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Back while working in Cleveland there was a rather rich environment of people actively working within the majolica idiom, at CSU Dick Schneider made quite a few pots in that style as did Bill Brouillard at the CIA followed along by their students. Having worked in proximity to both and then with Linda Arbuckle it just became natural to add majolica to the styles that I worked in and it worked well with my terra cotta clay body. Over the years though I have found myself making less and less of tin glazed pottery with only the occasional use of majolica as much to keep up with the technology and experience as anything else.

The illustrated medium plate was part of a small group set aside and majolica glazed and decorated; four plates, four bowls and several teabowls that I fired at the bottom of a terra cotta firing. All in all the plates and bowls came out okay but the designs that I used on most of the teabowls just didn't work out all that well which explains why I used a rather tried and true grasses and abstrakt background decoration on the other pieces. Decorating and firing these pieces was a real clear reminder that I enjoy this process but in an effort to keep up with what decoration works well with what forms I will need to practice this more than once or twice a year moving forward.

"Everyone should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice."  William James

VISUAL ROAD TRIP

"Shino which was fired in the Mino kilns during the Momoyama period, stands at the top of the history of Japanese ceramic art. It is said to be located at the highest peak among ancient ceramics. It has a plump warm touch like cotton and a simple yet noble fragrance (this) is the feature I want to express (in) Shino in the modern age."  Enomoto Kyousuke (This is a rather imprecise translation of Enomoto's quote though the best I could do.)

I posted a photo of a wari-kodai from a Shino chawan in a recent post and decided that since I wasn't sure when I may get around to making a slideshow video I would just post up an overall photo of the chawan. Made by Enomoto Kyousuke this is a generous and lively bowl perched upon its split, pedestal foot with a thin layer of milky, translucent Shino over a dark iron slip with the addition of a thick, pure white band of glaze around the chawan. Though at first glance I can see the influence of some modern masters, this teabowl has its own distinct personality where thick Shino paints a wondrous snow covered mountain range against the hazy red sunset of some far off place like a visual road trip for the imagination. I really like the variety of dimension and textures to this chawan which is enjoyable in the hand and ever so slightly reminiscent of some poem extolling the joys of some exotic locale and just how to get there. 

I think that this chawan would be best served through a slideshow and hopefully I will get to it in turn though there are several other pieces already lined up in the queue.

HISHOKU

I mentioned this chawan a few posts back, made by Sakauchi Ensen (b.1922) of Okayama Prefecture this unusual, perhaps even a bit unique among the rich diversity of all the Bizen-yaki styles. Sakauchi calls this style Hishoku Nanban-yaki, secret color unglazed (Nanban) pottery which is different than any other Bizen of its time or since which makes pieces such as this stick out all the more from a sea of brown pottery, emblazoned with rich colors, a pronounced visual texture and lots of movement. This chawan was very finely potted and fired upside down as evidenced by the rich, accumulated ash drips on the mouth and is covered in a variety of thick, colorful textures on the exterior and interior of the bowl. Though I have seen a number of Sakauchi's chawan, guinomi, tokkuri and katakuchi, each one is a unique work because of the firing process and each teabowl is a classic chawan with the ultimate goal of fulfilling its basic function for the tea ceremony while presenting a unique and unorthodox aesthetic which has broadened the Bizen tradition.

SILHOUETTE(S)

I should mention that the current situation has a rather far reaching, ripple effect indiscriminately across the board. Pots I started working on in the last month will likely not have anywhere to go for the foreseeable future as galleries close in an abundance of caution. I will finish off what I am working on and get the pieces processed but will likely put on my experimentation hat to work on some tests and ideas that have been percolating lately and maybe something positive will come out of this down time.

Freshly tooled, slipped and carved, this medium size XOXO covered jar was thrown out of my troublesome terra cotta and is now set to dry slowly over the next week or so. The lid is finished with a rather accentuated silhouette knob which I first starting using as far back as Cleveland State while using thick slabs that were heavily stamped, paddled and carved for a series of rather large covered pieces that I was making. The one thing that is undeniable about these knobs is that no matter the scale of one's hands/fingers, even in oven mitts, it is easy to get a good grip and depending on the silhouette, it cast an a rather striking and unique shadow. I have made about a half dozen of these covered pieces with a total of three different knobs, each hopefully tying in with the form and decoration, I will try to remember to post a picture of the finished piece once it is glazed and fired.

NOT MY POT, NOT MY PHOTO II

I made a quick composite photo of the front and back of a very sturdy, somber Echizen hanaire made by Kumano Kuroemon, the same one that I posted the detail shot of about a week ago. The essence of the Echizen firing and classic Kumano styling is seen in these photo with a with array of firing effects including a rich, shiny dark hiiro on the rear which is punctuated by running drips of ash and a large botamochi style shadow adding a hint of mystery and intrigue into the aggressive, even ferocious nature of the firing process that Kumano is so fond of and committed to. There is warmth, strength and honesty in Kumano's clay, pottery that springs from the spirit and imagination yet rooted in sincerity and function. I think it is more than abundantly clear as you look at the works of Kumano Kuroemon, created by half-man, half-bear that if you aren't going to push the throwing and firing to the very point of chaos and collapse then why would you bother?

"Real gold does not fear the fire." A Chinese Proverb

NUMBER TWO OF THREE

The other day I received a package with three pots in it to sell for a collector friend that he had acquired in Japan. The first was the Hishoku Nanban-yaki chawan  by Sakauchi Ensen which displayed a wonderfully exotic array of color and texture that I think I can confidently say is unique to the potter. This two view photo is of a Bizen chawan by Kondo Masahiko that is brought to life while simply hanging out, just basking in the sun light of the afternoon. This photo clearly shows off the rich tan of the ash covered face of the chawan along with the interior back wall of the bowl showing off the small pool of liquid ash running ever so slightly into the interior. The opposite side of the teabowl shows off several other qualities, a nice blend of texture, ash and flashing all painted by a rather discriminating firing. The chawan is probably best highlighted by the carefree and meandering lip, the bold, deep carving and the unseen well conceived and orchestrated foot cut as the near perfect companion to the form and attitude of the piece. I am not saying this is a perfect chawan but I will say that through all the experience acquired during his apprenticeship with Kakurezaki and the years since it is quite obvious that Kondo Masahiko has a real knack for putting all the right pieces of the puzzle in just the right place to paint a perfect picture.

You can see more of this chawan over on my Trocadero marketplace;
https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1419751/BOLDLY-CARVED-BIZEN-CHAWAN-BY-KONDO-MASAHIKO

ONE STEP AT A TIME

I was looking for a particular set of photos to show a customer that was interested in ordering a dinnerware set as a wedding gift and stumbled on a folder of thrown and made oval lidded pieces. This particular "low and slow" teapot started off life as a bottomless cylinder with a gallery thrown into the top to later accommodate a lid, once dry enough it was pushed oval and allowed to set up over night. The next morning I threw the spot that I felt best fit the form, applied a slab base and using a piece of the slab, used the top of the teapot as a slump mold to form and fit the lid. Once the lid was fit and knob applied, the handle was the last piece of the puzzle in a process that is summed up in one step at a time. The pot was decorated once close to leather hard and then once bisque, glazed and fired. The firing process is a bit tricky in that I want the temperature to go up slowly so as not to warp of alter the existing oval shape to the mouth or in the end the lid doesn't end up ever fitting right. In this case the lid fits quite snug and is easy to put on and take off and stays put while pouring which is about the best you can ask for.

NOT MY POT, NOT MY PHOTO

When you are looking at the pottery of Kumano Kuroemon, there are two broad categories to his work; unglazed, yakishime Echizen-yaki and his Shino glazed, Kuma-Shino. In this instance, this detail shot is of the back of an all natural Echizen fired vase that was fired lying down, this happening to be the bottom while being fired. As a result of Kumano's intense, almost herculean firings the ash built up and has run like liquid. In turn this has created these marvelous jewels formed in the promethean fire of his kiln which combined elements of ash, clay and calcium supplied by all of the shells used as wadding to protect pots from becoming permanently fused together like one giant mass. Though this is not my pot, not my photo, it clearly presents the ferocity and strength of throwing and modeling the clay and of the fire which fused this pot into permanence painted with all of the byproducts it takes to turn once wet and malleable clay in to this grand and expressive object you see before you.

"Fire has proved - for men a teacher in every art, their grand resources."  Prometheus Bound (Aeschylus)

IF MEMORY SERVES ME*

I remember our first trip down to NYC to meet with Dr. Fred Baekeland and his wife rather clearly and prior to going we had exchanged a few letters and photos (remember a thing called the mail?) as well as a few phone conversations in regards to our interests and our "want list". At the time we were interested in wood fired pots, mostly the six ancient kilns, Shino and Hagi pottery. When we arrived the good Doctor had a number of pots out and a group of boxes within view and one by one he showed us a rather nice selection of pieces, some in our price range and others not even close. We were guided toward a young Bizen potter who's work we just did not connect with as well as several Hagi pots by both Hatano Zenzo and Mukuhara Kashun, both of whom had just recently had exhibitions in Japan which was where these pots were acquired ( I believe the shows were in Osaka and Kyoto respectively). We were taken by both of these potters but we would have to choose between two chawan by Hatano and one by Mukuhara and though it took some real mental acrobatics, we choose the Hatano Zenzo chawan which we still have all these years later. After several months we contact Dr. Baekeland and asked if the Mukuhara chawan was still available and it was not and to this day we continue to have a soft spot for the chawan of  both Hatano and Mukuhara .

Fast forward more than a few years (!) and this rather nice, simple chawan shows up with rich colors including some coral tones and a rather provocative milky white ash glaze over the majority of the chawan. This chawan is by Hagi potter, Mukuhara Kashun, at least a decade or more later than the one I had handled back in NYC and has such a classic and traditional appearance that it escape time, new or old it was created by design and for a specific purpose. Over the years I have heard a number of individuals talk about what does and doesn't make for a good chawan, how many are just "bowls" at the end of the day, to my eye, Mukuhara doesn't go out of his way to make chawan, it just happens on the wheel; first when it is thrown and then when the kodai is skillfully yet simply executed. A good chawan reminds me that there really is truth to the old adage, sometimes thing do just happen and probably all the more often when you have spent a lifetime in clay.

(* And yes, I miss THE IRON CHEF Japanese TV show.)

TWO SETS OF SIX OR A DOZEN DONE

In some respects, this snowberry design is somewhat new, combining sgrafitto and slip trailing and the majority of pieces that I have made have been plates, tray forms, teabowls and covered serving bowls. I decided to branch out a bit and see how the design works on various forms and along with a couple of covered jars, I made a series of a dozen bowls, two sets of six with the decoration on the interior and exterior. I think the design works well on the form though doubling up on the decoration actually is a bit time consuming and it took me a few bowls to figure out where I should start on the inside or out. In the end, I decorated the interior first and then flipped the bowls upside down to decorate the exterior which seemed to be the best way to complete the task at hand and after completing a few pieces, a rhythm emerges and the decoration moves along quite a bit faster than expected.

IN THE ROUND

Having had this Yamato Tsutomu Dai-Kannyu Hagi Chawan hanging around for a couple weeks, I decided to make a short video slideshow to paint a fuller picture of the piece presenting it as best I may in the round as it were. I think I first saw a chawan by Tsutomu's father, Yamato Yasuo back in 2004 or 2005 and just immediately fell in love with the surface and aesthetic. I love that the surfaces look like they are literally being pulled apart like some celestial breakdown of a planet or asteroid which gives telling glimpses in to the interior of the pot exposing slip and clay in an evocative and narrative of some distant primal expression. I think that the video also points out the richness of color and texture and where the pot is visually dissected from dark to light with a more classic Shiro-Hagi appears on the rear of the pot. In the end what I hope one takes away from the slideshow is it is clear this is not business as usual from Hagi but rather something new to father and son and likely something to build on in an already rich and diverse Hagi tradition. Enjoy the video.

You can see this chawan over onTrocadero ; 
https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1417067/TSUKI-KAGE-HAGI-DAI-KANNYU-CHAWAN-BY-YAMATO-TSUTOMU

CHOSEN

I know in the past I have mentioned an interest in the unpredictability of runny glazes in my work so it should come as no surprise that the same applies to pots that I collect and/or study. The movement and conversations created in a moving surface is pure excitement, it pleases the eye and the soul which is the most you can ask of a pot. The illustrated detail is from a Chosen-Karatsu chawan made by Fujinoki Dohei and the surface is alive with motion as the glaze cascades down the rounded contours of the bowl. As the tendrils of movement pick up varying tones of color and texture from the base glaze, a rich tapestry is woven between pot and viewer, a narrative steeped in a centuries old tradition that was made in the here and know; centuries of tradition, aesthetics and beauty all frozen in time as the elements coalesced to paint this Chosen-Karatsu waterfall. I wanted to present this detail before showing off the whole chawan as sometimes the tree is the first thing that should be realized before you take in the entire forest.

"Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail." Leonardo Da Vinci

TK No2 FACTUM

 

I finally fired a group of new Oribe test pieces including some small covered jars, a few serving pieces, teabowls and the kotsuzumi style koro that I had made. The results were pretty encouraging across the board with a nice array of effects on the various pots, each according to how they were glaze treated. The kotsuzumi style koro emerged without incident though I must admit until it was unloaded I just had this sense that it may be jinxed but I was anxious for no reason at all in the end. The koro came out pretty close to form as I had seen in my head and the surface has a wild, variegated surface with streaking resembling drizzling moss across nearly the entire surface with some areas of thick blue-green to white running down the pierced knob and around the central portion of the pot. The various sharp edges and lines around the pot as well as the pierced and impressed squares break up the surface and add more movement and detail to read. In the end I am both relieved and pleased to see this piece completed, what started as a quick thought while watching a Mizoguchi film made its way from a ball of clay to a complete idea in three dimensions, what is not to love about clay and second chances?