OFF THE WHEEL

From time to time I end up in a conversation about why I like a particular pot or potter, sometimes it is questioning my judgment (?) but for the most part it is more about asking what or how I see something. On more than one occasion I have mentioned that I have some aesthetic affinity for many, not all of the works by Masamune Satoru (Kengyo, Moriyasu) and my normal response is that I just enjoy the way he has handled the clay. This particular mizusashi is a good example, it is an honest, unforced and straight forward piece that was thrown with a certain directness; the proportions are rather good, there is very little effort to alter or mask the "off the wheel" feeling which imparts a wet and soft appearance which the surface enhances and does not mask. As I look at the pot, the bones of the piece speak of purpose with just the right amount of movement starting at the meandering foot and the undulating top of the mizusashi capped off with an appealing and practical lid and knob. When I have the chance to see or study a pot by Masamune, I see a steward of a cultural heritage that was motivated by a collision of tradition, clay, firing and an internal drive to create Bizen pottery in the modern age.