HNY

KARATSU WASH

I am not that familiar with the painter and print artist Akizuki Akira (b. 1923) but I do know that I was drawn in to this ink wash painting (?) of a rather simple tsubo. The use of soft washes and shadowed bottom and highlighted neck and mouth create a rather lyrical image of a typical E-Garatsu style pot. The simple addition of the iron decoration on the face of pot done in a darker brown/black ink which at the very least captures the heart and nature of a simple, humble Karatsu tsubo. Perhaps what interests me most is how these various 2-D artists perceive the "essence" of pottery and then manages to present their understanding of the piece in a different format. In recent years there have been a number of pottery enthusiast artists, most notably Daniel Kelly and Joel Stewart who create both paintings and prints showing off the beauty of traditional Japanese pottery and like them, Akizuki has made quite a few works with pottery as a main focus showcasing what it is that the pot says to him and through his work to each and every viewer.

JUST SHINO

I was searching for a photo yesterday in response to a conversation I was having with a distant collector and near the photos in question was this lone jpeg of a rich, red Shino covered jar. This covered jar was made by Bill Klock back in the 90s and was one of a group of pots I picked up while working with him at Plattsburgh State and his studio, several of which were given off to several very gracious patrons that I had back at that time. With some luck, this pot stayed with Mindy and I and made its way from Cleveland, through numerous moves and is still with us here in the Mohawk Valley. Bill loved Shino along with temmoku and ash in which a great number of his pots were glazed and this jar shows the influences of his stay in Korea with impressed and inlaid devices around the pot. It is a straight forward, almost simple pot that was made with function in mind without ever overlooking pleasing the eye as well. The Shino was used somewhat thin showing off the decoration and throwing marks which in turn makes for a rather fiery red surface. In truth despite all the years I spent around Bill, I have far fewer pots by him than one would expect and certainly far fewer than I would like and this may be just a simple Shino covered pot but to me it is equal parts of inspiration, standard and a perpetual reminder of a mentor and friend.

SEASON'S GREETINGS

CLASSIC CINEMA

I stumbled on a group of a dozen or so slideshow videos that I had made when I first started making slideshows, there is a nice group of pots from Kumano, Tsukigata, Yamato Yasuo and several Hori Ichiro among others. I decided to put up this early slideshow video of a very nice Shino chawan by one of my favorites, Hori Ichiro, a classic piece by him with just wonderful glaze quality. As you can see in the video, the bowl is broad and has a strong form with an excellent interplay between the white of the feldspar and the rust hue of the iron which has glimpses of iridescence. In truth, this is a very visually appealing bowl which is equally so in person, having just enough manipulation of the form to feel at home in the hands and resting in the palm, I am hoping this slideshow "classic" gives one the sense of what the bowl has to say.

SINGLED IN

Recently a fellow collector sent me a link to a Tsukigata Nahiko piece as he thought it may be of interest though he suggested I may already have too many pieces by this potter.  Of course I thanked him for the link but I also added, what is too many pieces? The truth is that we actually don't own many Tsukigata pots, most of the photos I have shared come from other people's collection or are photos I find in old book or on the internet here and there. However, I keep coming back to the question, what is too many pots by a single potter and my mind goes to collectors and collections built around a single individual from Picasso to Utagawa Kuniyoshi, from the sculpture of Gaston Lachaise to the pottery of Warren MacKenzie or the etchings of Albrecht Durer. It would seem that collecting an "individual" or more succinctly an individual's work is rather common and makes for an in-depth and the broadest understanding of the artist possible. I suspect the fellow collector may have in part been a bit sarcastic (in a good way) knowing a bit about my temperament but I have concluded when dealing with potters like Kumano, Furutani Michio, Tsukigata Nahiko and a few others, when can you have too many pieces, as long as each work is unique, doesn't duplicate a piece in the collection and makes its own bold and empowered statement than I am all for bringing another pot in the house.

Illustrated is a detail shot of a Tsukigata Nahiko mizusashi that I handled somewhat recently. Enclosed in its original box entitled; Oni-Shino Mizusashi with its fitted silk shifuku, this pot is as far afield from what one normally thinks of as Oni-Shino with areas of thick ash, deep, rich iron and thick feldspar plains. This particular rmizusashi is enclosed in a coat of thick Shino with ash covering the surface creating areas of translucent green over the white base adding tones of blue-grey and ash crystals across the entire piece. Interspersed about the pot are fissures created by the tension and weight of the glaze which allows the rich accumulated ash to paint these crevices to maximum affect and further activating the pot for the fullest dramatic presentation that a thick, viscous white glaze can muster. Given the serene and austere nature of this surface who would pass up such a pot simply because they already have a mizusashi or even ten.

JUTLAND

I mentioned these teapots a while back when I wrote about a sloop influenced t-pot. In this case here is a pair of Jutland influenced teapots that are loosely based on the battleships of WW 1 with the spout as naval gun and each decorated in camouflage of the period. Each of these fully functional piece, made a number of years back started life as simple thrown stoneware cylinders without bottoms and then they were compressed oval, cut, darted and assembled into these forms with handles and spouts added and flowing stoppers completing the package. Back when I was making these pieces there was also a set of four, two pairs of teapots, one representing the Royal Navy under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and the other the Imperial German Navy under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, each set distinctly decorated to create opposing forces of one of the greatest sea battles in history. Being a huge history buff, my primary major in college, it was fun creating these sets based on a historical sea battle though I doubt without some narrative or explanation the inspiration would necessary spring to mind and that is just fine as well but a little back story doesn't hurt either.

"What is history but a fable agreed upon?" Napoleon Bonaparte

OLD IS NEW

As I look at this vase, the stocky, purposeful form reminds me of many of the older kinuta forms of the late Edo period but with a few modern additions. Created by Iga potter, Imura Mitsuo, this particular mallet vase has just the right amount of taper to the shoulder and then from the neck base to the mouth to interest the eye and get one interested in the form. When the depressed shoulder region is added together with the very nice firing, the pot is brought to life, animated and complete as a functional and aesthetic piece. The wonderful waterfall of ash effect paints the face of the pot, essentially orienting its display but also adding a sense of the vertical to an otherwise compact and sturdy form, lastly as you add in various surface texture, the "crumbly" effects around the shoulder and mouth and this Iga vase has all the bells and whistles it needs to entertain the viewer. It is a simple wood fired pot at its core but when you give it the time, stop, look and listen it is clear that Imura made a pot that skillfully balance form, function and his art to the best possible affect.

GOLDEN FORM

I have mentioned my fondness for books covering older modern Japanese pottery and truth be told, I also like pots that cover the breath of the Showa era very much. The illustrated vase is a classic piece made toward the end of the Showa era, sometime in the 1980's by Kyoto potter, Suzuki Kenji (1935-2010). Suzuki Kenji came from a pottery family including his brother Suzuki Takuji and his father Kiyoshi was a distinguished potter who favored sometsuke and enamel work who taught his two sons his craft. Kenji had a profound sense of mastery of form and glazes and this particular vase has a rather clever and intriguing form which is then glazed over in a pale, golden brown to sea-foam style glaze with crisp decoration done in over-glaze gold. The streaked glaze and gold over-glaze match very well together and accentuate the novel form which despite is angles is all about pure utility with a hint of Suzuki Kenji's international and Kyoto based perspectives and influences.  At the end of the day it is quite easy to see this vase put to good use for flowers or taking up a favorite space as a nice display piece, the choice is yours.

A different version this time around;

I DON'T EVEN LIKE FISH

I don't think I have mentioned this before nor do I doubt anyone cares, but I don't really like fish. Cooked fish that is, I have never responded well to fish all the way back to school and fish-stick Fridays, there is something about the smell and texture that I just am not a huge fan of though I do happen to like sashimi and sushi. That being said, I find it odd that from day one, it seemed quite natural to paint, carve and slip-trail fish on bowl, plates, platters and trays as part of what I suppose is a tradition going back many centuries especially among slip-trail potters. Though I work with several fish designs, they come out rather differently using different technique such as slip-trailing, carving, stenciled and painted making for rather diverse imagery from terra cotta to porcelain, slipware to underglaze cobalt decoration and everything in between. The illustrated fish bowl was decorated rather quickly with a basic preconceived design and then various devices like the spirals are added to help fill the space and further articulate the design. As I said, I don't even really like fish but somehow they continue to find their way on to my plate no matter what I do.

CLASSICAL CONTEXT

I know I will end up sounding like a very broken record, but I love getting older books on modern Japanese pottery. There is a perspective and insight that you miss when you simple see a singular contemporary photo in a book recently published, in the older books you see a wide array of pottery, all produced in and around when the book was published. This affords the viewer a glimpse in to the time and temperament at a given moment in time which creates a context of what was happening and how each potter made their way while working and not necessarily being totally aware of everything that was taking place before the advent of the internet and books, magazines and catalogues flooding the scene.

The attached illustration is from a small jiten, encyclopedia style book from Showa 48 (1973), written by founder of Kuroda-Toen, Kuroda Ryoji, a ceramics expert and author of numerous books including  CLASSIC STONEWARE OF JAPAN; Shino and Oribe  as well as SHINO (Famous Ceramics of Japan series), both in English and many others in Japanese. Though a grainy b/w photo, the power of the tsubo shows through the illustration and is by the father of modern Tokoname pottery, Ezaki Issei. Ezaki's early body of work served as  a standard and a new archetype for the revival of modern Tokoname ware through not only his own pottery but through his pupils as well, most notably, Takeuchi Kimiaki and Osako Mikio. The direct use of clay, forms and firing techniques helped breath a sense of vitality back into Tokoname classical stoneware pottery and a tradition that was for a century better known for water pipes than a medieval tradition.

I think it is safe to say that this essential and practical pot heralds back to earlier times, fortified with a strength and perhaps a tiny bit of ego to continue a nearly lost tradition in to the modern age. This simple pot is a stalwart addition to the various traditions re-imagined and reinvented during the 20th century of which Tokoname owes a debt to pots just like this one made by a potter determined to adhere to certain classical tenets that find their roots all the way back to the birth of the regional styles seen in the ancient Sueki wares.

CONNECTIONS X 3

I think it is rather safe to say that by looking at this vase it would be rather hard to draw a connection to Ningen Kokuho, Kondo Yuzo but if you could or did, it would be a very safe bet. This haiyu, ash glazed and wood fired vase was made by Takayama Koh (b. 1943) who studied with Kondo Yuzo early on in his career but also spent time at the studio of Kamoda Shoji where he learned more about  sculpture and form and was also introduced to the wide array of pottery that was made at his workshop. If you add to Takeyama's exposure to Kondo and Kamoda that he later became rather interested in Nanban style pottery and went and worked at Tanegashima for a year, you get a fuller picture of the influenced that go in to his pottery. Looking at this particular pot, it is easy to spot the influences of Kondo's porcelain vase forms with the addition of creating marks in a way that Kamoda was well known for. The rich ash glaze matches well with the brick red clay which is very similar to some of his Nanban pottery pieces and his unglazed and wood fired Komainu sculptural. There is no way to dispute that every artist and craftsman is an amalgam of teachers, historical influences, life experiences and preferences but it is the those that walk along their own path with their own voice that many times have the most to say and this simple, even humble vase has plenty to say preferably in a two sided conversation.

JUST ANOTHER GLAZE

Illustrated is a paddled stoneware cap jar glazed over in a simple Albany slip* glaze composed of just three materials. Once the pot was thrown, using a 1" x 4" scrap piece of wood that is heavily carved, the smack down begins being just careful enough to not destroy the pot. The pot is also carefully rethrown using a rib on the interior to create a pot that is mostly round again resembling it original thrown form. The Albany glaze is more of less transparent though where it pools areas of iridescence and deep, dark areas appear accentuating every nook and cranny. I have always loved this glaze which I believe I got from Val Cushing back in the early 90s, it bears a strong resemblance if not some of the spirit of the old Korean faceted honey jars and to aspects of Bernard Leach's pieces. Though I would like to think this is distinctly my pot, it goes without saying that there is a bit of the people I have studied with in the past as well as numerous historical antecedents in each and every pot that I make.

(*I should mention that this glaze is made using actual Albany slip not a substitute. I have tried replicating Albany slip using a variety of published, known and personal experimentations formulas but to my eye, none hold the quality, character and depth of the real thing. Use it wisely and sparingly and you will find there is still Albany slip out there if you search carefully from ex-potters, estates, etc and if you can try the real thing, I think you will see exactly what I am saying. Good luck!)

 

INCOMING VIII

Recently I had a group of mostly chawan come my way as a fellow collector is "restructuring" his collection and focusing in on a different avenue. The group includes the recent additions to my Trocadero marketplace, namely a Kakurezaki Ryuichi Bizen tokkuri, a Kanzaki Shiho classic Shigaraki chawan and lastly a very dynamic Matsuzaki Ken Shino chawan. All three of the pots are really textbook examples by the potters in question but the Matsuzaki chawan shows a slightly different approach to his normal thick white Shino applied over a rich, red base glaze. In this particular instance, the base become a super rich, crimson red base and the white Shino has melted and moved down the pot thanks to the intense heat of the firing and a little thing known as gravity. Having  a semblance of the modern Enbu Shino of Yamada Kazu though created before its introduction on the scene, the super deep red juxtaposed against the soft, satiny smooth Shino glaze has an intoxicating appearance that makes for a non-stop conversation regarding the long and varied history of Shino and its infinite possibilities. I hope this detail shot of the quality and uniqueness of the surface comes through in this photo of the Matsuzaki Ken chawan in question.

"Details create the big picture."   Sanford Weill

You can see more of the Matsuzaki and other pots over on my corner of Trocadero; https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/catalog/

YU-TSUBO

I recently received three exhibition catalogues from three distinct venues covering a two year period showcasing the Bizen pottery of Fujiwara Yu. The three catalogues all came from the same dealer here in the states and the majority of work revolves around Fujiwara Yu's tsubo with a few tea pieces and guinomi/tokkuri illustrated as well. What makes these three catalogues a bit unusual is that all three have shikishi size paintings in the frontispiece of each catalogue, two of the paintings are of pots and the other is only calligraphy. Illustrated is one of the paintings done in a rich, black ink on a vivid red background of a Bizen flower vase complete with flowers, classic neck and ubiquitous lugs. I suspect that all three of these catalogues came from the same original source, regulars at the exhibitions of Fujiwara Yu where at each event, he inked an addition to their catalogues as one would do for a regular patron. Now all I need to find out is where are all the pots that go along with the catalogues.

THROWN & CARVED

Given the time of year, I have spent more than my fair share of throwing time making serving bowls, both open and covered. I tend to throw two sizes of serving bowls, those of a manageable scale for two to four people and a larger version for about eight people of so, of course a lot depends on what goes in the bowl but this is one of the few things that I make where I don't hear, it could have been bigger or it could have been smaller. This particular bowl was made a month or so ago and was a gift on a recent excursion to see a nice collection of modern Japanese pottery part of a series of thrown and carved pieces later glazed in temmoku and medieval green. I enjoy throwing these bowls, moving, cantilevering the clay out over the foot creates a bit of tension in the form that goes well with the carved grasses pattern around the bowl. With every bowl I make I hope they find their way in to the daily lives where ever they end up and filled to the brim with the resident specialty is always the way I see them in my mind's eye.

LIGHTING FUNDAMENTALS

I know I have discussed the various lighting that I like to view pots in from the normal indoor, incandescent, tungsten bulbs, photo lighting, daylight and even direct sunlight. These lighting fundamentals each reveal various details and visions of a pot and allow the fullest, most immediate conversation that I can have with a piece though on many occasion the pots don't stick around long enough to cycle through all of the different phases of light. The way each type of light picks up on specific details, colors, clay quality and other features literally turns a spotlight on to each piece uncovering aspects that may easily be lost in one light source alone. The illustrated Kumano Kuroemon chawan has quite a bit to offer in each distinct light but in the direct sunlight the bowl just comes alive with a shimmering, sparkling appearance composed of feldspar and ash with crystals at the upper reaches of the surface creating a macrocosms within the confines of a teabowl. There is a richness and sincerity in this bowl painted by the expert guidance of Kumano in clay, glaze and fire and when you add a small portion of the sun, like magic, the chawan springs to life.

OUR CURRENT CONGRESS

It seems like this time of year the area's pardoned turkey all collect around our property. Known as a congress of turkey, we can have 40 to 50 turkey at a time with several male toms strutting around for all the ladies. I am not sure if these turkey know just how lucky they are that  we buy ours local and in a bag, hopefully no close relations of our new neighbors. I think to myself just how lucky they are with non-threatening neighbors and a recently harvested cornfield to plunder. I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and that we, like our gobbling congress have quite a bit to be thankful for!

C&A

I just put together this short video slideshow of a nice Hamada Shoji nuka and tetsu vase that came my way. I know everyone has their own reasons why they like Hamada's work but the characteristics that sticks out in my mind is that his pots are both casual and authentic. This nuka pot, like the bulk of Hamada's pottery is direct, there is nothing fussy or over thought about them, they appeal on both an intellectual and gestural level and like most great pottery fill an emotional need for objects that are created to fulfill unique roles in our daily lives even if a bit out of step with our modern times. I think that pots like those by Hamada tap in to some mysterious, deep seated sub-conscious where people needed pots, ceramics to live, function and even survive day to day and season to season. I hope this video helps impart the casual, authentic nature and various details to give a fuller account of a typical Hamada Shoji Mashiko pot.

CALM BLUE

I don't think that you can get much simpler than this cool blue chawan by Kimura Yoshiro. The color grades from dark to light as it rises up the pot, the lines of the form are direct, imbued with confidence and purpose and the slight wavering of the lip/ mouth breaks up any implied sterility the chawan may have suggested. At first glance there is a stillness and coolness to this chawan that would suggest being aloof or indifferent but to the contrary the calming blue and broken rhythm created by the lip beckon to the viewer, see me, touch me, use me and in this I see a sense of a well centered warmth that is far more inviting that the mere descriptive elements might suggest. I find the subtleties of form and color have been used so skillfully, a product of lots of work and experience to create such a simple bowl that has a depth and complexity that many chawan lack despite all of their attention and details. Kimura Yoshiro has succeeded in making a simple piece that illustrates just how complex simplicity really can be.

ANOTHER ROAD TRIP

Last Friday we made our way down to Middletown, CT to drop off pots for the upcoming annual holiday sale. I probably should just mention that this trip involves minimal effort, basically there and back again in a day trip verses the amount of packing materials, boxes, bubblewrap, tape, two days packing on my knees and UPS charges that add up quite quickly without  the  area bonuses of the excursion. The drive is quite nice with the tail end of autumn hanging on as you pass through the Berkshires and down to southern CT with a further trek from Middletown to Guilford for what adds to the reason we are in the area in the first place. In Guilford we start out getting a tasty cheeseburger and onion rings at Nick's, followed by grabbing up some pastries at Meriano's and then to a very nice wine store where the owner always has wonderful wines and suggestions for our Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Years dinner wines. I know I make mention of this trek every year but it just makes the drop off of pottery so much more special when involves stops at locales that used to be part of our daily lives when we lived in the area. I miss distinct aspects of Guilford, along with Williamsburg, York, Windham, Cleveland and Plattsburgh, more than just a general sense of nostalgia as each area had something to offer, wonderful experiences and opportunities and stuff that you just can't find anywhere else.

Illustrated is the show card and a temmoku and medieval green tray covered in meriano's pastries; cannoli, almond, chocolate and strawberry-cheese croissants.

"I don't like nostalgia unless it's mine." Lou Reed

MEMORY LANE

Recently I was involved in a discussion regarding the potters Hori Ichiro and Yamada Kazu revolving around how they worked and the wellspring of their inspiration. Quite naturally the conversation was steered toward the Enbu-Shino work of Yamada Kazu and the origins and technology of the glaze and it brought me back to a stellar chawan only recently made in that style that I had handled back in 2012. This Enbu-Shino chawan came from a collector that had decided to part with his collection so he sent it to me and I was able to handle it for several weeks as well as take quite a few photos of the piece from just about every conceivable angle. My initial take away from handling the chawan was the raw energy transferred from the fire, trapped in the surface and the tension created, over time that impression has lasted and I still have that same sense, I see a lyrical, almost abstract presence painted on the surface. From my perspective, this style is another in a long line of potters, especially in modern times, pushing the clay, glaze and firing to find where the limits really are and as a by-product of this experimentation often wondrous results unfold. No matter how you interpret Yamada's Enbu-Shino, it is certain to leave an impression and spark a conversation.

The following is a part of the description that I used when it was put up for sale on Trocadero; "Powerful, dramatic, enigmatic, there is a nearly unending number of descriptions that would still all fall short in describing this large Enbu-Shino chawan by Yamada Kazu. Enbu literally means "dancing fire" and it is that dancing fire that pushed the clay and glaze of this chawan to the very limit where the glaze turned to molten glass and began to flow like lava down the sides and into the interior of this pot. But pushing the limit is nothing new for Yamada Kazu who has broke new ground in his pursuit of Shino, Oribe, Ki-Seto, Seto-Guro and even Shigaraki pottery."

 

 

BATTLE ROYALE

Looking a bit like the trunk of a windswept pine this powerful Shigaraki vase was made by Hyogo Prefecture potter, Omae Satoru. This positively medieval looking hanaire is coated with a myriad of all natural glaze effects and colors from glassy ash to crusty charcoal with a ash drip suspended off the bottom like it is trapped in the wind a result of being fired on its side. The pot was thrown and then manipulated, gouged and to complete the form, thick, nascent lugs have been attached at the shoulder to complete the form. It is quite obvious from the surface that a brutal and ferocious battle, a battle royale if you would, has taken place between clay and fire all at the behest of a potter dedicated to creating works that provoke and challenge the viewer. Omae Satoru creates a variety of work from Shigaraki and Bizen to Karatsu ware and beyond having moved from Kobe to Shigaraki where he set up a studio before moving to Awajishi in Hyogo in 2010, possibly just another step on his potter's journey. What I can say about this battle scarred vase is that it speaks of a potter who is willing to push the limits of not only clay but the firing process and every potter who does so adds a page, perhaps even a chapter to what it is to wood fire.

(With any luck, I will put together a video slideshow of this pot in the future.)

PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS

I am still struggling with making this NOA, nuka oatmeal glaze work consistently as well as determining exactly how to use it. It is proving to be extremely temperature sensitive and demanding its own place in the kiln or it comes out way too stiff and rather unattractive. It has been quite a while since I have tried to use a glaze that was this set on an exact temperature and am beginning to wonder about its overall efficacy and reproducible results. In general I have a list of properties that a glaze should have in order for them to go into any scale of production, they are as follows;

>First and foremost suits my interests and works well with my forms and other glazes and washes, in other words, it plays well with others

>Easy to make

>Materials are readily available (except my lepidolite Oribe)

>Cost effective

>Not overly finicky in the glaze application

>Good glaze to body fit

> Slight variations in firing temperature with similar results

>Consistently repeatable results>Little to no crawling or pinholing

>Preferably a 90% success rate in firings

Obviously my list of glaze criteria is nothing but common sense requirements but I know I have fiddled and struggled with glazes in the past and probably will so in the future that are just never going to pan out as reliable surfaces. By coming up with a list it is much easier to just say, enough is enough and stop wasting time, money and energy to fight a fight that can not be won and know when and where to pick your battles. The jury is just not out yet on my NOA glaze quite yet.


Illustrated is a stoneware bottle with the nuka oatmeal glaze over black slip accents, top and bottom and iron and black glaze accents around the piece.

KANNYU II

I found this illustration the other day while I was trying to do some "research" on Sung celadons and there it was between some wonderful old Chinese pots. This light blue kannyu-seiji chawan is by Kishimoto Kennin who besides mastering this particular glaze has delved deeply into a wide array of surfaces and styles from Shino & Oribe to wood fired Iga-yaki. I love the casual form and posture of this bowl and the horizontal ridge that runs around the piece creates a wonderful glaze stop where the glaze pools a bit, darkens and the fracture pattern is altered. The ridge is highly affective on this chawan creating a rich visual element to the piece which breaks up the uniformity of the walls of the pot as well as the continuity of the surface. The ridge and lip create dark, iron saturated lines that together with the unctuous roll of glaze at the base and around the fingerprints add yet more definition to the lyrical and mysterious quality of the chawan. Over the years I have seen quite a few pots with this style of glaze and ironically many are stayed in their presentation, some even boring but in this chawan, Kishimoto Kennin used all of his years of experience to create a pot that is a dissertation in what it means to be kannyu-seiji.

YAKI-YOKAI

I am not quite sure if this meets the Halloween criteria but I thought, what the heck, it's my blog and as long as I operate within the known laws of physics, I should be okay. I found this image a while back and it immediately struck me as a powerful and iconic image that only Fujiwara Ikuzo is capable of and it is fiercely wood fired as well. Looking a bit like a sentinel guarding the kimon, demon's gate, he exudes an attitude and posture which defies entry unless perhaps he can be tricked in to a game of gakko (tag). As with many of Fujiwara's hand sculpted pieces, this Oni is filled with dynamic tension and power and yet has just the slightest hint of wry humor in his expression which has a sense of being inviting, impish and a bit nasty all at the same time. Given the way in which Fujiwara Ikuzo sculpts his pieces, the wood firing has added a softness and shadow to the form giving it quite a degree of dimension and personality, bringing this somewhat disagreeable character to life out of a large block of clay. What's not to love and Happy Halloween!

GREEN 2 GREEN

I think I showed this particular Falling Leaves covered piece as greenware two or three weeks past. Here it is now fired and still warm from a firing this weekend showing leaves falling about a dark black background which I hope establishes a mood and sets up a sense of motion about the pot. I posted this to give a perspective of the piece from greenware to decorated where in many respects, little changes except the pot gets fired and the surface obviously changes quite a bit, but thanks to a really dependable terra cotta clay, there is little to no warpage, a small amount of shrinkage and very rarely does the clay crack. Though this clay is not the greatest to throw and can be quite a struggle at times, all in all given the clays super powers, it is worth the effort.

"The one thing that matters is the effort." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

B&W NOT B&W

Here is an excellent ink wash by sometsuke master and Ningen Kokuho; Kondo Yuzo. Though painted in black and white and not blue and white, this simple and easily recognizable thistle design is along with persimmons and sharp mountain landscapes a trademark design of Kondo Yuzo. As mentioned these designs are usually portrayed in deep, vivid cobalt with faint washes of blue to even grey tones with the additions of red and gold depending on the piece. Known as the Japanese thistle, cirsium japonicum, this particular plant caught the attention of Kondo early on and can be seen on many of his works throughout his long and illustrious career as one of the finest sometsuke artists of the 20th century. Beyond his initial family and students, the influence of the stylistic renderings that Kondo Yuzo is so well know for has influenced both potter and painters alike during his lifetime and well beyond.

"The thistle is a prince. Let any man who has an eye for beauty take a view of the whole plant, and where will he see more expressive grace and symmetry; and where is there a more kingly flower?"  Henry Ward Beecher

YAKIMONO JIZO-BOSATSU

Known as the patron saint of children, travelers and those languishing in jigoku (hell), Jizo Bosatsu is one of a large number of "deities" in Buddhism. If you have ever traveled to Japan you will find Jizo literally everywhere, along roadsides, in gardens and cemeteries and of course in Buddhist temples crisscrossing the country. Illustrated is a small, sculpted stoneware Jizo-bosatsu figure made by Mashiko ceramic artist and sculpture, Fujiwara Ikuzo. Though quite idiosyncratic to the artist, Fujiwara has kept the idealized features of the praying Jizo so that the imagery is immediately identifiable from the forehead jewel representing the third eye to the long earlobes and serene expression alluding to the state of nirvana. Like many of Fujiwara Ikuzo's figures, this small okimono has a somewhat comical appearance not intended to mock or satire the iconography but perhaps to make it more approachable and easier to fit within the modern home as welcomed guest and spiritual representative and advisor. What ever his intentions, this wonderful little Jizo-bosatsu figure is likely to find himself quite at home from bookshelf to home alter and just about anywhere he may wander.

SAME PLACE ALMOST 365 DAYS LATER

It is that time of year, a place where I find myself year after year when I just don't feel like I can get enough work done in a day and certainly can not get pots dried out fast enough for bisque firings. Over the years I have taken to using the kilns to dry out my terra cotta pots thanks to a forgiving and all purpose terra cotta clay body that I have tweaked over the years. The terra cotta that I am currently using was originally from a formula that I got from Dick Schneider back at my CSU days though the current incarnation has be altered quite a bit to all for what I call shock drying which rarely results in any warping or cracking of the clay. Illustrated is a black and white slip tray that was made on a Monday and glaze fired on a Sunday thanks to this drying method. Using soft brick under the tray, I allow the heat to perculate up through the bricks and dry out the clay which can take a couple of hours but makes it ready to go in a bisque the very next day. From here it is simply about balancing out pieces, filling and firing the kilns and getting everything finished. There is never enough kiln space or time and I always seem to get inventories to galleries just at the last minute or a day or two late but luckily, for the most part they are very accomidating. Thanks.

 

CLAY, WAX & IRON

Illustrated is a rather large and well decorated Mashiko tsubo which is well over a foot tall and impressive in person. This robust jar has vivid areas of tessha floating around the surface which enhances the evocative wax resist floral design surrounding the pot, a blend of clay, wax and iron. Made by Kimura Mitsuru, son-in-law of Kimura Ichiro, this tsubo shows the clear influences of father, his master Hamada Shoji and the feel of pottery that has collectively become known as Mashiko-yaki. The decoration is fluid and almost lyrically arranged around the pot like a studied presentation of a waka poem where image replaces writing but conveys the same sense of narrative. The timeless quality of the form and surface is an excellent representation of Mashiko ideals that have almost become codified by Hamada Shoji, Sakuma Totaro, Murata Gen, Shimaoka Tatsuzo, Tamura Koichi  and Kimura Ichiro, all leaving behind excellent interpretations of what it means to be Mashiko ware while presenting a phenomenal base for all those who come after them to learn from, strive to and move beyond.

"The benevolent fragrance permeates all things;
Can it be that each blossom is the reincarnation of the Buddha?"  Daishin Gito (1657-1730)

F&F

When I first saw this ring style, round haikaburi vase I was taken by the animated and jovial nature that it possessed as much for fun as it is for function. Made by Yoshisuji Keiji most likely not long after he set up his own pottery studio, this vase has many of the unique qualities of his master, Kohyama Yasuhisa from the influences of ancient sueki ware to the manner in which it is made not to mention the wonderful neck that is prominently displayed on the piece. Seated on two raised feet, the third point of contact  is directly below the neck allowing the water to pool more deeply in this area and creating a wonderful and intriguing posture that is as entertaining as it is purposeful. The blend of the old and new along with the playfulness of the form makes for a rather enjoyable pot to look at and use and I hope this short video slideshow conveys these qualities to the viewer.

MINUS A CAPITAL

Illustrated is my Oribe style glaze over a fluted stoneware teabowl based on an ancient Roman ionic column. I find it interesting how easy it is to mix influnces and for this bowl, as I mentioned, the form is loosely Roman, the glaze is Japanese influenced and the foot of the bowl has its origins from the Leach/ Mackenzie tradition of pottery making. The fluting itself became yet another mix of influences and pieces parts as I used to have a fluting tool but somewhere along the way I misplaced it so it is no where to be found. I decided to make one out of a piece of sheet metal that the heating & cooling people left behind at my request many years back, by cutting a rectagle, I then cut two slits at the top of the strip and then using a piece of half-round molding, I created the area which protrudes and flutes the clay. The tool didn't turn out to be the best or most sturdy fluting tool ever made but did the job in a pinch as I had thrown a few pieces to flute (meaning they were thick!) and needed the tool I thought was still in an old pottery tool box. All in all, this made for an interesting day combining influences from several sources and repurposing some scrap material that was destined to be thrown away, hopefull the results were worth all the perturbation.

A.P.

To some, this may seem like heresy and to others, well, why didn't I think of that? Recently in an email exchange with a longtime collector we were discussing being accidental guinomi collectors but unlike my wife and I who do drink various spirits, the other collector did not but had over the years found a variety of uses or "alternative purposes" for his guinomi that are just about as satisfying. At parties, meals and cordial, casual get-togethers he has used guinomi for appetizers, sauces, individual sushi dishes and even for desserts like sorbets, custard, ice cream and even chocolates. I thought the idea sounded quite interesting and I could image a table set with varying Japanese and American handmade pottery punctuated here and there with guinomi of various origins. The illustrated guinomi is a boxed but unidentified kannyu seiji piece that I decided to heap full with brandy cordials and though it looks positively large in scale it is just about 3.5" across and holds a very ample portion of dark chocolate goodness. I thought the contrast between the form, glaze and contents was rather pleasing but it would seem in no time at all, only an empty guinomi remains, go figure.

COLORIZATION

I know this is not exactly a great photo, in fact it is a jpeg of a photo from a Japanese ceramic magazine from 1987 and shows a rather early piece by Fujioka Shuhei. Though this piece looks a lot more Shigaraki than Iga, Fujioka is best known for his angular, hacked at, sculptural Iga works which are intensely fired and easily recognized due his unique style. This vase really catches my attention partly due to the fact that it is just as carefree and wonky a mallet vase as can be with not a hint of being over worked or contrived in any way which is just as it should be. The vase was fired on its side as evidenced by the ash pattern which is running across the sides and the remnants of shell scars show on the rear which is also the direction the neck is now leaning due to the fact that it was marginally supported during the firing producing the effect now seen. One can only image the color and tones based on individual experiences but I for one would love to see this piece in all of its glorious color and I doubt it would disappoint even one tiny bit. Where is Ted Turner and his colorization process when you need it?

"The spirit of Old Iga,
its body born in these hands,
and the soul which transcends time,
gives life to that which I shape."  Fujioka Shuhei (from the website of Fujioka Shuhei)

INTERLUDE

Though I am in the midst of back to back terra cotta cycles, I took a small block of time, a short mental interlude to throw a few stoneware pieces. Illustrated is a vase, about 11 or 12 inches tall and faceted using the technique I am working on. Along with this vase I threw a couple of tokkuri and a covered jar which will mostly be glazed in either Oribe or the saffron iron yellow. This vase had the foot cut in a hexagonal pattern and will be glazed in Oribe to best accentuate the faceted planes but also to collect on the bands and other horizontal areas that protrude just a bit which will create pools of very deep, dark green, an effect that I like very much. I have been enjoying working with this faceting technique as it leads to very direct and not necessarily predicatible result which to be quite honest can be a very good thing in the midst of throwing very predictable terra cotta.

A classical interlude;

THE VERY FIRST

Illustrated is a 4-Vue collage of a very nice Tsukigata Nahiko chawan. This is one of those 'rare" pieces that is actually ours that I post as it seems like 98% of what is up on my blog either belongs to fellow collectors or was just passing by. What makes this pot unique is not the pot at all but that it was our very first Tsukigata Nahiko piece and that it was a gift from a very good friend who knowing my passion for the potter just went and sent it to us one day a number of years ago. As a collector, the gentleman who sent it to Mindy and I was also a passionate collector with a keen eye who put together a rather impressive collection which had a number of Ningen Kokuho potters as well as individuals like Hamada, Kawai, Rosanjin, Kato Tokuro and Arakawa Toyozo. Several years back he decided to get rid of his collection selling off some and donating the rest to the Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City and the San diego Museum of Art. Now back to the chawan which has a great form and foot with a soft, vellum like sheet of ash that wraps around the face of the bowl which than gives way to an area of rich, shimmery iron and active feldspar. The lip has a sensuous and continuous undulation that guides the eye around the bowl only to draw the viewer in to the super wet and glassy build up of once molten ash that coats the teapool as it runs down the sides, frozen in a moment when the stoking of the wood kiln stopped and the surface began to coalesce. I should say that despite the slightly different appearance of the ash face this is a classic Tsukigata chawan in every respect from form, surface, kodai and the fact that the violent and ferocious nature of its firing is written all over the surface; think MOBY DICK manifest in clay!

GOLDEN KOMAINU

Though not exactly clay related, well not related at all, I thought this carved and lacquered komainu was pretty cool none the less. The main part of the head is carved out of a single block of wood with the jaw, ears and horn all being seperate pieces that fit in to this well constructed piece. Over the years I have seen a number of komainu and shishi made in this style in both plain, unadorned wood and in kin-urushi, golden lacquer but this one is just a bit different. This particular piece was made by the famous Toyama wood carver and Toyama Prefectural Designated Intangable Asset; Yokoyama Kazuo (1911-2000). Though very well known for his articulated Shishi and Ikaku heads, Yokoyama also carved a wide variety of Buddhist figures, flowers, fish, hawks/eagles and decorative ramma for homes and temples. I said that this had literally nothing to do with clay but in certain respects that is not true as the very same things that draw me to pottery also grasps my attention in many of the other applied arts, namely; individuality, skill, creativity, expressiveness and above all a voice that shines through to maintain a meaningful conversation between material, artist, craftsman and viewer.

EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY

I know I have adressed this issue in a previous blog post but I am always amazed that despite having a fairly reasonable space for a studio how quickly I run out of space when I get working, especially toward holiday shows and restocking galleries. I have two banks of shelves that I use to store and dry pots as well as one 8' table in the main room of the studio and another of similiar size in a room behind the studio that is used to store bubble wrap, bags of chemicals, inventory and an area to photograph. All these spaces, every nook and cranny fills up rather quickly within two weeks of non-stop throwing and trimming. During this process the only thing that slows me down is the necessity to slip and slip trail or carve (tebori) a percentage of the work. The photo shows three pieces occupying the space on my slab roller which I use every now and again to take quick photos but in this instance, this is where the covered pot and two trumpet style vases will reside until they are dry and then decorated. The other side of the slab roller is still free of pots but is currently home to a box of slip jars, a plastic jar of brushes and a container with the tools I use everyday. I enjoy this time of year when I get to work long days, throw non-stop and am as busy as I can get but there are drawbacks with so much stuff filling nearly every space it is a bit like working in a maze where any false move can spell disaster. Unlike the motto, "measure twice and cut once" the motto for these days in the studio is "look twice and move very, very slowly".