NARUMI

Narumi-Oribe is one of the more playful styles of Oribe where instead of a white background a reddish one is used in its place. Over the reddish background the use of iron, black and white pigments are used to decorate the surface giving way to a great number of designs in playful, whimsical and representational depictions and it is possible the style originated from a particular type of textile design and decoration from the 16th and 17th century. I find this style very engaging as it really does have an animated and whimsical feeling which can be so eloquently seen in the modern pottery of Suzuki Goro and Ikeda Syugo. While getting ready for a kiln firing recently I decided to make up a quick narumi test by mixing red iron and titanium together which I added to a thinned down porcelain slip. The resulting image shows the test which was also over painted in white slip and black pigment and glazed over in my alkaline clear while the rest of the bowl was glazed in an iron rich Oribe. Though there is always room for improvement, the appearance came out rather well for such a spur of the moment indulgence.