WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

What is immediately apparent in this photo is that the color is off, a bit yellow as my "wonder" bulb" finally bite the bust and I had to resort to an ordinary 100 watt bulb right out of the kitchen cupboard for a lighting source. That being said I had a window of opportunity to take some pictures of this classic, little Bizen chaire by Konishi Toko I and I decided this would have to do. Made in the classic hidasuki, fire marks style, this pot was wrapped in some treated straw prior to being fired and that caused the wonderful flashing around the pot creating an abstract and seemingly random design. This chaire is based on a bamboo node and was meticulously thrown of a fine grained clay ending in this formal and precise form which is an excellent vehicle for the hidasuki technique and its time in a noborigama firing. The surface as you can see is nearly perfectly smooth allowing the atmosphere during the firing and the straw wrapping to paint the canvas as closely as intended by the potter. This gem-like chaire has a partner in crime, a bamboo style mizusashi (made at a different time) with just vivid flashing and fuming that creates a stellar surface and like this pot, both add another paragraph to the expanding tome that is Bizen.

MOONLIGHT

Illustrated is a very early Tsukigata Nahiko carved and painted (gofun?) wood panel, the photo comes out of a catalogue from the early 1970s. Reading "moonlight" this panel has a chipped away texture that surrounds the two kanji and signature which pop off the panel due to the bright white nature of the pigment used to highlight the recessed carving. Over the years I have seen a number of Tsukigata Nahiko carved panels and though they were never as expensive as his best pottery work, one can imagine the time and effort needed to carve and finish these panels made them out of the reach for most collectors during his lifetime.

The majority of panels that I have seen seem to run about 80 to 100cm in length and are carved out of dense, unfinished wood "planks" for lack of a better term with fairly deep recessed carving in the thick and heavy wood. I am not sure how well one's sculpting ability translates to wood carving but Tsukigata also carved stone as evidenced by large carved stone steles on his studio property, presumably a skill he learned in part from his father. There are three distinct styles of Tsukigata's wood panels, the first is as you see here where the decoration or calligraphy is in sunken relief, the next being where he painted black or white ink or pigment directly on a flat surface and lastly, raised relief where the imagery seems to float above the base which has been carved away. What I can tell you is that despite the panel being a bit stiff, not nearly as organic as later pieces this particular panel is a benchmark of some amazing things to come.

TEST BUT VERIFY

Today was the type of Monday that really isn't quite 100% conducive to getting the week started, it reminds me of a four cylinder engine firing on only three. I spent the day running two bisque kiln and making up four glazes getting ready to glaze, perhaps even less fun that making glaze. On top of these chores I also made up a group of 50 gram test glazes for pods and several 200 to 500 gram batches to test out glazes on yunomi as there will be a number of tests and design tests filling the nooks and crannies of the upcoming glaze firings. With any luck, maybe I'll get something to pan out.   

Illustrated is one of the test bowl made up of a rather sandy white stoneware that I am testing, making it up in 10 lbs dry batches. The surface was scrapped open to expose the sand and then I impressed squares in opposing corners to break up the surfaces a bit. As with much of the testing these days this will end up being glazed in the Kuro-Oribe style with a very slight twist that will highlight the center of each plane a bit more. For this specific surface the ongoing testing is two-fold; tweak the overall look and verify that the technique is repeatable which is always a good attribute for a new glaze.

ONE SMALL PACKAGE

Illustrated is a rather well fired Iga chaire by Furutani Michio that showcases the brilliance of his firing and potting skills all in this one small package. The form has just enough visual tension, just enough volume, wonderful posture and a rich and unique surface to create a modern and expressionist  tour de force. Beyond the purely aesthetic observations, this chaire is perfect for the task at hand in size and scale of the aperture, as with most of Furutani Michio's pots, despite all other considerations, function, utility are the primary reasoning behind the creation of his brilliant Shigaraki and Iga works. As for the surface, the chaire is covered in ash from simple thin dusted ash to areas of thick built up glaze which that collects on the shoulder before creating these vivid rivulets of colors one doesn't see all that often, especially on such a confined space. At the end of the day, this pot is another highly successful piece by a master of his craft and art who despite his early passing has left not only a substantial body of work but has added his unique mark on the two traditions that he worked within and influenced his contemporaries and generations to come.  

(I had meant to post this up on July 20th but just couldn't find the photo. A few days late but here it is.)

A TALE OF TWO SHISHI

I decided to play around photographing this pair of shishi, one ceramic and one bronze and decided on the B&W somber framing for this pair. Both of these pieces have been up on my blog previously but by way of re-introductions, the koro in the background was created by Tsukigata Nahiko and the Shigaraki koro in the foreground was made by Kawai Koji and presents a rather intriguing juxtaposition, a tale of two shishi in gilded bronze and wood fired ceramics. I thought it quite interesting that both are very close to the same size and posture though the weight is significantly different between them. The way in which each shishi vents incense is also very close yet I suspect it is likely a result of the many thousands of archetypes that has proceeded these two potters creations. On a side note, the real inspiration behind this photo other than the fact that I had both koro on hand was from a scene in what I seem to remember as a Charlie Chan movie from the 1940s with Sydney Toler (pardon all the stereotypes). In the film there was a matching set of ancient bronze style koro on either end of a shelf and I couldn't help but be influenced by yet another classic black & white movie after all, there is no hiding that I am a product of both the big and small screens and somewhat partial to a well presented shishi (koro) as well.

"All television is educational television. The question is; what is it teaching?"  Nicholas Johnson

RESTING COMFORTABLY

Now that the really cold months in my studio are well behind me it is somewhat safe to make altered terra cotta pots without the fear of them drying too unevenly or quickly and either warping or self-destructing. What is easier to start with than throwing a bottomless cylinder, pushing it around a bit and slapping a bottom and a couple of handles on it. The rougher part of this build is giving it a once over in black slip, waiting a bit (not my strong suit) and carving an XO repeat pattern on the piece. It is as you can see, resting comfortably, hanging out just drying and waiting on the next steps of a bisque fire, then glazing and finish firing, the life of an oval baker must be tough.

CRUCIBLE

The Kumano Northern guinomi got me thinking about a number of Kumano jpegs that I have had on the computer for some time now. One picture in particular that stood out was this illustrated shot of a Kumano chawan just lounging, perhaps hiding in the shadows but bathed in a swath of direct sunlight. The thick, curdled Kumano Shino glaze is covered over in a wet, glassy coating of natural ash built up during his intense, other worldly firings while the back of the bowl has blushed to an almost angry fiery, orange color creating quite a contrast to the face. These encounters leave me with a true sense of awe where the aggressive act of the firing process, masculine presence and form combined with a herculean spirit are locked in some form of visual combat which further moves the narrative of idea, creation and process to a new level. From my perspective it is quite easy to get wordy in describing the work of Kumano as his chawan emerge from the crucible forged but just out of reach of both logic and intuition.

ALL IN

Admittedly I am not necessarily the most organized person when it comes to the computer but I do my best and think I have a system. I have bunches of files in varying folders and there is quite a bit of stuff that isn't easily identified by the names on the pictures of sub-folders but I manage to get by. In a recent email exchange I remembered that I have made a video slideshow of the Kuro-Bizen chawan by Kondo Masahiko and finally decided to put it up on Youtube and also on my blog. I think this video captures the nature of the chawan with the differences seen on the front and the back all heavily influenced by the dark oxide rich slip applied the clay before subjecting the pot to its obligatory noborigama wood firing. One other feature that I just want to point out is the carved area on opposite sides that seems to add a sense of tension to the form of the chawan that has a rather natural feel and an excellent addition highlighted by the firing giving it that "all in" feel. Enjoy the short slideshow and hopefully this fills in those little details that have a rather large impact on the chawan.

LEVELS OF INFLUENCE

Back in 1984, I was fortunate to see a wonderful Japanese calligraphy exhibition entitled;  WORDS IN MOTION; Modern Japanese Calligraphy. At the time I was just out of college and profoundly interested in ink, clay and steel and as such this exhibition really opened my eyes to the modern calligraphy tradition in Japan. In the exhibition there was several pieces of calligraphy that I was captivated with as well as the poem that it represented, the calligrapher was Yanagida Taiun and the poem was HAN SHAN (Cold Mountain, both a place and an enigmatic poet). At the time I was unaware of the profound affect and levels of influence that the lyrical and highly animated calligraphy would have on me but over the years it constantly makes its way back in to the decoration of my work.    This stoneware teabowl is one the first times that I have used the influences of Yanagida's calligraphy in slip trailing but thought to give it a try using black slip as a backdrop and white slip trailed over as decoration I think it certainly has movement and character for a first attempt. Once bisque I used a thin wash of my saffron iron over a clear glaze to give the piece a soft droozy appearance as if the surface is moving and melting. I rarely title my work but thought that this reminds me of late winter, early spring and decided to call it; "Waiting For The Ice To Melt" and in the end I suspect there are hints of Yanagida and even Michael Cardew that one can spot in the bowls origins if you care to look hard enough.  

Just for reference, the second illustration is a small section of calligraphy by Yanagida Taiun from his rendition of the HAN SHAN poem. This shoga is as lyrical, animated and yes poetic as any I have ever seen and I am certain I am not the only person to have been influenced by the encounter with his work.

GET OUT YOUR BOOK

Illustrated is an organic Shino mentori chawan by Kowari Tetsuya. Though probably best known for his monumental Oribe sculpture and casual chadogu, Kowari's Shino pots have wonderfully diverse landscapes only heightened by the random and spirited facets around the ever so slightly pushed oval form. Beyond the highlighted lines from the faceting perhaps what I really like about the chawan is the rich engaging quality of the undulating lip carefully cut, manipulated and softened that is also glazed to good effect with tones of deep iron and an almost iridescent copper-bronze color of the reduced Shino glaze. Admittedly I have not handled this chawan as the photo was sent to me by Kowari-san but just from the image it makes me want to touch the translucent and satiny texture and to hold the inviting and tactile form in my hands. From the beginning Kowari's work immediately won me over with his forms and creative use of Oribe but now seeing more of his Shino pottery you should definitely "get out your book*" and add this at your earliest opportunity. 

(*That is a QUIET MAN  reference in case you missed it.)

A HIGH BAR

I have had a fairly long time to think, to reflect on what it is that really interests me regarding teabowls and after all this time one factor that keeps popping up is the posture or attitude of the piece. Perhaps the chawan that best defines my interests is the famous MINE (NO) MOMIJI a product of the Mutabora-gama during the Momoyama era at home in the Gotoh Museum. To my eye, this chawan can be mainly distilled to posture, the way it rests on its kodai and lifts to the main part of the bowl that is like a form moving gently in the wind, animated by the masterful way the potter manipulated the clay and formed a wonky narrative that through the devices decorating the surface and the glaze texture bring this bowl to life. The Mine (no) Momiji chawan has an unconscious character that stems from form's posture all coalesced through the act of throwing clay and firing it centuries ago.    

As I have mentioned before in my blog is that from my perspective, there is no finer chawan than the Mine (no) Momiji but it is from this chawan that I see quite a disparate array of bowls that have attributes that are rooted back to this  Momoyama archetype. As is probably easy to see, this wonderful, even playful Kakurezaki Ryuichi Bizen chawan owes a bit to its 16th century predecessor in the posture and animation of the form set atop an unusual but purposeful kodai. Defined by dramatic lift, this undulating form has a  distinct sense of balance despite the visual turbulence that it portrays. Complete with an excellent Bizen firing which has created a number of variations that help define the lines of the bowl includes a broad, shimmering coating of ash in the bowls interior that appears just like a minimalist's abstract painting. The more I look at this Bizen chawan the more I can spot little hints that harkens back to feudal archetypes including the organic nature of the piece and the lack of any overt contrived manipulation which are probably the qualities that best describe the Mine (no) Momiji  and that certainly is a high bar to achieve.

HOPE & TESTING

I hate putting too much hope on tests as they escalate in scale but this is one of those, surely hope it works pieces. I have put my new glaze through its paces on pods, slabs and two test cups and am now moving on to a good size teabowl for the next phase of the testing process. This all started back at the end of last year with a simple query regarding a Hagi style surface to which I responded that in the past, most all the testing avenues had ended rather poorly but since I am a sucker for punishment I would give it another try. Rather than start from square one, I took an existing glaze that I have and altered it and am using it sparingly thin on the surface to allow all of the clay texture, marks and sand to show through the glaze. This particular attempt on a yunomi sized pot is not based on the traditional Hagi surface but rather the white style surfaces made popular by the Miwa family though instead of being thick and curdled, this is intended to be rather thin and almost translucent allowing the clay texture to be part of the surface. I am just at the beginning of a cycle and time will tell, if you never see any result you can guess the outcome.   

Though hope is not a testing strategy I am constantly reminded when dealing with anything in life; " Sperare optima Parare pessima Expectare inexpectata* ". ("Hope for the best, Prepare for the worst, Expect the unexpected".)

IN TOTO

If you read my blog, it is hard to miss the fact that I really enjoy good Oribe pots only slightly behind Oni-Shino and wood fired pieces and in looking at this detail shot, it is safe to say this is good Oribe where the thick glaze and bidoro are related by fire. Illustrated is a close-up of the mouth of a Tsukamoto Haruhiko bottle vase where the glaze acts as a luscious skin to the feldspar and sand rich clay and where the Oribe has pooled and built up there are areas of outstanding richness that  could fascinate for a lifetime and then some. With the right light, the thick accumulation fluctuates between deep green and soft brown tones like lapping waves and looking a bit like it was created deep in the bowels of  the earth over millions of years, producing these gems that rest so casually on the furrowed surface of the lip. Hyperbole perhaps but there are times when objects speak loudly and that is certainly the case with this provocative detail where the piece in toto certainly does not disappoint.