TETSU-KUMO

Looking like dark, ominous tetsu-kumo, clouds of iron, Ikai Yuichi comes to his use of ash and iron in his glazes quite naturally having studied with Shimizu Uichi, Juyo Mukei Bunkazai for Tetsuyu-toki (Iron glazed pottery). Instead of just mimicking his master, Ikai has used his ash and iron to their fullest effect to reflect his inner vision, his voice for haiyu and tetsuyu in these modern times. The soft appearance of the ash glaze over the iron rich clay is interrupted by wild flourishes of iron creating Rorschach style imagery just likes the imagination interprets a wide array of imagery as clouds float by. The form of this chawan is practical and very usable, devoid of pretense while presenting a great canvas for the surface made permanent by experience and fire.   

I should note that though his master specialized in iron based glazes, Ikai has made his specialization ash glazes though the two are intertwined. In the case of this chawan, both surfaces are in fact iron glazes though separated by only the percentage of the ingredient in each; in the ash glaze an exceedingly small amount while in the iron splashes perhaps ten to twenty times more. Together with creating his ash glazes, comes the choices and preparation of ash for the glazes relying on rice husk, various straw types and red pine, rendering them by fire the unifying element of every potters work. In the end there is a simplicity and contemplative nature to his work even when surfaces are brought to life by should "loud" punctuations, akin to a Zen brush hitting paper at full force, it is as much about the space that surrounds these marks as the marks themselves and this is always good for some long term conversation.