I
put up a post some while back on Iga potter Atarashi Manabu, part of the
younger group working within the Iga tradition while at the same time working
to expand the definition of the style. The previous chawan was more modern,
experimental to a degree and not what one would think of as conventional, this evocative
golden-brown chawan on the other hand is a far more traditional approach to the
style and fits the boundaries of chadogu much more easily. The form of this Iga
chawan is classically proportioned and fits well in the hands with a
comfortable uneven-ness to the lip and a simple yet well conceived kodai and
mikomi but the surface is that wonderful amalgam of ferocity, movement and
frozen in the moment ash that brings the bowl to life and pleases those senses
it directly interacts with.
Fired at an angle on its side the ash built up
on the bowl, turned to liquid in the promethean furnace and ran across the
surface at a diagonal ultimately intersecting and concluding in rich, deep
brown-green bidoro drips that have dodged the shells that propped up the bowl
and have permanently scarred the surface. This is a rather enjoyable chawan
with hints of tradition and modernism colliding in a chawan that is filled with
character and enthusiasm, a bowl that seems to understand it doesn't have to be
taken so seriously to be appreciated, enjoyed and used.
.JPG)