織部 壷

Illustrated is an Oribe style tsubo that I made a while back; it had gotten pushed back on a shelf and was covered in clay splatter and dust and I decided to pull it out, clean it up and take a few photos of it. This particular tsubo is decorated with an incised grasses pattern around the shoulder using the rounded end of an old brush that has lost all of its bristles and has been co-opted as a "what-ever" tool. The Oribe glaze on this piece is one of the hybrid recipes in which I used 60% of one formula and 40% of the other and this color and surface is the result of the testing. The color is very deep and  rich on certain parts of the jar like above the shoulder and in the incised lines but it has thinned down a bit at the should area itself and the glaze began to run down the pot, the effect high lights the decoration and is welcome though it wasn't, at the time expected. I really enjoy working with the variety of Oribe style glazes that I have come up with which has also taught me more about patience and expectation with results that are at times satisfying and rarely absolutely predictable.

"Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper sprinkle cool patience." Wm. Shakespeare (Hamlet)