IRON UNDER GLASS

Thrown and then manipulated and even pinched, this buffware chawan was made by perhaps my favorite Fudo painter, Sato Katsuhiko. As I mentioned the bowl is made of a off white, buff stoneware and then calligraphy was brushed around the surface using a rusty iron wash which has areas of semi-translucent to opaque qualities that brings the eye round and round the bowl. Before firing the teabowl was glazed in a thin clear glaze that accentuates both the clay and decoration which makes for a rather appealing overall presentation like iron floating under a thin layer of glass.  Living and working in Nara Prefecture, Sato Katsuhiko began learning pottery making under Tsujimura Shiro in 1974 and over the years he has created a wide array of works and styles from Bizen style wood fired pots to painted overglaze enamel pottery, sometsuke ware and many others including this shoga style chawan. Though I don't exactly consider Sato a great potter it is rather clear that he gets his message across in the works that he throws himself as is the case with this chawan, for some of the other heavy lifting he has had more accomplished potters step in and create pots that where clay act as his canvas for ideas that flow out of two dimensions and sometimes in to three. I know I have used the Clint Eastwood quote before but it is true that "a man has to know his limitations" and in this case, it is possible that Sato Katsuhiko may have exceeded them.

A LITTLE CHEESE, A LITTLE BREAD, A LITTLE WINE......

I am sure, despite where you live or what religion you practice, most people have seen or heard this Bible quote; "Man shall not live by bread alone."  (Matthew 4:4) In recent times it has become rather clear that as we try to sequester ourselves at home that the things that we actually run out of the quickest are fresh vegetables and bread of one form or another. As these stocks are gobbled up we find ourselves needing to make a quick trek out for basic staples to the grocery store and bakery. I recently remarked in an email exchange with a former student that potteries and bakeries are my two favorite places to go, both remind me of home and usually are extremely comforting so the bakery is a must stop.

On our trip out we finished at our local bakery, The White Rose Bakery (Little Falls) and picked up a baguette, a loaf of rye bread, several hard rolls and two cinnamon fritters. the fritters were fresh, warm, just out of the oven with the frosting yet to fully harden as you see in the photo. Once home they were placed in this medium sized and faceted bowl to wait out their short life span, a nice desert to the garlic shrimp pasta which was accompanied by a third of the baguette doubling as garlic bread. It may be true that you can't live on bread alone but it is a commodity in most households that many are dependent on and we are thankful for all those continuing there essential jobs of providing comfort in the way of tasty carbs.

IN THE MOMENT

Given all the noise and bells and whistles everywhere you go or look, coming home to your selected environment, your personal space it is rewarding and comforting to be greeted by simple yet profound objects. This simple, timeless chawan resonates with tradition, antiquity and existing in the moment, all features that I enjoy in a pot or any other object for that matter. Made by Nishibata Daibi (1976-2010), son of the master veteran Tamba potter Nishibata Tadashi, this simple wood fired hakeme chawan is surely based on earlier archetypes infused with hints of modern personality in form, surface and firing. There is a sense of grace and movement that is both real and implied with the motion and application of the thick, crackled hakeme slip and the soft and subtle rolling of the lip which are concretely anchored in the sturdy kodai which is further enhanced with a boldly cut notched foot adding more depth to the bowl. Though simple at first glance I am reminded of the quip that life is quite simple but we insist on making it complicated and despite of all of the complicated, complex thoughts that go into the creation of a good chawan it is quite evident that this gone long before his time talent was quite well versed in keeping it quite simple, at least in appearance.

SATSUMA GEM

This gem-like Satsuma chaire was a real chore to photograph so in the end, I decided to take this informal portrait complete with hotspots and the reflection of the tatami display. Made by Saigo Takafumi (b.1947), a direct descendant of Saigo Takamori (check your wiki), this potter has dedicated his life to the pursuit of various Satsuma style glazed ware including this shinsha red chaire painted with evocative and visually pleasing swaths of blue to purple about the form. The surface of this fat, round form is punctuated with shimmery crystal of a wide array of colors which is in turn complimented by the broad, flat lid and fine Satsuma clay base. Though best known for his take on traditional pottery of the Kagoshima region, this chaire with its Chinese influenced form and red glaze is brought home with the rich and diffuse use of the black glaze splashed across the face like some classic Zen ink stroke and made distinctly Satsuma and even more so a work by Saigo Takafumi.

SILHOUETTE(S) II

As a quick follow up to a recent post, here is the silhouette XOXO covered pot out of the glaze kiln and ready for whatever its next step may be. I decided to go ahead and throw a handful more pieces to fill the kiln, get everything to bisque and then glazed and fired the work. In the end I thought having the work completed made the pieces a bit safer than in varying stages of green or bisque ware as I was moving things around while working on other ideas and projects. Though it may not seem so at first glance, this covered piece was designed for use though I am hoping it will looks just fine sitting on a table or shelf as well and I think the silhouettes bring just a hint of mystery, the unknown to the piece allowing the viewer to fill in the blanks for themselves. I had fun making these larger, oversize silhouette knobs and especially with the other designs that I came up with the connection between imagery and decoration is quite crystal clear. More to come.

NMPNMP; MICHIAKI EDITION

I have this book that showcases modern craftsman in a variety of pursuits relating to Cha(no)yu and every time I pick it up I inevitably get stuck on this page. As the titles implies, this is neither my pot nor my photo but let's face it, it is an extremely fine example of the work of Kaneshige Michiaki and I felt compelled to share it. To be fair, there are a number of pieces both pottery and otherwise that can give you a moment's pause from this book but this chawan just speaks to me, it is ceramic poetry; lyrical and unencumbered shape, graceful and determined posture, excellent geometry of form and a surface that is as close to as good as it gets for Kaneshige Michiaki. The beauty of the narrative surface is that the firing does just the right amount of painterly addition without obscuring the purity of the form, a form that speaks to purpose and tradition while clearly noting its modern lineage. As I said, this is a pot that just resonates for me and I though, especially given our very unusual and trying times there is nothing better than sharing.

LATTICE

I'll start out by saying, this is a fairly large Shigaraki tsubo. Beyond the obvious of scale, the surface is covered with a lattice like netting or fence pattern while the interior id covered with a series of banded tataki anvil marks adding a nice touch visually to the pot. The reticulated exterior is covered in a nice coat of ash, some of which breaks to areas of wetness while the rest of the pot shows a dusting of ash and rich, reddish clay , tsuchi-aji that is admired by wood fire connoisseurs. This pot is a classic example of a large Shigaraki tsubo by Takahashi Shunsai which is a fine blend of ancient tradition, his father's ideals (Rakusai III) and his own vision all wrapped up in this neat package. I have seen a number of pots decorated in this fashion and in the catalogue; THE SHIGARAKI WARE; NAOKATA'S TEA WARE & SHUNSAI'S JARS there are several examples of jars showing the use of impressed decoration about the surfaces. This pot gives off a rather strong feudal presence in person and has that timeless quality that I admire in wood fired pots and I hope this short video slideshow gives one of sense of the volume if not the scale of the piece along with the character of this simple, paddled jar.

YOUR BASIC B&W

It may seem your basic B&W but I really like black and white as a concept and for a wide array of design and decoration and the seemingly endless possibilities. At its core black and white is elemental, primal and essential throughout human history and is easy to relate to for most people but for me it is the simplicity and potential that interests me the most. Using black and white is another one of those self-imposed challenges, just how much can I do with it and is it as limitless as it seems? Illustrated is a simple teapot and cups set with a rich, dark black background and the rain pattern over the forms with undecorated black areas punctuating the forms and creating a bit more visual interest. The interiors of the pieces was left unadorned and the rich terra cotta clay peaks out here and there which I have always really liked, the white speckles are from the stoneware clay added to the body to give it a bit more strength and durability but the decorative effect is just a bonus.

MOOD LIGHTING

Now before anyone says anything, yes, I realize I had posted this teabowl up on my blog before but today the sun was a most cooperative part of an ongoing dialogue that I am having with this teabowl by Jack Troy. Every turn of the bowl, changing light source and particular mood of the sun affects the surface and allows nuances and subtleties to renew an invigorated conversation to take place. With today's encounter, small crystals of iron, fine and exotic micro-crazing and the depth and extent of the green ash cloaking the surface and cradled in nocks and crannies of the bowl paint an entirely new landscape narrative that adds even more contemplative depth to the piece. As I look at the teabowl today and now the photo, I can't help but think about the age old real estate adage; "location, location, location" which I think at many levels applies to how and where we display our pots creating an endlessly changing aesthetic before your very eyes.  

DAI-KANNYU II

Illustrated is a wonderful chawan that is up on a Japanese website that specializes in Hagi pottery and carries the work of the modern master; Yamato Yasuo, to be clear, this is not my photo but I was compelled to share. Several weeks back I posted up a chawan by Yamato Yasuo's son, Tsutomu using this particular technique so I decided to search around and find an example of where this style originated and thought that this was just an excellent example to showcase. There is a great deal of risk in working with this technique, many chawan fail with areas of surface flaking off the surface but when it works it is worth the risk and effort. I have concluded why I am drawn to these surfaces; there is a primal, elemental quality to them, they are unfettered by pattern and given over to happenstance and a controlled chaos born out of a potter's experience.

This chawan has a carefully crafted form that is both pleasing to the eye and easy to use with a lip that is skillfully manipulated to appear effortless and natural which is complimented by the spread of the pedestal style kodai that gives off a reassuring atmosphere of stability and artistry. The rich and peachy undertones are ever so slightly muted by the milky white glaze that is interrupted by the bold and random fissures that run from the surface all the way to the clay body of the chawan adding not only a dynamic tension to the appearance but a distinct sense of mystery as well. What is easy to conclude from this chawan is that it is a tour de force of Yamato Yasuo's unique Dai-Kannyu Hagi style and that from posture to pose this is as classic an example as it gets to show off this daring and unpredictable endeavor.

TWO-TIER

This teabowl came out of my last stoneware firing a while back and is just a slight deviation from the other teabowls in that I created two tiers of faceting. The two raised bands created by the intermittent faceting create a wobbly ridge that feels good to the hand and brings the eye round and round the bowl like a rollercoaster for the less adventurous. Perhaps the best feature of adding the additional ridge is that it collects all the more glaze which also highlights the cuts and brings a clear focus to the dark, pooled glaze which has a slightly mysterious quality. I realize this is not terribly different than the other teabowls of this style that I posted but I am not finished with this idea and it is always interesting to fool around with the formula and see what comes about. Let's face it, practice is supposed to make things perfect.

"Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand." Neil Armstrong

JOURNEE ENSOLEILEE

I first saw this rich black chawan on a website in Japan and really liked the glaze quality and the wonky form and I suspect it is very enjoyable to hold. This photo was taken on a rather sunny day in France and I thought this informal portrait gave a different, less sterile appreciation of the form and surface. Showing the balancing act between the shiny and the slightly coarse qualities of the piece together with the casual throwing brings the chawan to life, animated in the sunlight and just begging to be picked up and put to whatever use you have in mind. At the end though I wonder just how much better off this Tsujimura Kai chawan is bathed in sun than sitting high off on some distant shelf just collecting dust.

"How clear, how lovely bright,

How beautiful to sight

Those beams of morning play

How heaven laugh out with glee

Where, like a bird set free

Up from the eastern sea

Soars the delightful day.

To-day I shall be strong

No more shall yield to wrong

Shall squander life no more;

Days lost, I know not how,

I shall retrieve them now:Nor I shall keep the vow

I never kept before.

Ensanguining the skies

How heavily it dies

Into the west away

Past touch and sight and sound

Not further to be found

How hopeless under ground

Falls the remorseful day." A.E. Houseman

HOW CONVENIENT

This is a clever and fun picture that I found on the internet at some point and I thought this was just a great E-Garatsu guinomi with a tokkuri painted to compliment the intended function of the piece. Seriously, how convenient and as you look at it long enough it is like the tokkuri is just asking to be plucked off the guinomi and used. Made by Karatsu veteran Murata Munehiko the animated cup benefits by the casual brushwork which brings both the tokkuri and guinomi to life. I can only imagine this would be a wonderful little pot to use infused with a sense of playfulness and perhaps a degree of the potter's sly humor.

"Reality continues to ruin my life." Bill Watterson