ODDS AGAINST

I wonder how many of you have read the book or seen some movie version of Jules Verne's' AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAY? The reason I ask is at times that is exactly how long it feels like for a pot to arrive once I have been notified it has shipped. It doesn't matter if the pot is for my wife and I, something to research or sell or a pot sent by a friend so that I can study it, the waiting is always the hardest, wrought with anxiety until the piece or pieces arrive here safely. Pottery is after all fragile and packing varies from sender to sender.

The reason that this has become a current topic is that a package was mailed out from Japan a while back and became a 44 day odyssey of misdirection and misadventure and though I have no proof, I think it also made its way to the International Space Station during its journey. The package was brought to the Japan Post and everything went smoothly until it was time to board a plane for the next part of the journey. The package was of course traceable and was updated as, "origin post is preparing shipment" which in the past has meant the piece was being loaded on to an aircraft but in this case, it just lingered with days turning in to weeks. Both the sender and I set about trying to trace the package but there were no results at which time an insurance claim was initiated.

Then, out of the blue, this past Friday, our local post office called and said there was a package for us and could we please come and pick it up because it was very badly damaged. My wife picked it up on her way home for lunch calling me to let me know the package appeared to have been run over by something and was soaking wet to boot. Once she arrived we set about taking pictures of the crushed and water logged package that was shrink-wrapped with notices from the USPS stating how sorry they were that the package was damaged in their care. We carefully unwrapped the package while documenting the condition and were 110% sure the contents had to be beyond recognition or salvage. The first thing we removed was a small cardboard box that was soaking wet but intact and unwrapped the ceramic and lacquer lids, both in excellent condition, next we removed the main contents that was wrapped in a thick layer of large bubble, bubblewrap and it was also dripping wet. We carefully removed the bubblewrap to find the wood box not only bone dry but also in perfect condition and as we unpacked the mizusashi it came out just as it was made in perfect condition.

Truth be told given how long the package was missing we were hoping it would never show up as we were certain that it would be destroyed and quite frankly, neither of us wanted to see that. We tried figuring out the odds of the two lids, the wood box and the pot all arriving intact and it would seem to be about 1 in 96,000. Maybe it is true, a journey of 7000 miles does in fact begin with the first step, great packing and a tracking number.

A THEORY OF RELATIVITY

I recently was able to complete a trade for a pot that I had wanted for quite some time and was  exceptionally surprised to get the better end of the deal. Well, let me clarify that, to me, I got the better end of the deal, not necessarily so from the person I traded with who has exactly the same viewpoint regarding what they received. It is somewhat paradoxical that a piece that I so highly regard can be just another "ordinary" pot to another, I guess it is just relative to what you like and respond to for whatever reason. Offered here is a theory of relativity as it applies to "stuff", in the end, we both got exactly what we wanted and in a perfect world, that should always be the outcome. A very similar event happened recently on a Japanese website, a pot that I found incredible (and beyond our price range) was listed and I was sure by the next morning it would be sold, it was not, Morning after morning passed and it was still there, to us very frustrating and as irritating as anything else. It took quite a few months to sell and it just seemed to defy logic how anyone else who would encounter the pot didn't see it exactly as we did. I have long since concluded that perception and experience are as different from individual to individual as is our idiosyncratic genetic profiles.

I know I have touched on this subject before on my blog but simply put, there are times that I am just amazed at the great disparity in how people value things, to me a treasure and to someone else, just another "thing". It is not exactly "one man's treasure is another man's trash", but honestly there is no rational explanation for this phenomena and luckily so. If everyone wanted exactly the same "stuff" it would be very, very difficult and prohibitively expensive for most collectors to collect, I am certain that the needed diversity of interest is exactly what keeps the earth spinning around the sun, so much for Copernicus' theory.

Illustrated is a solitary and noble sunlit Iga vase by Furutani Michio. I had set the vase on a shelf while I was photographing another pot and nature did the rest of the work.

"This perception of division between the seer and the object that is seen, is situated in the mind. For those remaining in the heart, the seer becomes one with the sight."  Ramana Marharsi

EXPLORING THE OPTIONS

Illustrated is another Shino slip pot, this time a robust teabowl with a runny ash glaze on the interior and part of the exterior. Once the bowl was dipped in the Shino slip, the exterior was dipped twice, rather quickly to get two thin coats built up in an attempt to control the running, I was hoping to keep the original dipping line intact and luckily it turned out as I hoped. I have tried a number of combos with the Shino slip as a base as a means to explore the options but I have found various ash and even Shino glazes to be more to my taste than some of the pairings, some of which are just terrible. Never forget, what has been seen can not be unseen.

PALE BLUE MONDAY

Illustrated is the interior of a chawan by modern Mino potter; Kato Toyohisa (b.1962). Kato refers to the style of glaze as Murasaki(no)Shino and it appears to be based on a slightly cobalt richer Nezumi-Shino; though the way the pot is glazed is aggressive and modern, it is built on the best features of the tradition, making his pottery speak out. The glaze has a wet, soft appearance and is infused with a myriad of white speckles and ringed in hues of iron blushes around the mikomi and up the walls of the bowl, settling into a rich ring defining the lip. The smooth variations of the glaze are timeless and create an evocative landscape that is both hard to leave and even harder to forget.

"Recollection is the only paradise from which we can not be turned out."   Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825)

SPRING AHEAD

What is more fitting for the first day of Spring than to spring ahead and think of fall. Illustrated is a elementally Rimpa style chawan by Wakao Toshisada with falling leaves drifting about the surface of the bowl. Using his Nezumi-Shino as the basis for the chawan, silver, iron red and white leaves decorate the bowl and move about the surface that bring us to reminisce about Fall which as we know comes fast enough. A single leaf can be seen peering over the lip of the chawan as Wakao makes full use of his ceramic canvas in a simple and minimal manner. Using flora, fauna and other natural device, each and ever Rimpa style bowl that Wakao Toshisada makes conjures up memories and endless possibilities to come.

"The past like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities."   Stephen Hawking

GREEN BAMBOO

I like making these larger yunomi-teabowls as there is something enjoyable in the repetition, throwing and  the challenge in the decoration. The form can easily be manipulated by adjusting the taper/ flare of the bowl and by moving the bisecting ridge in either direction up or down. As for the decoration and surface, the possibilities are nearly endless as I have been making these bowls since about 2000 or so and have yet to run out of ideas. This particular teabowl has an underglaze black decoration that creates a certain sense of movement under one of my Oribe glazes; I feel the decoration compliments the piece but I guess I need you to be the judge of that.

"We judge ourselves by what we are capable of doing, others judge us by what we have done."     Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

TWO FOR THE ROAD

On Saturday a package arrived from a retired collector who wanted me to sell two pots for him. The first pot is a wonderful if slightly bruised published koro by Kishimoto Kennin (which was illustrated on my blog previously) and a totemic exhibition piece by Iga renaissance man, Ohira Kazumasa. The Ohira vase is large at over 15" tall and has a great surface and landscaped feel to the form with incised and added ginirodori decoration that flashes from copper to silvery gold hues. Ohira Kazumasa is a man of many talents. Garden designer, sculptor,  mural designer and potter, the Iga native is concerned with the best way to use his materials as well as being highly considerate of how his work impacts an environment in which it is placed. His works have been exhibited widely through gallery and museum shows and his works published in Japan and abroad including in volume 51 of the 100 volume set; TOH. Though the koro and vase are very different for each other, they share a common thread in that both were singled out by the potters for exhibition and as such, both presents the best work of not only the artist but the styles that each represents

You can see more photos of the Ohira and Kennin at my Trocadero marketplace or specifically by following these links;

http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1289194/item1289194store.html

http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1289193/item1289193store.html

BRIGHT LIGHTS, DIFFERENT PICTURES

I am constantly amazed at how differently an object can look depending on the type of camera, light source and filters that may be used, though I think the biggest unintentional differences spring from variations due to various light sources. I know when photographing the pottery I make the is a tremendous difference from florescent, tungsten and natural sunlight and I always tell customers, take the pot out doors and look at it, that light brings out all kinds of variations that 'studio" shots can only hint at. The digital camera I use has adjustments for eight light sources as well as filters which i use to try to create an image that looks like a pot does when I am looking at it in ambient lighting. My intent whether photographing my work or a pot by another potter is to try to stay as true as possible to what a person can expect when looking at the piece in hand. That is the very best I can try for.

Illustrated is an exceptional Aka-Shino chawan by Tamaoki Yasuo. This chawan is a classic, Momoyama inspired bowl with a rich surface and painterly variations which paint a vivid landscape, this is the beauty that is Shino. The wonderful thing about glazes is that depending on how they are photographed or displayed, that can take on a multitude of appearance and the illustration shows how the piece looks in just two varying light sources. In the catalogue photo, the red is vibrant and dominating and in my photo, taken using tungsten bulbs with a tungsten correcting filter, the color is less intense and closer to what the bowl looks like in person, though in reality, the truth is it is somewhere in between the two. It is easy to get the bowl more red, just adjust the lighting, but best to have the bowl appear as it does, just the way the potter made it.

FINGER PRINTED DETAIL

It was pointed out to me that the Shino slip and ash serving bowl photo didn't blow up very well and they were curious what the piece looked like in greater detail. I took a shot of the pot that shows the interesting interplay between the two glazes and the details of the lug where the underlying Shino slip cracks to define the attachment and creates a surface filled with a vivid landscape of affects. Also highlighted is the iron blushed halo around the area where my fingerprints acted as a resist while glazing the pot. Though a simple glazing job overall, there is a wide array of details and accents that help animate the piece and make a functional pot that much more interesting to use.

"Men who wish to know the world must learn about it in its particular details."  Heraclitus of Ephesus (535-446 BCE)

TWO BLUE

Though known for his kinrande and kinsai techniques,  NIngen Kokuho Kato Hajime (1900-1968) is perhaps one of the most versatile artist potters of the 20th century. His ability to make traditional pottery like Bizen, Shigaraki, Seto and many others was balanced with his outstanding techniques and abilities in varying porcelain styles, Persian blue and a wide array of Chinese influenced pottery. Few can match the technical and aesthetic diversity of Kato Hajime and fewer yet the grace, charm and elegance of his pottery which span the classical, traditional and modern idioms of contemporary ceramics.

Illustrated is a decorative tile made by Kato Hajime depicting two large Persian blue glazed tsubo with underglaze black decoration done in a Chinese style. These tsubo are perhaps meant to represent pots made by the potter himself as similar pieces can be seen in several sketches that he has left behind showing the wide array of ideas, documented pieces and pots he was yet to make over a lifetime of making pottery and testing new waters.

PACKED TO TRAVEL II

STEP ONE; STARTING WITH A PIECE OF BUBBLE WRAP BIG ENOUGH TO COVER THE POT FROM TOP TO BOTTOM AND ENTIRELY AROUND THE POT. IF POSSIBLE, DUE TO EXTRA ROOM IN THE WOOD BOX, 2 SHEETS OF BUBBLE WRAP CAN BE USED TO PROTECT THE POT

 

STEP TWO; BEFORE WRAPPING THE POT IN THE SHEET OF BUBBLE WRAP, USE A FOLDED STRIP OF BUBBLE WRAP TO GO AROUND THE CENTER OF THE POT. THE CENTER OF THE POT IS THE AREA MOST LIKELY TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE WOOD BOX AND THIS ADDS AN EXTRA SECURITY LAYER TO THIS WIDEST PART OF THE POT. LIKEWISE, THE FRAGILE NECK/ MOUTH OF A POT CAN ALSO RECEIVE THE SAME TREATMENT.

 

STEP THREE; WRAP THE STRIP OF BUBBLE WRAP AROUND THE POT FOLLOWED BY THE SHEET TO ENTIRELY SURROUND THE POT. USE TAPE TO SECURE THE BUBBLE WRAP IF NEEDED

 

STEP FOUR;  CUT TWO LONG STRIPS OF BUBBLE WRAP AND PLACE ONE FROM NOTH TO SOUTH AND THE OTHER FROM EAST TO WEST OVER THE OPENING OF THE BOX. BY USING THE STRIPS OF BUBBLE WRAP AS SHOWN IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PREVIOUSLY WRAPPED POT, THERE IS NOW A MINIMUM OF TWO LAYERS OF BUBBLE WRAP AROUND THE POT WITH THREE LAYERS AT THE EXTRA STRIP USED AROUND THE CENTER OF THE POT

 

STEP FIVE; TAKING THE POT WHICH IS WRAPPED IN BUBBLE WRAP, PUSH THE POT INTO THE BOX AND PUSH SLOWLY AND EVENLY, DEPRESSING THE CROSSED STRIPS OF BUBBLEWRAP WHICH WERE OVER THE BOX OPENING

 

STEP SIX; FOLD THE SHEETS OF BUBBLE WRAP OVER THE TOP OF THE POT, THIS CREATES 4 LAYERS OF BUBBLE WRAP OVER THE TOP OF THE POT FOR EXCELLENT PROTECTION

 

STEP SEVEN; TAKING FOUR ROLLED UP SHEETS OF BUBBLE WRAP, PUSH THEM INTO EACH CORNER, ONCE COMPLETED, THIS WILL HOLD THE POT INTO THE CENTER OF THE WOOD BOX AND HELP PREVENT ANY MOVEMENT OF THE POT AGAINST THE WOOD BOX DURING TRANSIT

 

STEP EIGHT; CONTINUE PUSHING THE FOUR ROLLED UP SHEETS OF BUBBLE WRAP INTO EACH CORNER UNTIL THEY FIT TIGHT AND THE POT IS SECURED WITHIN THE BOX

 

STEP NINE; TAKING TWO SHEETS OF BUBBLE WRAP, ROLL EACH INTO A LONG ROLL AND BENDING EACH INTO AN "L" PUSH THE BUBBLE WRAP "L" INTO THE OPEN SPACE AROUND THE NECK OF THE POT

 

STEP TEN; CONTINUE PUSHING THE BUBBLE WRAP "L" AROUND THE OPEN SPACE AROUND THE NECK OF THE POT SO THAT YOU HAVE FILLED THE EMPTY SPACE AROUND THE NECK AND MOUTH OF THE POT AND THE POT CAN NOT MOVE

 

STEP ELEVEN; ANOTHER VIEW OF THE BUBBLE WRAP "L" AROUND THE OPEN SPACE AROUND THE NECK OF THE POT

 

STEP TWELVE; TAKING A SHEET OF BUBBLE WRAP, FOLD IT AND PLACE IT ON TO OF THE POT TO PROTECT THE POT FROM CONTACTING THE TOP OF THE WOOD BOX,THIS WILL ALSO FILL ANY EXISTING SPACE LEFT IN THE BOX. FOLD THE PAPER OVER THE TOP OF THE BUBBLE WRAP AND PLACE ON THE LID AND PROCEED TO TIE THE BOX SHUT.

 

THE FINISHED PACKAGING.  A GENTLE SHAKE CONFIRMS THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO MOVEMENT WITHIN THE BOX AND THE ENTIRE PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH TOOK LESS THAN 10 MINUTES. THE WOOD BOX IS NOW READY TO BE BUBBLE WRAPPED AND PLACED IN A BOX WITH EITHER STYROFOAM PEANUTS OF TIGHTLY PACKED NEWSPAPER AND ALSO SECURED SO THAT THE BUBBLE WRAPPED WOOD BOX CAN NOT MOVE WITHIN THE CARDBOARD SHIPPING BOX.

IF THE POT HAS  A LID, I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST PACKING THE BODY OF THE POT AS SHOWN AND PACKING THE LID IN BUBBLE WRAP AND PUTTING IT IN A SEPERATE SMALL BOX TO BE PACKED INTO THE LARGER CARDBOARD BOX FOR FINAL SHIPPING. THIS PREVENTS THE LID FROM "BANGING" AGAINST THE POT DURING SHIPPING AND DAMAGING THE CONTENTS. I CREATED THIS TUTORIAL AT THE REQUEST OF SEVERAL COLLECTORS AND A DEALER IN JAPAN, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO PACK BUT OVER THE YEARS IT HAS PROVEN TO BE SUCCESSFUL FOR ME AND HOPEFULLY IT WILL DO THE SAME IF YOU DECIDE TO USE IT. HAPPY PACKING!

 

 

 

 

SITTING PRETTY

Illustrated is a knob, sitting pretty on top of a mizusashi by veteran Iga potter, Imai Yasuhito (B.1937). Featured in the GENDAI CHATO TAIKAN among a wide array of other books and catalogues, Imai founded and works at his Renzan-gama studio making classic and traditional Iga pottery which has a very feudal feel to his work. This simple and well fired pot has a knob that speaks of function while being classically dressed as a result of an exceptional firing. I have seen a number of Imai Yasuhito's pottery and each is a blend of medieval archetype with a modern sensibility and a very idiosyncratic firing. I can't say you get the full story from a picture of a lid and it's knob but after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

FINGER PRINTED

Illustrated is another serving bowl using a Shino slip with an ash glaze over. It is a practical shape with heavy lugs and meant for everyday use; a simple form for a simple function and geared more for a small gathering than a large one. I enjoyed the way the rich red slip shows through like finger prints where I held the bowl to dip it in an ash glaze and was pleasantly surprised by the halos that appeared around the finger marks though I am not 100% sure what created them. I enjoy making straight forward and functional pieces, there are great rewards for knowing that my pots are being used and are part of the new owners simple daily routines. I read a statement a long while back about a mug that could save the world, perhaps it was truly meant to be a humble bowl.

"Form follows function, that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union." Frank Lloyd Wright