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)
.JPG)