DIVERSITY

di-ver-si-ty/ noun/ the state of being diverse; variety 

Now days when I think about modern Iga I think about the traditional and evolving works of Kojima Kenji who adds just a bit more to the Iga tradition on a daily basis. There is however quite a bit more to Kojima Kenji and in fact a number of the tradition based potters in Japan and that is diversity, a diversity most likely pioneered by past potters like Kitaoji Rosanjin, Kawakita Handeishi and more modern potters like Tsujimura Shiro where just about everything is at play and the boundries are meant to be pushed up against and broken if at all possible. 

Using some illustrations (assembled as a collage) from a few catalogues I just wanted to show just a few styles that Kojima Kenji has embraced to rather good effect ranging from Shino (Choseki), Iga Oribe, Hikidashi, Iga-Oribe and a number of other techniques showing a range from rather playful and inviting to somber and contemplative in nature. If you look at these six works closely enough there are some commonalities that link these pieces to the potter especially if you are fairly acquainted with his work from form and posture to the way the lip (kuchi-zukuri) and kodai are addressed. I realize I could have picked a variety of different modern potters but in the end I do have a large group of catalogues on Kojima Kenji, have handled more works by him than any other Iga potter excepting Furutani Michio and to be honest, I just enjoy the way he handles clay, Iga or otherwise.

BLUE SUIT

Not having used this soda blue glaze for some while I have been going through the paces from test pod to larger pot to make sure it still responds as it has in the past as I would like to think I have learned my lesson about being impetuous. I ended up going with this small covered jar for several reasons, first off it is larger than a teabowl, it isn't a teabowl (!) and by glazing the lid and the pot I can make sure it doesn't run enough to create problems with pieces being forever (or until I smash them with a hammer) melted together. 

This small covered jar was made to test out a variety of effects on one pot, once tooled, the piece had a black and white slip swirl brushed on the body and the lid excepting the finial. Once dried I painted on the line and brush stroke decoration to add a bit more movement and interest to the piece and then the gallery and lid were waxed off and the pieces glazed. After being fired the covered jar provided most of the input I was looking for including how the glaze looks on unadulterated stoneware as seen on the B.C. influenced finial. Now more or less fully proofed and with a firm belief the glaze responds exactly how it has in the past, maybe it is time to make some covered jars and wall bowls to be decked out in a new soda blue suit.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Happy, Merry, Cheerful, Joyful Holidays, Xmas, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Season's Greetings and a very Happy or ambivelant New Years depending on your current dispostition and psychic predilictions.  Sentiments from Craig, Mindy and Khan the wondercat, background provided by Tsukigata Nahiko.

DEFINED CONCLUSION

Illustrated  is a two view picture of the front and back of an Iga henko by Atarashi Keizo. Composed of slabs for the front and back, a strip of clay, possibly thrown for the center of the form and a thrown and slightly altered neck and mouth, the form is further articulated by marks made by the potter to further articulate and define the surface. Made of a somewhat coarse clay, this pot was wood fired and has weight and volume to this sturdy form as well as displaying an array of effects that also clearly defines the front and back of this pot. As for the incised decoration, I am not sure of Atarashi's motivation but every time I look at the henko I am reminded of roadside Jizo that I would see on my travels in Japan though I admit, everyone will see something possibly quite a bit different. Atarashi Keizo moved from Osaka to Iga after having apprenticed in Mashiko and set up his studio, Kourin-gama in Mie Prefecture.    

Atarashi must have favored this particular form as I have encountered a number of versions of this henko that I have seen including one in the; GENDAI TOGEI HANAIRE (no) TSUBO ZUIKAN  that highlights potters and their various interpretations of modern Japanese vase forms. At the end of the day, this is a somewhat simple pot that was well constructed though in a casual manner that doesn't seem all that interested in any mis-spent adventure. Instead both Atarashi Keizo and pot rely on tradition, a hint of innovation, good clay, a simple yet evocative form, a well fired kiln and years of experience to guide a potter's voice to a well defined conclusion.

WAITING

For some reason I keep going back to making smallish covered boxes, there are likely endless possibilities so each one takes own its own personality and challenges. The illustrated greenware box now waiting on a bisque and glaze firing brought together a low box form together with a tripod foot, faceted planes, dot on top and bottom to align the pieces and yet another B.C./ Prometheus inspired finial. In throwing this piece, free styling along the way I tried to come up with a form that despite or because of the faceted plane it still imparts a fair degree of volume, a bit like it is puffed full of air which props up the finial at the top. No rocket science here, just simple parts put together in a way that I hope forms a contiguous and sensible object that at the end of the day, yes, you guessed it, I will glaze this up in Oribe for the penultimate surface. 

I am not sure exactly when this will end up fired (in Oribe) but when it does, I'll try to remember to post a picture or two.       

"The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

OLD OR NEW

Sleek and simple form and surface on a Hagi chaire by Yamato Yasuo that was made for a very specific function with straight forward aesthetic consideration. Thrown out of a buff style stoneware, this small form is defined by various lines that help define the form; mouth, shoulder, belly and foot and is completed with its all natural and traditional lid. The glaze is just a tiny bit on the thick side and has created an array of very attractive effects from a face that is blushed to pink to areas of crystal growth that appear like soft snowflakes resting across the form all of which conjures up a rich landscape tucked away somewhere in one's mind. Perhaps one riveting feature of this Hagi chaire is the dark band that encircles the mouth ranging from black to rust where the glaze has pulled thin and exposed the clay beneath making for a wonderful termination of the piece. Over the years I have seen quite a few pieces of chadogu by Yamato Yasuo and whether they are old or new what is always clear is that there is an attention to purpose without skimping on the decorative and alluring nature of the pots intended for a traditional ritual almost six centuries old.

SUBSTANTIAL

Solid, sturdy, like a rock are certainly apt descriptions for this simple and fire weary Iga mizusashi by Imura Mitsuo. Made out of a dense, white stoneware, this pot was thrown and then marked up, cut a bit, hacked even and altered to create something akin to a fire scorched carved statuary reminding me a bit of the base of a gorinto (five ringed tower) situated throughout Japan. This misuzashi has deep potter's marks that ring the surface along with gashes carved out of the raw clay that have become prefect foils for the natural ash surface running from sheets of green glass to dark, ominous charcoal areas that bring a stoic and somber tune to this essential part of cha(no)yu. The carefully placed marks that encircle the body of the form at top and bottom compliment the meandering mouth of the pot and help narrate a journey around the pot through its light and dark surface like phases of the moon.         

Created by Imura Mitsuo, his pottery shows a much more solid hand and forceful, almost brutish forms than his master, Sugimoto Sadamitsu. Whether in his nature or as a means to escape his mentor, Imura's work as I mentioned, are substantial and powerful where weight is not a primary concern but in fact play into the narrative of how he must see form and the space it commands. I often conclude looking at his pottery, they are pieces of solitude and solemnity, like a fortress standing alone on a mountain top, defying the viewer to approach but one they do sharing the brillance of simpicity and design that defines both purpose and a singular aesthetic where sparsity and purity converge.

GRINCHING

I have to admit not ever order, especially small ones are received with the same amount of unbridled enthusiams as are other and these four, well what ended up being really twelve bowls are a perfect example of that. I was recently asked to make a set of four bowls in the snowberry decoration but the twist was they wanted them decorated inside and out where as previously the decoration was confined to the exterior of the smaller using bowls with an all black interior and a few carved bands at the top. As you can imagine that doubles the effort as well as doubling the chances that I will somehow manage to screw up the very wet slip trailed dots but I set about making them and all went well and any apprehension was for naught. In point of fact, I ended up making a dozen in total with the thought process that at the very worst I would end up with two sets of four and a spare or two for our kitchen. As luck would have it, I ended up with three sets of four so despite my intitial Grinching, all is well in Whoville and because sometimes things just go the right way, two of the three sets are now in there new homes cross country. 

 

ADDED UP

Taking every advantage of what little sun shows up here, illustrated is a small seiji guinomi made by Imaizumi Takeshi. All in all this is simple in exectution and design making use of an iron clay body and a kannyu style seiji glaze but of coars the simplicity part relies on years of experience and glaze testing to get to this point. The thrown round form has the lip pinched in three points to affect the symmetry and the confidently cut foot is surrounded by a thick opaque roll of pale blue glaze just hanging in space and presenting an ominous vision though perpetually frozen defying gravity and time. As I mentioned, this is a simple piece that balances form, manipulation, surface and firing and when all is added up, these details and subtleties tally a much more complex package then you were expecting.

A RUSTY BAND

I was thinking about the fact that I really don't get many guinomi sent my way, either from other people's collection of ones that I just can't live without but in the last few weeks I have had four show up which though it doesn't really sound like it, that is a lot for me. This yuteki temmoku guinomi is one of the recent group and like the Ki-Seto guinomi by Matsumura Sen has all of the characteristics of its larger cousin, the chawan. The first thing you notice is the proportions, wide bowl form and narrower foot just right for the piece, the solid proportions have the same ratio as bowls much larger in size. 

 Made by Kimura Morikazu this guinomi and his chawan share the same basic bones as well as surfaces which in this case is several bands of varying oils spot decoration where the small dark spotting is covered over in part way around the piece composed of a rich, mesmerizing rusty band of temmoku. The lip comes to a crisp bevel, perfect for drinking from and the foot clearly shows the bare clay where this guinomi stood during the wood firing process with just the shallowest cut foot like most of the yuteki temmoku antecedents. All told this is exactly my type of guinomi from form and proportions, surface and firing and as I reflect on it, Kimura Morikazu has left a large number of guinomi behind in various miniature incarnations of chawan, most likely, more than most. 

(In the background is just a hint of a wood fired vase by Bruce Cochrane, a perfect backdrop.)

SPEED DATING

I couple of times a year for quite a long way back I end up making a series of carved tebori pieces using cats, birds, fish and especially dogs. Coated in a thin black slip I paint the designs in ink and then carve away the background to reveal the decoration standing against the wonderful color of the clay. This particular square tray form is of a central theme character, WOOF flanked around the piece by four other, presumably female dogs and entitled, "Speed Dating". Please bare in mind this is just for fun and if you prefer the central character to be female, feel free to go at it and think Woofalina instead of Woof. I make it, you interpret it to your hearts content.

CYCLONE

Looking a bit like an unleashed, slow motion cyclone it is rather hard to miss the work of Hokkaido potter, Ono Kotaro. Most of his pottery is filled with energy, motion and even seduction as the carved piece and lines spring forth for a rather simple form that acts as the basis for creation. Thrown out of thick porcelain and meticulously carved, Ono draws movement and emotion from the simple material which he then softly blankets in pale blue or yellow celadon which presents some small weight to the overall presentation. 

 I must admit I am used to seeing Ono's guinomi, chawan and mizusashi where the carved curving furrows end like they are floating off into pace, he makes excellent use of the transition between the animated body and the tallish plain neck which ends in a thick and defining lip. It is rather easy to end up with a rather fussy area where the one piece transitions into the other but this has a magical quality where all of the vertically spiraling lines merge the the faint and subtle throwing marks of the neck. I have seen quite a few on Ono Kotaro pieces, the first being at a gallery exhibition in Japan where a mizusashi was illustrated in their ad and with each encounter, in person, in print or over the internet I am constantly amazed that each piece becomes its very own and unique presentation within a body of work that is well scripted and certainly well produced.

THREE THINGS

Two things are rather clear when looking at this pot, first off it looks like a chawan despite being a guinomi and secondly you wouldn't necessarily see his master in this work as he studied with Sakai Kobu in Toki for a time. As with many guinomi that I am particularly drawn to, this clearly appears to be a miniature chawan from the proportions of body to foot, the wandering lip, the slightly altered form and it overall posture. Made by Matsumura Sen (b. 1977) who now resides and works in Mashiko, he specializes in making Ki-Seto pottery in which he combines materials from Mino and Mashiko with the addition of cypress ash to create five variants of the glaze where each one has its own distinct characteristics and appearances. 

This particular Ki-Seto glaze has a moist, wet texture with some areas that are just a tiny bit dry easpecially around the base of the pot and the foot. On the guinomi there is an incised lotus blossom with luscious, glassy tanpan accents bringing the design to life and defining what one would consider the face of the piece. Well there is actually three things that are rather clear, having devoted over two decades to perfecting his Ki-Seto glazes and pottery, the rewards are great even in this pocket sized pot that is as great to look at as it is to use.