CLAY & INK

In looking at this E-Shino chawan and drawing rendered on the interior of the storage box lid I think it is easy to see the influence of Arakawa Toyozo in both clay and ink. This chawan was made by long time Arakawa apprentice and Mino specialist, Nakayama Naoki and his blend of his master, Momoyama archetypes and his inner voice are clearly on display with the ink rendering also paying homage to his versatile teacher. The form shows off generous and sturdy proportions which are perfect for the intended function of the bowl while the simple blushed white Shino and direct underglaze iron decoration create a mental picture that most viewers can embrace and understand. Though a simple bowl in design and execution, I have always maintained that there is a deep complexity to simplicity and the simpler the appearance the more difficult the creation where things easily go wrong and are glaringly obvious in their lack of continuity and balance, that is just not the case here. As I study this bowl it is "just so", you can second guess all of the potter's decisions but in the end, everything is just as it should be in both the clay and ink of this classic chawan.

"The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity." Douglas Horton