Illustrated is another of those macro detail shots that
highlights the complex, diverse and even magical surfaces that Tsukigata Nahiko
was capable of through his mixture of clay, iron, ash, feldspar and fire
reminding one of a rich orchestral symphony
or the complexity, flagrance and palette of a fine wine. In this particular
case the rich iron surface has combined or coalesced in to shimmery, copper and
golden crystals that border the runny iron with small areas of ash coated
feldspar popping through to the surface. While looking at the rich, deep red
iron to purple tones of the surface these areas of intensely complexity
punctuate the surface and create small and wondrous universes circling the
cosmos of the entire chawan. Though this may be a rather bold statement, I
can't think of many potters who have created and painted so many pots with so
few materials as Tsukigata though I know there are others. But as I look closer
and closer at his work it is the balancing act of artistic singularity,
simplicity and complexity that keeps bringing me back time and time again; a
conversation so informative it is at times a rather formal lecture of what are
the possibilities.
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