I
have had this conversation a number of times over the years, does a potter's
location dictate what his pottery is or is labeled? I think of two potters
neither of whom works in Shigaraki though there pottery is clearly Shigaraki-yaki;
Tsuji seimei and Kon Chiharu. As you can guess there are a number of potters
who make distinctively identifiable work though it is made somewhere outside of
where the pottery is normally associated. Such is half the case in regards to
this sweet little tokkuri as the box is labelled; ECHIZEN SHIGARAKI TOKKURI and
was made and fired in Echizen using not Echizen clay but what appears to be a
blend of Iga and Shigaraki clays with just the right amount of feldspar
inclusions to light up the pot like a star filled evening. The tokkuri is
somewhat light weight with a wonderful surface painted in various hues of ash
and effects that are as pleasant to feel as they are to just look at all
clearly created in a fierce, even ferocious process of the firing. Made
by a Karatsu and Echizen specialist, Miyoshi Kentaro (1953-2018), he first
studied and worked in Karatsu before falling under the primal and alluring
spell of Echizen-yaki. Miyoshi moved and worked in Echizen creating pottery of
both distinct and seemingly polar opposites in terms of pottery, but clay is
clay as is firing and he navigated the two tradition for the rest of his life. I
should also note that Miyoshi's works were included in the Birmingham Museum of
Art's exhibition and catalogue entitled; ECHIZEN; EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS OF
JAPANESE STONEWARE (1995). It is clear in this Echizen-Shigaraki tokkuri that
Miyoshi Kentaro enjoyed combining styles and traditions in a cohesive and
ineligible manner and as you look at this little pot you can see, like a fine
blended whiskey, the various flavors that make up this memorable outcome of his
efforts.
Coming
out of the shadows or even a bit like a partial eclipse, this thick and crazed
feldspar vase reluctantly appears before the viewer presenting form and surface
that paints an evocative landscape. There is something so ethereal and
contemplative about the works of Yasuda Zenko that is unlike few others; these
pieces are like connective tissue from mind to pure emotion and even a sense of
totality. Filled with elegance and raw energy here that despite the deceptively
simplicity of works of this style and nature, time falls away like melting snow
and the complexities of life are narrated in three dimensions if you allow it to
happen. I find there is a tremendous sense of solitude and solemnity imbued
within the simple elements of clay and fire on display where a pot lives within
the view and grasp of the observer. I can't honestly say that I know the intent
and reason behind these drifting cloud pots by Yasuda but I can relate how they
communicate with me even though I suspect the dialogue is presumably just at its beginning.
This particular teabowl is the result of two
tests one of which was a trial by fire if you will. The bowl was faceted or
more correctly put, shaved using a splintered piece of wood that I pulled off
of a quarter of split firewood and then just gently sharpened. I used this
piece of wood to create quick and uneven facets around the bowl and it seems to
have made an interesting texture. Once bisque, I used the bowl to continue on
my path for Oribe (Kuro-Oribe) tests using spayed on manganese and iron over
the glazed surface. Since I don't have a compressor and spray gun, I used one of
those old fashioned atomizer style sprayers fueled by nothing but lung power
which gave me a certain degree of control I am not sure i would have had
otherwise. I set up a box, lined with newspaper and then covered my banding
wheel in a plastic bag and went about spraying two teabowls that were intended
as a test of the new glazing idea as well as how the faceting looked after it
was fired. Here is the result under normal light and in mostly direct sunlight,
both give their rendition of the story reminding me at times of Akutagawa's
RASHOMON and truthfully, I am rather pleased at the various interpretations
that differing lighting has on the surface.
Once
again I'll start out with the caveat that I have not handled this particular
chawan but I have handled several in Ki-Seto, Kohiki, Seto-Guro and Shino over
the years including a couple similar to this one. To get to the point, though I
have been incredibly lucky to handle two dozen pots by Arakawa Toyozo, for the
vast majority of people this Toyoba Seiya Ki-Seto chawan is as close as one
normally can get to handling the work of his master. If you really study this
chawan what is striking about the bowl is the similarities but not slavish
imitation of the form, using both clay and glaze that resemble that of Arakawa
it becomes very clear that though not by the master, both master and pupil have
based their pots on ideals and archetypes that have a great deal in common. Though there is nothing slight about the form, there is a distinct robustness
to Arakawa's chawan that few modern potters can capture and to be clear, I am
not talking about size or scale. It is very easy to see the corollaries between
Arakawa and Toyoba having been master and pupil, not to mention in-laws as well
but there are certain subtleties and nuances that set each apart from one
another. In the end, I believe very few have the creative capacity to make
chawan that would stand up as competition to Arakawa but Toyoba's works are a
very worthy successor to his master and I suspect many of the various
subtleties that one sees that distinguishes the one from the other are the
intentional voice of a pupil finding his own way out of the shadow of the
master a task at which I think he has succeeded quite well.
I received this large and rather colorful chawan by Ogawa Tetsuo about a week ago and it has been hanging around on the shelf as it was put up on Trocadero for a fellow collector. Ogawa Tetsuo is a dedicated potter who specializes in working with slips and Korean slipware of which this chawan is a classic example of his kohiki pottery. The chawan showcases a rather broad spectrum of colors and other visual textures including large gohonde fawn spots and colors running from off white to pink, blue-grey and muted charcoal all under a translucent and waxy ash glaze. I had originally photographed this chawan using a white background which you can see on my Trocadero marketplace but decided to try using a black background to help bring out some of the various colors and textures that make up the surface to which I think it gives a slightly different if not better read narrative of what the bowl looks like. At the end of the day it really is quite a feat that so much can be done with so little in the way of clay and a few materials to produce a chawan imbued with character and rich in subtleties that few other potters can portray in a simple slipped teabowl. You can see more of this chawan by going over to my Trocadero page; https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1415069/LARGE-COLORFUL-KOHIKI-CHAWAN-BY-OGAWA-TETSUO
If
you read my blog it probably is clear that I am determined to continue to tweak
a glaze no matter how satisfied I was with it five minutes ago, on and on until
it really can not be adjusted any more, think altered to the point of failure.
For a couple of months now I have been playing with adding washes over may
latest version of Oribe which has produced a number of different effects as
both failures and successes. This small covered jar is the latest in a series
of test that has come from some recent experimentation and I really like the
droozy, weeping surface that is composed of metallic blacks and greys as well
as silver and varying blues. This was the first pot that I tried this on that
had smooth surfaces and little to no throwing marks and it still creates a
rather active and lively surface. I took this picture in the sunlight because
truthfully in normal or tungsten lighting the surface looks a bit dark and
almost olive-brown but with the help of the Sun it just perks right up. I have
also thrown a group of faceted teabowls that I will glaze up and fire next
round and show the surface under several different light sources. For now,
given the propensity for the surface to run, I am just thankful the glaze
stayed on the pot and isn't now permanently attached to the piece of shelf it
was fired on.
This
illustration came from an auction catalogue from a number of years back, an auction
we made the trek to preview the various lots but this chawan specifically. there was a tremendous amount of
bowl packed in to this chawan with its wonderful presence, posture and surface,
a modern pot that has undoubtedly stayed at the very top of my list all these
years. obviously heavily influenced by the Momoyama masterpiece, MINE no
MOMIJI, this chawan is a tour de force by Wakao Toshisada and a piece I rate
extremely high among his body of work. I have handled a handful of Wakao chawan
in this style but this was the shining example, the others were not decorated
quite as expressively and lacked the movement and animation that is present in
this piece, in fact as I look at this pot, I can't help but see its foundation,
the clay still on the wheel, perched high atop a large hump of clay, still
spinning as the potter inspects his work and glistening from the recent use of
moisture to aid in the throwing process. Last but not least, the rich use of
color under the muting glaze surface paints a rather feudal narrative that
clearly connects past to present in a way that resonates beyond the context of
the chawan and its perceived purpose. In the end there is little else that I
can say but; wow!
Looking
a bit like a scarred landscape from some distance above, the wonderful dai-kannyu
effect (big cracks) on this Hagi guinomi read like an ancient treasure map of
some far off locale. Added to the deep, textural fissures, the variety of
colors play across the surface creating a rather complex and different
landscape with every turn of this diminutive little pot. Though small in
stature, this guinomi has all the power and character of larger pieces by Hagi
master, Yamato Yasuo, the purpose and determination of the form and posture
create a pot that welcomes use whether it is for sake or even M&Ms. This
rich surface is a wonderful blend of both tactile and visual stimulation which
can include the taste buds under just the right circumstances. "Pleasure
is a pillar to lean on, sake in front of me, comfortable company and the sound
of mortar and pestle."Hakuin
Today
is one of those days, a day to get odds and ends done including acting as a
taxi service and dropping my wife off at the airport. As soon as I got home, I
started firing the kiln which has two large test bowls, 4 slip test small tiles
and a group of test pots included among the mix. As a last actual pottery
related chore, I glazed up a porcelain test bowl in a commercial glaze that
someone sent me as a gift and admittedly, I am curious what the results will
actually look like. Before glazing up the bowl, I contacted the manufacturer's
technical person and got a few suggestions as to how to use it as quite
frankly, I rarely use any commercial glazes and I guess this particular one is
a bit tricky. With actual clay related tasks out of the way, I
collected up and packed two small orders which includes a pair of cup and
saucers and a group of four matching temmoku and ash 8" bowls using
recycled or perhaps repurposed packing materials and boxes. As you can see the
slab roller and clay scale are pulling double duty to get the close to actual
shipping weight correct as the USPS is a bit touchy when it comes to any gross
miscalculations. Once all packed up, I set up and printed two labels and
scheduled a postal pick-up which makes tomorrow just a bit less busy. As you
can tell, today was one of those days of multi-tasking and completing some odds
and ends, all necessary and just part of my pottery week and what beats being
busy to make Monday just a bit easier to manage. Did I mention my wife is out of town? That means a week
of really bad, great cult movies!
Last
week I received an email asking me about the Kaneshige Kosuke piece known as
"Floating Object or Portrait" that I had put up on my blog that in
the photo somewhat resembles something out of an old horror or science fiction
movie. The emailer asked if I had taken any more "conservative" pictures
of the piece and of course I had, well over a hundred in fact. Illustrated is a
face on, overall photo of the sculptural piece that I think gives a rather
clear picture of the Bizen object for which Kaneshige is well known. The
surface has just the right firing to bring out the details and crisp cuts and
edges of the piece allowing all of the clay and texture to come front and
center which adds a bit of tension and even drama to the work. I hope this
portrait of the Portrait is what was asked for and maybe in the future I will
collect up the photos and put together a short video slideshow of what is
arguably a rather fine and thoughtful work by a modern mainstay of Bizen who is
known to have strayed outside the box now and again. You can see the
original post and photo by following the attached link; https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2019/04/plumbing-depths.html
A
while back I posted up a rather unorthodox Ki-Seto kabin by Tsukigata Nahiko
that was made around 1972 or so. As I mentioned in the blog, the surface
doesn't necessarily conjure up a text book definition of the style so I took a
picture out of the ONI-SHINO book, also circa 1972 to give a more classical
example of Ki-Seto which Tsukigata has termed, Oni-Ki-Seto. Despite the
creative moniker, this chawan certainly subscribes a bit more to the tradition
and it is clear in form and surface that this is clearly influenced by
historical archetypes and the works of his master, Arakawa Toyozo while there
is no denying that this bowl is distinctly the product of Tsukigata's creative
and fertile aesthetic. I love the power of the form and undulating lip and the
richness of the surface with areas of thicker, built up ash deposits and the
emphasis on the verticality of the chawan written in the streaking, running
glaze. I really like this chawan for the blend of simple and complex and should
we ever meet, I hope it is neither bashful nor offended by PDA*. (*
Pottery Displays of Affection)
Having
a few minutes the other day, I went ahead and made another kotsuzumi influenced
koro and admittedly it doesn't pay to just make one piece when trying out a new
idea. The construction of the piece was just like the previous one but I
altered the proportions a little to get a slightly different form which
includes four pierced squares in the knob to mimic the pierced and impressed
devices around the piece. Destined for my Oribe glaze with a wash over the surface
I am looking forward to seeing what this looks like finished and how the
glaze/wash combo responds to the sloping surfaces. As before, I will certainly
not count my chickens before the eggs are hatched but if this makes it and no clumsy
kiln loaders or unloaders get handsy than I will post a picture of the finished
pot when it (fingers crossed) makes it across the finish
line. "The place where optimism most flourishes is in the lunatic
asylum*." Havelock Ellis (* Sometimes known as a pottery studio.)
A
while back I posted a sunlit photo of a Shino mallet vase by Nakajima Ichiyo
and I finally got around to building a slideshow video of the vase. As you can
see the extremely simple form but good, classic proportions are a perfect foil
for the iron slip, Shino glaze and all natural ash effects created during the wood
firing that the piece stood up to. Admittedly this surface and indeed this pot
stand out among Nakajima's works from those others that I have encountered and
seen, the pot was subjected to a wonderful array of effects during the firing
process that make this pot stand out among the potter's body of work. The
degree of complication to what is honestly a simple addition of ash to the
glazed pot is presumably the best one can hope for where serendipity and
experience collide. I hope this short video slideshow gives the fuller
story of what this pot looks like in person and you can see the original post
where this Nakajima mallet vase is basking in the Sun by following this link;https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2019/10/sunshine-on-my-shoulder.html
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