PEDESTAL

I remember the first time that I met Bill Klock, it was the week before Thanksgiving and what seems a lifetime ago. Our first conversation lasted for well over an hour and concluded with an invitation to make pots, we talked about Leach, Hamada, Cardew and Kawai among others. While I was there, Bill showed me a group of recently tooled teabowls with this strong and graceful pedestal feet on pots meant for various Shino and temmoku glazes. I was impressed by the way the feet were cut and how they created this distinct shadow and visual, some appearing like they were in the midst of "take off" , a rather animated lift that each bowl possessed, they were all winners in my book. Over the years I have continued to be been drawn to the kodai of Hamada and Kawai and I am a huge proponent of a pedestal style foot with as much lift as seems the pot can handle.

Illustrated is a recently fired teabowl form of rather robust proportions perched atop a pedestal foot and heavily textured creating visual and tactile interest in the bowl. The glaze surface starts with my Oribe glaze to which I then add a variety of other glazes over to mottle and activate the overall appearance of the piece. Though I am certainly influenced by the great master of modern Japanese pottery at its core, I continually strive to find a hint of the posture, movement and energy that Bill seemed to handle with little effort and a lifetime of pottery making.