A WRONG TURN MADE RIGHT

During my stay with Kohyama Yasuhisa back in 1993 I made a plan to go in to Kyoto one weekend as my wife's birthday was approaching and I figured how could I not find something special in such a city? I arrived in Kyoto about 9:30am and got something to eat and set about going to a few department stores and after that decided to wander the streets to see what I may discover. Using a flyer I had found I was looking for a small shop that specialized in silk incense figures when I made a wrong turn and suddenly found myself a bit turned around. As I was wandering I suddenly passed by a rather interesting but small gallery space and decided to go in and to be honest I am not sure who was more surprised, the potter and gallery owner or me. What I had stepped in to was an exhibition of exceptional Asahi-yaki pottery (from Uji, just outside of Kyoto) by Matsubayashi Hosai XIV  (1921-2004) who was there with his son, later Hosai XV (1950-2015) and though they were very polite and inviting, I think they thought I was looking for something a bit less expensive and truthfully, there was hardly a piece there beyond hashi sets and futaoki that I could have purchased. As best I could I explained I was staying in Shigaraki and with whom and the mood changed as the next thing I knew I was handling chawan the cost quite a tidy sum. In the end I did find several nice gifts for my wife, though not Asahi-yaki and what was a wrong turn was made right in what remains to this day an exceptional experience.

Illustrated is an excellent example of a Asahi-yaki chawan by Matsubayashi Hosai XIV made sometime around my encounter with him in the early 1990s. The form, throwing, foot and surface covered in gohon style spotting are all textbook Asahi characteristics and the hallmark of the Matsubayashi family who have played an important role in Kyoto pottery and tea ceremony going back centuries.

TOKKURI BY DESIGN

Illustrated is an Iga sake bottle by Kojima Yousuke (b. 1976) and simply put it is a tokkuri created by design. Though it seems only a simple and well fired tokkuri, Kojima Yousuke has the dual benefits of being trained by his father, Iga veteran, Kojima Kenji but he also studied at the Kyoto Culinary Institute which has sharpened his senses to the purpose, display and function of the pottery that he makes in conjunction with food and beverages. This particular tokkuri  is a great size and form and fits well in the hand and has a perfect base for when at rest or at the ready to be used, the surface is classicly wood fired with the neck and mouth just inviting one to use it. Kojima set up his own studio/kiln in 2003 and has had several shows, including together with his father and is carried by a number of galleries, many of which carry either wood fired or more traditional pottery. I have used the old axiom, regarding the apple not falling far from the tree which is not always so with father and son but in this case, Kojima Yousuke shows many of the influences,understanding and promise of Ko-Iga that makes for a potter on the rise and a reflection of his master.

X MARKS THE SPOT

I put together a rather short slideshow video of a bowl that was fired a few weeks back using my new NOA (Nuka Oatmeal Ash) glaze with masked white and black slip decoration underneath. I like working with bold geometric forms as design and the X and O flanked by the varying stripes works well around this bowl form. By ash glaze serendipity, there are a number of contaminants in the ash that I used and in this case, copper spots showed up on the inside floor of the bowl and directly over where the X marks the spot. Not planned but of all the places for a copper spot to show up, this is arguably highest on the list.

INSIDE OUT

About a month or so ago I was navigating the ubiquitous auction site on the web looking for a classic CD from the 1980s and stumbled on this chawan. I'll start by saying my finding this chawan was neither intended nor planned and how it popped up while looking for a China Crisis CD defies logic; at any rate the price was certainly low enough so I figured why not. This chawan is by mingei stalwart and Kawai Kanjiro pupil, Ueda Tsuneji and though it doesn't have a box sometimes you just have to collect a piece, box or not. Though the form of his nerikomi chawan are not exceptionally challenging or innovative, there are restrictions as to how far you can go using a slab of patterned clay without destroying the pattern in the process and this piece does show a small amount of post molded throwing in the form, lip and where the foot was attached. Perhaps making up for the conservation and fully functional form is the crisp, detailed and rich nerikomi pattern which shows very clearly on the inside and outside of the bowl. The use of various glazes, a clear glaze, temmoku and an additional iron glaze showcase and accentuate the pattern and bring a sense of movement to an otherwise stiff form. Beyond the laws of physics, there are laws and restrictions that apply to ceramics that most collectors fail to realize and I can tell you from experience, the more you fuss with nerikomi and neriage clay the mor the pattern breaks down, gets muddled up and becomes unrecognizable and it is obvious that Ueda Tsuneji developed an exacting way to work that prevented this from happening and leaves the viewer with a sense of awe.

CHINA CRISIS; FIRE & STEEL

OFF THE WALL

Illustrated is a long, footed tray form by NC potter; Bruce Gholson. The motif is a slinky, sinister looking wolf like creature that is portrayed in a dark black glaze that is a bit mottled and has a texture to it as opposed to being flat black. The central image is framed in a wild copper and copper red glaze that shows tons of effects and visual textures right up to the edges of the tray which break to a more traditional Shino style glaze when it is put on porcelain. I apologize that this isn't the greatest photo as it was taken right off the wall where the tray hangs over a door frame where the light wasn't that great but I think you get the idea. It is a very evocative piece and makes for an interesting if not ominous warning to all those that shall enter or perhaps it is just a very nice piece that was in need of a space to hang. I'll go with the latter.

"I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts."  Virgil

MUGGING

I don't really like to make a lot of mugs, usually only to go with dinnerware and as commissions which I recently finished. I was asked to make a set of eight mugs in my Oribe glaze and we decided on black slip decoration to accentuate the forms. I have learned a lesson or two about making orders and when you need eight it is best to throw a few extras and in this case I made eleven and ended up with three extras as all the pieces made it out intact. Illustrated is one of the extra mugs, mugging for its close-up and showing off the decoration under the glaze as well as how I finished off the handle which included a "thumb-button" to make the piece function a bit easier. The mugs are all about 4.75" tall or so and are a good managable size considering if left on my own they probably would each end up holding a pint, I guess it doesn't hurt to have some guidelines.

UNUSUAL SIGHTING

Over the years I have seen a fair number of pots by Honiwa Rakunyu II, in fact, my wife and I had visited his studio/ kiln a number of times on our trips to Japan and to Shigaraki specifically. We still owe a debt of gratitude to Honiwa's daughter for her gracious offer to take us around Shigaraki on our first trip to the area while we were milling about in the rain. This brings me to the illustrated chaire, though I am always reluctant to use the term rare or rara avis, let's just say this little pot made for an unusual sighting. The Shigaraki chaire in this short video slideshow was made by Honiwa Rakunyu I, teacher of Rakunyu II who assumed the name in 1963 and given when it was made having the original shifuku and signed box make it quite a nice package.

I don't know a lot about Rakunyu I except to say that he fired using a noborigama at a time before the anagama was re-introduced to the valley and was made sometime prior to to 1960 but after WWII. I am struck by the casual and thin throwing with markings that circle the piece adding to a sense of motion that is then high lighted by a lightly colored rear and a dark, charcoal reduced face, like two distinct phases of the moon. The shoulder of the chaire likewise is nearly bisected by dark and light halves but is speckled with additional ash which has an amber brown appearance adding to the effects that bring life to the piece. I have seen only a handful of pottery by Honiwa Rakunyu I of which this is the only chaire but his pots have a rugged and determined sense of tradition and function to them and are easy to use and even easier to admire.

ALL ABOUT THE FORM

When I am looking at pots there are pieces that are decidedly all about the surface and glaze, a technique, painting or in this case being all about the form. Tall, elegant the surface finishes off the form in a dark cloak with flecks of aventurine shimmering about the pot as if dancing about only constrained by the borders of the form that have been rubbed back to a rich rust color. Made by a master of the studio pottery movement, Kawamura Seizan (1890-1967) of Kyoto this piece is a bit different than the majority of his body of work where he specialized in sometsuke and overglaze enamel painted pottery though this vase is typical of his attention to detail and exacting understanding of form. At many level I am reminded of a select group of the Meiji to early Showa studio potters blended with hints of older Chinese monochrome porcelains without the coldness and perfect sterility, this pot has a grace and appeal which is seemingly all about the form but let's be honest the rich surface certainly has something to do with it

STACKED III

Illustrated is a teabowl from my most recent firing, yesterday in fact, glazed in one of my Oribe recipes, it is decorated in a colliding rain pattern around the bowl, top and bottom. This is probably one of my favorite forms to throw whether it is for teabowls, serving bowls, covered jars or even vases, getting the proportions and curves just right without the piece collapsing is fun and takes one little focus I can muster while listening to some loud tunes of the "boom-box" just a few feet away from where I throw. I enjoy how the pots appear like there are just separate components stacked on top of one another and once completed they feel nice in the hand in large of smaller versions. At the end of the day there really isn't anything too adventurous about the form or glazing but sometimes that is exactly why a pot is appealing, well that's the hope anyway.

1968

Last week I put up a blog post regarding a new, old book that I had recently received by Kuroda Ryoji published in 1968 and put up a picture of a somewhat early kinuta vase by Tsukigata Nahiko showing where his work stood at about that time. I mentioned that the front of the book had a handful of color plates representing the various artists which also included a photo of a rather early Oni-Shino vase by Tsukigata that would likely have to date from 1966 or 1967 showing how far along this style already was at that time period. The key to these pieces and what distinguished Tsukigata from his contemporaries is his use of thick iron in conjuction with the Shino glazes he used which was then subjected to an intense wood firing in an anagama style kiln in which he altered the woods and schedule of his firings. I should remark that another key feature that distinguishes him from other potters is the unique set of forms that he settled on early on in his career which he would alter and improve upon over his lifetime. These varying forms differ from his master, Arakawa Toyozo and draw on but are not wholly based on the aesthetics of the Momoyama era making Tsukigata a man of his times, modern and feudal all wrapped together in a variety of unique surfaces that saw they started in the 1960s as can be clearly seen in this illustration from 1968.

A HANDFUL OF CLAY AND SOME ASH

I liked this chawan as soon as I saw it, boiled down it is just a handful of clay and some ash for the glaze. Making pottery really doesn't get much simpler or elemental than this, a potter, in this case Mizuno Takuzo throws a bowl he has thrown a thousand times before and adds an angular texture to the clay and pushes out from the interior creating fractures and fissures on the exterior. Later on and once bisque, the chawan is glazed in an ash glaze that Mizuno has used for several decades which once fired creates a wonderful surface for his pottery, accentuating every line, crack, dipple, fissure and highpoint on the pot taking this simple glaze and giving it depth, complexity and an ability to communicate with the viewer/ user. I am perpetually drawn to a pot that speaks of function while spinning a tale of it making and aesthetic choices that stem from years of making simple pots that are so much more when you are willing to stop and listen to what the clay has to say.

VIRIDI PATERA

Illustrated is a white slipped and carved bamboo form teabowl with a rich Oribe style glaze, like most of my teabowls it is on the large size and up to the task for whatever one wants to use it for. I was especially pleased with how dark the incised decoration is and also with the horizontal rings that run around the form at top, middle and bottom of the bowl adding a nice dimension and accentuating the form. As you look at this glaze there are very nice accents that run down, through the surface including areas that turn a rich amber color from iron applied the bowl and the way that the Oribe breaks to an almost clear around some of the incised marks while creating intense green areas as it runs off and around the carving is also quite pleasing. Given all of the variables and subtlties, I just don't see myself getting tired with these greens, I just keep pushing and testing and the possibilities just seem endless.

"If you don't know what makes green, you're going to try every color combination." Alison Krauss

VADE MECUM

 

I have a real love for books, in our last move from Virginia to central NY State we moved literally tons of books on a wide array of subject matter but certainly pottery is one of the main focuses. I really love finding books on Japanese pottery from the 50's and 60s which I am constantly on the look out for. Recently I found one on pottery by the 100 leading chadogu makers, published in 1968 and selected and written by acknowledged pottery expert and found of Kuroda Toen, Kuroda Ryoji. Though there are usually a handful of color photos at the beginning of this type of book, the majority of photos, signatures and seals are all in B/W which makes for good crisp photos and honestly a treasure trove of information. Many of the greats from the post-war era are highlighted in the book from well established potters to a group of up and coming  and there is also a three page spread on Tsukigata Nahiko which is one of the earliest references I have for him in my library. I am guessing that since the book was published in 1968 it was written and researched from 1966 through 1967 and I would further assume that Tsukigata was already a well known potter and on his way to perfecting his Oni-Shino style.

Illustrated next to the book cover is a kinuta mallet vase glazed in Shino glaze that has a certain aggressive quality to it and though not Oni-Shino, this glaze quality represents a clear departure from that of Arakawa Toyozo though the wonderful proportions of the  vase were quite well learned from the master and show a style and form that becomes quite distinctly Tsukigata's own in only a few years from when this piece was made.  There are a number of Tsukigata mallet vases on my blog so you can compare this one to latter ones and there is another, very early piece which was made in 1967 so it is easy to see the pace at which he was moving toward his more signature style. It is great to find books like this, they are exceedingly useful at piecing together the chronology of a potter's work and having a clearer picture of avenues that they pursued, some to folly and others to fame.