GBNF II

Though now and again I write or post up pots that I have not handled, when all things being equal I would prefer to have handled the piece so that I have a better sense of how the piece presents itself in hand. This illustrated Oni-Shino chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko is a piece that spanned both scenarios, for quite some time I was only able to see the bowl by various photos sent to me by the owner but over time the owner decided to sell the pot and I was able to study the piece in hand.   

The picture I am using was taken by the original owner and the following is how I described the chawan several years back;  "Large, Momoyama inspired, Shino chawan by the master potter and legendary personality; Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006). Though it is easy to spot some influences of his master, Arakawa Toyozo, this chawan is all Tsukigata Nahiko. The vivid iron slip shows, like a shadow, under the feldspar Shino glaze with rich areas of natural green glassy ash coating the surface and iron accents about the lip and showing through the surface. There are also frosty white areas on the face of the bowl where Tsukigata resisted the iron slip to create an evocative spring like pattern of flowers. The classic bowl form is completed with the potter's signature kodai and bold, impressionistic signature."  

As you can see this is a pretty good description of this Oni-Shino bowl though in retrospect I think I would have called attention to the semi-lustrous nature of some of the iron that has perculated out through the feldspatic glaze as well as the perpetually wet appearance that gives the chawan a rather appealing overall appearance. Part of the wetness of the surface comes from a coating of natural ash that built up and melted across some of the piece including around the lip which helps high light that area. All in all a rather enjoyable chawan to have around if only for a brief while and though it is a cliche I use all too often, thanks to all the pictures I was provided and that I took in situ, "gone but not forgotten".

SQUARED OCTAGON

I would like to say I could take full credit for the idea behind this form but admittedly I did not invent the square nor the square pot and the faceting, mentori concept owes just a bit to my time working with Kohyama Yasuhisa. I have posted pictures of this bowl as greenware and as green ware, the fired kind so that the idea is easier to see as the glaze is both highly reflective and hides some of the details that I would like to be a bit more obvious. The first step was to throw and square up the bowl, the ink was used to divide the bowl into quarters though not of any geometric perfection. I then "bellied" out the center of each plane just a bit and then faceted each of planes into two sections creating something akin to a squared octagon. Instead of just pulling the wire, I used a slight sawing motion to create a bit of texture which is a trick learned from my time in Japan. Once the faceting was complete, I set about cutting the foot into a square with a deep spiral in the center after which the bowl was bisque and glazed in a Kuro-Oribe surface which was a bit difficult to photograph. I made a similar piece in my sandy porcelain that though bisque has not been glazed and fired yet, I am hoping that the details show up just a bit better due to the whiteness of the clay and we will see with a Friday firing planned.

TYPICAL

With each unique encounter with a chawan by Kakurezaki Ryuichi in person or in photo, I seem to end up with a thought; is this typical, atypical or in fact is there any such thing as typical for this potter?  While I realize this particular chawan has a formula as to how it is made, cut and manipulated, each one does have certain unique qualities in its appearance and impact on the viewer. Proportions, posture and cut planes outline the form establishing its volume and presence where the various other details add to the narrative contained in what the potter has left of the clay. I guess the question can and should be posed in a different manner; what is typical and does it apply to someone like Kakurezaki Ryuichi? Know for all the conventions and constraints that he has broken, Kakurezaki has added more than a single page in the history book of what is the Bizen tradition. Typical or not, this potter's voice resonates through his engagement in process along with the discovery of where series plus formula leads and that perhaps is enough of an answer for me.    

"Have no fear of perfection, you will never reach it."  Salvador Dali

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

I'll start by admitting when I first saw this mizusashi I wasn't quite sure who made it though the single picture provided was dark and slightly out of focus. As soon as the pot arrived, several Fridays back, based just on the ash (and perhaps the signed box) it was quite evident this was an old Iga mizusashi by Kojima Kenji. Since there was no bio in the wood box I am guessing that this pot was likely fired in the mid-80s showing a pot almost more akin to his Bizen apprentice roots in terms of form than the more classic Iga archetypes that he navigates and adds to in later years.   

What is immediately obvious is that this pot is well fired and though not battle scarred it certainly did wage war with fire and wood now forever attested to on the well fired surface. The lid fits the pot well and has a generous knob that makes the piece function without issue and there is just enough movement in the form to keep the pot from being too stiff and lifeless. The throwing has created just the right amount of articulation that when combined with the ash surface bring a spark of life to the pot that just asks to be impressed into service. I think that this flashback Friday Iga mizusashi clearly is a step forward in the evolution of Kojima Kenji's vocabulary of forms and firing srategies that used pots just like this one to get where they are today.

PLAY A BIT

For good or bad I have been playing with a number of thrown, altered and assembled forms and recently found myself with some "spare parts" so I decided to go ahead, play a bit and resurrect a form I hadn't made in some time, a shovel or spade pot, some of which I have made in the past were rather good size, this one, not so much. With a cut off ring of clay, a small slab or two and a couple of small cylinders I set about getting to work before the pieces ended up too dry to manipulate and pushed the larger ring and small cylinder oval, I cut the base of the oval and attached first the slab and then the pedestal which I also pierced with a square on opposing sides. last but not least I attached a ring lugs to either side and there you have it, a simple spade form ready to have incised decoration on either side. As is probably evident this didn't take much time to build and I have to think it was a better use of the time than the energy necessary to ultimately reclaim the too dry scrap. Not sure what I will do with this but if I can't figure it out there always is the fallback position of Oribe or the Kuro-Oribe, either may be just the right choice.

DESTINATION

How do you define simplicity? I think if you are to fall back on the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words than it is quite possible that this is your picture. This is neither my photo or my pot, this was sent to me by a friend with an eye for just the right pot as is pretty clear in this detail shot of the kodai of a Hagi chawan by Miwa Kyuwa. I certainly will not say this foot is perfunctory but I will say that it has been stream lined to exclude anything other than the barest of necessities, a modest pedestal on which the bowl can securely rest with the aesthetic considerations that the foot compliments and matches with the bowl form and glaze. To this end this kodai checks off all the boxes and is exactly what is needed and expected from a bowl that is the epitome of simplicity and complexity at the very same time. I guess this is the destination after a lifetime of experience and making pots.   

BEAR TRACKS

I think it would be safe to say that as you survey the work of Kumano Kuroemon that the work is bold, masculine, adventurous and spontaneous from the use of clay to the use and application of glazes, not to mention his near herculean firings. Illustrated is a detail of an older Kumano vase, probably made in the 90s that shows off all of these attributes and includes a casual "bear track" where he held the pot while glazing it just adding to the immediacy of the process which once fired is readily recognizable. This particular vase is over a foot tall and the form is rough and imbued with a sense of having just happened, fresh off the wheel, the application of glaze though well practiced shows a casual, off handed quality where control and precision are missing from his vocabulary or rather he has just decided to throw those particular page out. Covered over in a thick feldspathic Shino glaze, Kumano's handprint acted as a resist when more glaze was applied and later during the firing just the right amount of ash helped further paint the surface and accentuate the bear track as the thin glaze was coated in a natural accumulation creating a brown and sometimes crusty texture. As Kumano fires his kiln with a dedicated intensity the surface is also covered in running green ash as well as pools of green glass filling the nocks and crannies across the surface of the vase. Though this is a simple, singular detail shot of this Kumano Kuroemon vase I think it is safe to say that this is exactly the type of bear track most pottery collectors wouldn't mind encountering.

THE HUE BLUE

For a good part of my life I never really thought much about the color blue and even when I started making pottery, blue was not paramount in my decoration or glazing scheme. I think this changed after two separate encounters where the hue seemed to just sneak up on me, the one was a large blue pot by Takezu Toshiko and the other was my first trip to the Kawai Museum in 1990 where like red glazes, it became abundantly clear that blue had its place just not on every last pot. After those encounters I realized I had to reconsider blue and embrace the fact that cobalt can be your friend and has its time and place.     

Illustrated is a glaze that has had a profound affect on my glazing, gosu and in this case on a fat, voluminous vase form by Kawai Hisashi. Though not exactly a large pot its appearance betrays its size and the application of the gosu glaze is just perfect for the form and decoration. Thrown out of a slightly coarse white stoneware, Kawai Hisashi has carved the surface to maximum affect and bringing movement and life to the pot, articulated in dimension and visually, the gosu becomes deep blue pools and trails where it fills recesses and occupies the vertical channels adding even more depth to the surface. I must admit, gosu or not, it is enjoyable studying the works of the Kawai school though Kanjiro is even nicer but seeing this blue put to such good use shows that the life's work of a master, lives on in his students and students' students especially as they find their own style and voice as this carved gosu tsubo clearly shows.  

"Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?"  James Montgomery 

NON PRAEVIDERE EXITUS

Illustrated is a detail shot of a thrown, squared and assembled vase form that I made and then glazed in a Kuro-Oribe style glaze. To be honest, what I like about working this way is that I rarely get what I am expecting from the kiln, in this case where the iron was sprayed via atomizer, it ran down the upper section of the vase and ran down the lugs on either side creating this feathery blue-black effect. I have to admit this is a perfect accent to both of the lugs and adds to the depth and movement of each side of the vase but moving forward I wonder just how predictable this would be. In reality I guess if I spray the living daylights out of the upper section or simply the lugs I am bound to get some extreme running of glaze as almost every glaze I use can be runny given the right circumstances. At any rate I won't complain as this works well with this somewhat wonky, thrown and altered piece and makes itself right at home.

PURE ANTIQUITY

When I fist saw this classical chawan named "100 Wells" on the box lid, all I could do was think about the pure antiquity that the surface and form exude, it could be old or new but the impact is the same. Thrown out a blended white stoneware, this form is as antique in execution as its predecessors and the archetype that acts as its foundation where the process is as meaningful as the art. Once thrown and tooled a thick, viscous slip was painted sparingly on this bowl in hakeme style using a brisk and stiff brush and over time in both the drying and firing process has cracked creating a vivid spectacle and textural tour de force for multiple senses. As with many chawan and pottery made by Kyoto native Kimura Morinobu his glazes are created from, rendered from various vegetation that he burns himself to create a large array of ash glazes practiced and perfected over a lifetime of creating pottery. In this case, the bowl is covered in a  mostly transparent glaze that is infused with areas, patches of white and light sky blue bring the appearance of floating clouds over the cracked and punctuated by iron spotting surface that presents an honest and humble bowl that is locked in a visual struggle between now and then.

BREIVITY

Illustrated is the 15 minute start to finish mallet vase I made a while back as an exercise, now fired. Thrown out of a sandy stoneware and assembled the base was quickly faceted and now is glaze in a saffron or iron yellow glaze over a Hagi style white which shows off the sand inclusions and pronounced lines quite well. The iron yellow glaze ended up a bit thinner than normal and I have some effects on the surface that I haven't seen before that I would like to repeat including the brooding areas of dark, reddish-ochre patches that run down the surface in several areas. The iron yellow glaze was poured over the surface as opposed to my usual dipping method and you can see where the built in boundary around the base ended up keeping some of the glaze from running off the pot and sticking to the shelves. I think this form came out quite well considering the brevity of its creation and maybe next time the next one will come out a bit better yet reminding me of a maxim to live by; "anything worth doing is worth doing fast".

INPIRED JOURNEY

This Raku chawan is a bowl that I had here quite some time back and despite the prolific nature of the potter, this chawan is memorable for its alluring landscape and sensuous form that just belongs in the hands. As is probably apparent this bowl is an utsushi-mono of the Kuro-Raku "KAMIYA" chawan made by Sasaki Shoraku III and made in the style of Honami Koetsu. As I mentioned there are a lot of varying copies of the chawan of Honami Koetsu and Raku Chojiro and their descendants but this bowl had that something that gave it a bit more than being a mere copy. Perhaps it is the subtle display of exuberance that this bowl is imbued with that sets it apart coupled with a rich and lustrous surface that if you can imagine alludes to some long forgotten landscape scroll about an inspired journey filled with discovery along the way. Well at least that is how I see it, what do you see?

BOOK COVER

I have this ongoing conversation with several collectors that I correspond with and one issue that comes up is if there was a book written about your collection, however grandiose or humble, what would be the picture on the book cover? Over the years I have seen a surprising array of pieces put forth for such a distinguished spot but admittedly for most collectors of modest means, though it may be the best pot, most significant piece or the most important to the owner but it's more a mental exercise than a reality. I should mention that over the years I have had a number of pots shown to me or handled, some even photographed that could easily be the book cover shot and of these a number have even been included in museum shows but at the end of the day, despite how good a pot is, what number would actually qualify for that sacred piece that makes the cut.   

That being said, recently this large and bold Hori Ichiro Shino tsubo passed my way, a pot as much ethereal painting as it is clay object. At first glance, it is the impressive scale that you focus in on which gives way to the strength of form which is articulated with long, sweeping vertical facets. It is the movement with the pot and the carefully crafted surface that brings the medieval Rimpa style imagery to life, you can sense, almost hear the wind rustling through the grasses conjuring up memories of THE TALE OF GENJI or any number of Kurosawa or Inagaki film. The brilliant use of form, decoration, glaze and firing give way to a work that is the total, complete package and easily worthy of being on the book cover, now all you need to do is find another 50 or 60 pieces that aren't intimidated by the first photo that catches your eye on the book shelf to finish off the book.