HIDASUKI

Illustrated is a large tsubo by Tamba veteran, Ichino Etsuo. Made sometime around 1992 the face of the piece was actually the bottom of the pot while it was being fired, resting on its belly with straw underneath to create the hidasuki style cord markings that look like they have been framed by hiiro and other ash effects. Though this tsubo has a lot in common with the other Ichino Etsuo pot I post a while back, the surface of this is less controlled and shows the nature and ferocity of the fire contained within a wood kiln with a strong, rich coating of ash running across the back of this pot. Over the years I have not seen a lot of Etsuo's work, perhaps two dozen pieces from chawan, mizusashi and tsubo but each one has a strong and simple form accentuated by experience and intuition when using nothing more than clay and flame to create and paint his works.