STARTING POINT

This picture was taken from an exhibition catalogue from Showa 53 and I was immediately struck by its wonderful shape and simple, even subtle surface. I love chawan of this shape, they fit the hands so well and the form flows perfectly from kodai to lip, to my eye this is the marriage of the old and the new. This chawan is simply identified as "Karatsu Chawan" and was made by Arakawa Toyozo so not the typical surface one is used to seeing but with every new book or catalogue I see the definition of his work expanded bit by bit. One of the reason I suspect that I honed on this chawan and the form is that if you strip away the glaze surface and try to imagine the bones of the pot, it is rather clear where Tsukigata Nahiko set his foundation for his forms and how a teabowl moves and occupies space. I am not saying that Tsukigata slavishly copied Arakawa, rather the principles and fundamentals of form are taught in the master's work and literally provide for a foundation to build on to create a more personalized vocabulary.  I think it is easy to see Arakawa in the bones, the foundations of all who studied with him (and many that did not) but it is what you do with that knowledge that shows the vision and character of  the individual and this chawan is certainly a great starting point for any potter East or West.