KOI OR NETTLES

Illustrated is a medium size tsubo thrown out of an iron rich stoneware with several rather evocative iron glazes covering the surface which easily reminds one of the netted decoration of the matsuba-koi or the drooping nettles (or needles) of the pine tree, Pinus thunbergii, the Japanese black pine. What ever is the genesis of the decoration, this tsubo was made by Kimura Moriyasu and is just another wondrous iron surface mastered through decades of trial and error, experimentation with formulas and temperature ranges to perfect surfaces that are eye catching and at times other worldly in their appearance. Like most of Moriyasu's palette, this glaze is carefully applied, layering surfaces to create the perfect and desired effect which in this case is the Matsuba-Temmoku. As can be seen in this photo the surface takes on a wide range of hues and effects depending on the light source where it can present as areas of rich, rusty iron reds or almost metallic like areas of grey, silver and gun-metal with areas of distinct small crystals glistening all about the pot.  At times relying on his years at the Kyoto Ceramic research Center and his brothers, also all potters, Kimura Moriyasu has blazed a trail in pursuit of iron and yohen glazes capturing the cosmos frozen in time in his works, painting an extraordinary landscape in clay and glaze along the way.