YOU LOOK MARVELOUS

There are a lot of pots out there made by a lot of potters both past and present that are not great but are just brimming with character, personality and varying appeal and I doubt that will be any different in the foreseeable future. I guess my real point is that a pot doesn't have to be great to pull a viewer or collector in, hook, line and sinker, all it needs is a strength and appeal that is conversant at a variety of levels that sparks a connection. The real question though is where does the character come from, what constitutes that as an attribute; is it the posture, form, surface, idiosyncrasies, movement, lip, interior, kodai, tradition or is it a combination of all those qualities in a subtle and nuanced gesture? However you wish to determine character, I choose to see it as the definable nature, or attribute of a thing and in this specific discussion, I am referring to pottery. I think that ultimately how we see character is far less objective than it is subjective and it boils down to each individual driven by the sum total of their experiences that let us simply conclude that; "you look marvelous".

I have built a slideshow video of a pot that isn't what one thinks of as classically great but it makes up for any perceived short comings by over flowing with character. This chawan is by Hagi veteran, Mukuhara Kashun and is a skillful blend of tradition and personal vision from the wild wari-kodai and cut and reassembled bowl to the rich surface and flowing areas of milky white glaze creating movement around the chawan. There is a playfulness and strength in this chawan which adds to my observation that this bowl has an abundance of character and I hope that after seeing the video you may agree as well.