P&T

I have put up posts on my blog previously about the potter Yamada Seiji and when ever I think of his work, two things spring to mind; proportions and texture. Though I am sure this is a generalization as every potter has good days and bad, with many of the encounter of Yamada's work the proportions of the respective pot are quite spot on, whether it be the bowl size or shape in relation to the kodai or a vase like this Shino mallet where the body and neck work quite well together where the body tapers inward as it rises to be topped off by a neck that does just the opposite and the height of each works well to compliment the overall aesthetics of the pot. 

Beyond the form and proportions of this mallet, the use of a single glaze in varying thickness has created a pleasant landscape, abstractly painted with color and texture to help narrate the structure. Using skill and intuition accumulated over decades, Yamada builds his pots based on purpose while acting as a canvas for the beauty of Shino which he has written about over the years and has concluded that Shino deserves the right degree of respect, can not be forced and should be used in just the right way. Though that expression was paraphrased, what is clear is that with his pottery in general and Shino specifically, Yamada Seiji understands that Shino is the most Japanese of all glazes and should only be used with insight and respect which is clearly baked in to the clay and glaze that he has married together through fire and a bit of personal creativity.

NEXT

Since being introduced to the Karatsu pottery of Nakatsuka Takaya by Robert Yellin many years ago I have been on a constant look out for his pottery as I find it to be simple, honest and humble in its execution and appearance. Though I have had a number of encounters, overwhelmingly the chance meetings have been disproportionately chaire for some reason of another where out of perhaps twenty or so piece that I have handled, at least a dozen of them are of the diminutive form and scale. 

This particular chaire was my last serendipitous encounter just a little over a year ago and the initial impression was like I was looking at some well kept Edo specimen showing a rather simple and classic form with a surface created by using several glazes and the anticipated addenda from the wood firing process itself where fly ash has further enhanced the wardrobe of this chaire. Despite the propensity to run into chaire what I can say is the wide variety and range in form, surface and style the pieces have been from Ao-Karatsu to Madara Garatsu  and a few in between, all processing the look of antique pots from a tradition and time out of the past. Truth be told, I don't think I would complain if the next pot that I happen to see is a tea caddy as look as it is as interesting and conversant as this simple Karatsu chaire .

BACK TO IT

Having taken the time to make a small teabowl based on the surface of Maximilian armor a short while back, the next day I decided to get right back to it and made a few more pieces utilizing that surface. Illustrated is a small covered box form with a B.C. or PROMETHEUS inspired finial that I have been working with. The box and surface have that certain Gothic appearance to my mind and should work quite well with  a variety of surface, the least of which are the Oribe variations that I constantly resort to. Though the carving looks a bit rough in the picture that has been addressed with a bit of light sanding so the sharp bits are at a minimum but the crisp lines and clay breaks are left intact. 

In my last post on this technique I mentioned that I had worked with this particular technique in the past which dates back to Cleveland but to be honest beyond that I am just not sure when it was employed. I know that I have been using the simpler fluting method for quite some time and as recently as a few months ago but I am just not sure if I used it in the past decade. That being said, I do seem to remember using this surface treatment under some vellum blue pots and that was definitely since moving back to NY State. I guess the point is that times just flies by but every now and again I like to reach back to older techniques or styles and get back to the basics and see where the ideas lead "as time goes by".

GIFTED

I recently posted up an old photo of a Ki-Seto chawan by Kishimoto Kennin on my Instagram page and as fate would have it is now in hand and ready for its close-up. The collector who sent this my way is down-sizing his collection and thought I would appreciate the bowl and rest assured Kishimoto is one of my favorite potters who has tackled and master a wide array of pottery from Iga to kannyu style seiji and quite a bit in between. As you can see this gifted chawan has a classic style form with a nice amount of lift off the foot, a centrally raised border around the pot and a very study and practical lip that softly undulates bringing ones attention to the interior of the chawan. The interior is composed of mostly a glassy Ki-seto style surface while the face has a scorched aburage quality with the areas feathered out to each side create a beautiful transition to the yellow ash cloaked rear. I should mention that both of the transitions form effects where ash combined with the glaze and has created rather attractive and animated waterfall of ash running down the sides with a slight nudge by heat and gravity. As for the foot which is exposed clay, it shows off the sandy quality of the clay surrounded by glaze and is as crisp as the day it was cut, perhaps 40 years ago. It is quite clear that Kishimoto kennin was using various historical Ki-Seto chawan as his inspiration especially in the form but the surface has that 20th century look that can easily remind one of the work of Arakawa Toyozo and Kato Touro and if you are going to be influenced by other potters are there any better than those two giants?

THE GENES

 Quite some while back I used this Iga guinomi by Furutani Kazuya but decided to revisit it and took a few quick, impromptu photos. As you can see, the centrally located bidoro drip defies gravity as the pot was fired on its side and this area was facing downward during the firing. Much of the top and sides are covered in ash and show runs which collide with the gem-like drip that gets most of the attention. In fact, the form of this guinomi is well considered, holds a generous amount of liquid and really works wonderfully in the hand with the patented eye toward function his father was so well known for. As for the interior, like the exterior there is a nice coat of ash and a vivid, deep green pool created in the hollow as the ash found its way into the small pot. Last but not least the foot was well executed and has that classic look of a chawan that is seen on Furutani Kazuya's work and that of his late father Furutani Michio. Looking at this diminutive piece it is clear there is something in the genes of the Furutani; from Michio, Kazuya and his brother Noriyuki where utility, aesthetics and understanding of clay and glaze permeates the work and is on display even in a humble and unpretentious guinomi.

I'LL ORDER A THREE PIECE

I was asked by a customer recently about ordering a small dinnerware set and what exactly that entails, so I dug out some sample pictures and waited for more information. In an exchange of emails what became clear is that they were not looking for a standard or conservative set but rather something tailored to a unique environment of a very small area designed as a breakfast nook that may seat four and no more. The conclusion also was they actually weren't looking for dinnerware per se but rather three specific pieces that would serve as breakfast, brunch or lunch pieces and they knew how they wanted the pieces decorated. What was decided on was a non-traditional three piece set; shallow plate shape measuring 11.5", a shallow bowl for bisque, soup or pasta (an omni-bowl if you will) at 10.5" and a smaller 6" bowl for various uses including deserts. In the scheme of things this wasn't a large order, I set about making five of each piece to be on the safe side one afternoon and then tooled and bisque them. Prior to this I had sent them a small bowl that was glazed in my temmoku and trailed medieval green decoration so that they could approve the surface and once okayed, the pieces were glazed and fired, all fifteen pieces.    

 What is illustrated is the dozen pieces, three sets of four of three specific forms I have made countless times now and are pots that we use here at the house as well. I am sure I have made four dozen or more sets of these pots in this combination with most of the sets also including a more standard  flattish dinner plate at about 11.5" or 12". All is fair when it comes to these orders and honestly the limitations is it has to be something I make routinely enough as to not lose an entire set so there are some glazes and glaze combinations that are absolutely out of the question.

OFF-WHITE PURITY

I was looking through some images that I have transferred from 35mm slides to digital images and came across this particular photo the other day. I have to say that though we have been to the Kawai Kanjiro memorial Museum in Kyoto quite a few times, this photo was taken on our very first trip there which was one of the main reasons for our time in Kyoto. Like many of the pots and objects scattered about the house, you can almost reach out and touch the pieces, really getting a measure of the dimension and volume of each pot but it is the presence of the pot that really hits you standing right in front of it. I remember thinking at the time that this form was just perfect, streamlined, noble and honest in its simplicity with this surface of a slightly off-white purity acting as canvas for a wonderful Kawai Kanjiro motif that was just timeless and spontaneous in its execution. It will sound odd but it was rather emotional standing within all of these profound pots and though I have taken quite a few pictures at the museum since our first visit, this photo always brings me back to that very first trip and the moment I came face to face with this most ideal pot. Even now I am reminded of the Kawai line from one of his poems; "What a wonderful now. It is surely eternity." and when I look through these photos I believe I am transported to the now, even momentarily and the memories and atmosphere are brought back to life, how could they not.

IRON PETALS REVISITED

Last year I posted up a blog post entitled "IRON PETALS" regarding an iron decorated nuka chawan by Kimura Ichiro. After some time I finally got around to putting together a slideshow video to show off the simple, mingei inspired chawan, capturing what I thought to be some of its best details and as much of its character as possible. I had originally described this chawan and both simple and unpretentious and rustic in both appearance and character and that opinion has not changed with time. I do hope this short video slideshow helps present both the characteristics an appeal of mingei inspired potter and shows time well spent with a master like Hamada Shoji and a distinct vision of folk art and Mashiko pottery looks like in just the right hands. Enjoy.

TIME CRUNCH

This is one of those projects that came about more due to a time crunch than any deliberate plan sandwiched between having completed trimming a group of bowls and a few jars and having to run out for an appointment I was able to make several bottles in just about an hour. Realizing I had to be somewhere in just over an hour I decided to see if I could get something off the cuff completed in that time and this is what I came up with a plan based on  squaring up the ubiquitous gourd form. I initially threw two closed cylinder attending to the gourd form first and then out came the heat gun, ink, a paddle and the rasp and in much less time than expected I had the form mostly as you now see it. Next I threw a small neck on the wheel and cut open the top to accept it with beveled edges meeting at the top shoulder area and the basic idea of the piece was completed then turning my attention to the more straight forward piece which was quicker to finish. Though made with an eye to the clock and somewhat extemporaneously it turned out close to what I saw in my head though admittedly the form may need just a bit of tweak here and there, maybe next time when there is a bit more time to spare. 

 

OUT OF THE WAY

I don't think that I have ever spent much time considering or pondering the results of what you would end up with if you combined elements of industrial, architectural, modernist and traditional design all together in a 3-D printer but if I had, perhaps this would have been the outcome. Though at its core this pot is a traditional chawan built and intended for use in chanoyu as you survey the form and surface it is rather clear it is more than that, a complex blend of planes, angles, design and other visual, aesthetic considerations. The surface and form of this chawan are highly animated and it almost seems to be evolving as you shift your perception around the bowl while the glaze and effects create a rather evocative, surreal surface of shimmering golds, yellows, streaks of blacks, straw and oatmeal presenting a revolving landscape that is certainly on the imaginary side. This creative chawan was made by Koinuma Michio and I should note that the foot and interior are also packed with the same bravado as the exterior and I hope that this short video slideshow gives a glimpse in to this chawan which has gone out of its way to challenge both tradition and expectations. Enjoy.  

"IT'S ALIVE"

I must admit, when I first saw this piece and this glorious surface all I could think of was how alive it was, how it just moved and shimmered from every angle, possibly as good as it gets. Just a few simple elements, a wood fired kiln and some heat and like in the old version of Fritz Lang's FRANKENSTEIN, "It's alive". It may sound hyperbolic but of all the Oni-Shino pots by Tsukigata Nahiko I have never seen a surface quite like this, fractured green glass over layers of Shino make for a surface filled with movement and raw, almost palpable emotion despite the pot fitting in just one hand.   Illustrated is just one detail shot of a very classic but extraordinary Oni-Shino chaire made by Tsukigata Nahiko presumably in the mid to late 1980s. Looking a bit like a diminutive tsubo, this chaire has layers of iron and feldspar Shino which have taken a thick coating of ash over the surface that has cracked and crazed creating a vivid and shimming fractured surface that is animated and just a bit intoxicating in its natural presence. As I mentioned I have seen quite a few Tsukigata pots in person and in pictures and this surface, at least this part is what happens when just everything goes right, the surface was applied to perfection, the place in the kiln and the subsequent encounter with heat all go just as smooth as silk. I think this is what every potter hopes for and is rarely rewarded with as I see it this may well be  the definition of ceramic kismet!

IMPASTO JAR

 A few firings back I made several covered jars in the style of this illustrated one. They vary a bit in overall dimensions, taller or wider proportions but they were all decorated in a coating of impasto style slip and either Oribe, Kuro-Oribe or saffron yellow glaze surface. This particular covered jar is Oribe over an impasto slip with just a hint of iron over the surface and to complete the jar, all of these had two lids made for each to provide an option for the new owner. Though the lids are almost identical it is the knobs that differ, one is the St. Louis Arch style and the other the time-machine Gumby style which originates from an idea from the old TIME TUNNEL TV show of the 1960s, have to take your inspiration from where ever it springs. These jars are not too large, fit just about anywhere from countertop to book shelf and are built for use even if that use is sitting on a shelf and collecting a bit of dust now and again.

ASAHI USAGI

I know I have written about Matsubayashi Hosai XIV in the past and recently I found a simple Asahi-yaki Usagi kogo. Though in a signed box by Hosai XIV, it is more than likely studio ware but never the less a nice reminder of an interesting encounter. Found on the ubiquitous auction website a few months back, I thought this would make a nice Christmas gift for my wife as well as help usher in the New Year, the year of the rabbit. Though pale in appearance, there is some very attractive blushing to pink as well as very subtle gohon spots here and there all indicative of Asahi pottery and of the Matsubayashi family. Though this little rabbit is a simple eto-omiyage it has a pleasant demeanor and has just the right amount of playfulness to make for a perfect little kogo and a nice little gift and as I am reminded now and again, it surely beats a lump of coal.

https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-wrong-turn-made-right.html