I was shuffling through a disc filled with photos I have taken, looking
for a specific group of pictures and saw this detail shot of a chawan that was here a while back. From my perspective, this is the type of complex,
mysterious and active surface all rolled in to one chawan that is just alive
and electric to the eye and touch. Made by the "Bear", this chawan by
Kumano Kuroemon is an exceptional example of his work with such a rich array of
activities and surfaces that the viewer is unsure where to start, the thick
rich Kuma-Shino, areas of glassy ash and crusty tamadare paint the bowl like a nebulous,
cosmic painting of clay as canvas, a handful of materials as paint and fire as
the brush. The back, interior of the chawan is covered in ash which is eroding
pathways through the Shino glaze ending up and filling the pool with a molten
pond of ash frozen in time and covered in various other glaze and ash generated
features. When I think about pots with complex surfaces, it is all these
details that are apparent in just the singular photo highlighting a Kumano
chawan that jumps to the top of the list.
"Beware of the person who can't be bothered by details." William Feather
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