TIME WELL SPENT

This simple chawan was clearly made by a Fukui native relying on centuries of traditional Echizen pottery and firing, this bowl has an old soul, medieval in fact in appearance, technique and presence with a flavor, a hint of the modern infused in the clay and natural surface. The form is casual and has some sense of early mountain chawan making the chawan uneven and irregular with a surface that displays a cohesive landscape composed of a myriad of adjoining locals painted with ash and flame and the guiding hand of an experienced master, Nishiura Takeshi. I should have started off by saying that no single, static image can really convey the surface of this piece but will have to appease a viewers curiosity for the moment.     

Once placed in the kiln, the naked form was left to the will and whims of the path and ferocity of the kiln which layered varying ash, thicknesses and texture on the form where gravity also had no small part to play creating a surface that moved under the intense heat and in the right light continues to do so. As for the coloration, the palette runs from the colors of natural fired clay to rich wet purples, hues of grays, blues, white and greens making for what can at times be confused for the interior of a mine wall, deep beneath the earth's surface. Firing for five days at over 1300 Celsius, almost 2400 Fahrenheit and many more to cool, like a small time capsule of time well spent from soil one moment to traditional expression the next, well beyond being time well spent, in many respects this bowl is part of the lifeblood and heart of modern Echizen created by a potter dedicated to a tradition that is on the move with each and every firing.