form and his firing methods, his pottery is unique and modern fitting well into the 400 year history of chanoyu and chadogu. Through his intense study of the original Koetsu and Chojiro styles as well as Ko-Iga, Sugimoto's works are chadogu in the truest sense of the word and it is for this specific function the he creates his chawan, mizusashi, hanaire, etc. Like many great chadogu makers before him, it is through use that his works find completion and it is for this reason that his pottery is so highly prized by chajin and collector alike.

FIFTH WHEEL

Illustrated is a simple bowl, wheel thrown and slightly squared made out of stoneware glazed in an iron glaze and the decoration applied in rutile over the surface. It was the extra from a set of four, a fifth wheel, long since having found their way to a new home and this solitary bowl was snagged by my wife and has been part of our mismatched grouping of pots that we use on a daily basis. It may be different than many in the cupboard, but this one is home none the less.

"Home interprets heaven. Home is heaven for beginners." Charles H. Parkhurst (1842-1933)

THE FOURTH

I want to take a moment and hope everyone has a wonderful July 4th. Though distinctly an American holiday, everyone who embraces the principles of living and enjoying liberty, equality and freedom can share in the experience of the nature of such a celebration. For us, today is a great day to reflect and have a semi-typical American dinner of burgers, potato salad and corn on the cob and watch INDEPENDENCE DAY. Happy Fourth of July!