"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!