ONLY A GLIMPSE

Looking a bit like some dangling medieval emerald earring, this wonderfully placed drip is frozen in the moment straddling the realm between beauty and just an Oribe drip on a kiln shelf, I believe it chose wisely. Though not exactly a household name outside of Japan, the maker of this vase and this Oribe earring is Sone Yoshiyuki (b. 1951) of Toki in Gifu Prefecture where he grew up, studied pottery before setting up his own studio, the Yoshiyama Kiln in 1973. Sone grew up and was heavily influenced by many of the Mino traditional pottery styles and has a real penchant for Oribe as you may gather from this detail shot of one of his Oribe hanaire though his work is not entirely restricted to all things green. What I can say regarding the two dozen or so pots that I have seen by him is that he is heavily influenced by the archetypes and posturing of Momoyama Mino pottery but he has managed to infuse his pottery with a rather unique and lively atmosphere that is very much in the moment. Highly animated with well conceived glazing, his pots, especially his vases are studies in motion and running colors that capture one's attention and hold you fast to his marvelous greens painted on his modern medieval forms. Though only a glimpse, a detail of this vase, sometimes it is all of these wonderful details that keep a conversation going, on and on and soon with a few minutes of time on my hands, I'll put together a slideshow video of this vase.

"The distinctive colours of Oribe are those fresh greens which emerge together from the land of spring. This is what I strive to recreate. I am doing my best to capture the magnanimity of Mino and with a contemporary feel." Sone Yoshiyuki, a quote from the DIRECTORY OF THE MINO CERAMIC ART ASSOCIATION (1992)