CONTINUUM

There are times these days when looking at older, more traditional and classic pots where they seem out of step from the movements of sculptural and modern ceramics being made these days. The truth is that while I appreciate the movement forward, there is a special place for the modern past, the 20th Century in my heart the old forges the continuum between what was and what will be. Pots based on traditions, traditional forms and classical ideals appeal to me, their embrace of their history, functional and purpose is written across their surface appealing to a simpler aesthetic and perhaps time, ultimately the past births the new.      

This classic te-oke was made by Nishibata Sueharu, father of Tadashi and is as antique as can be in appearance, finding its origins in ceramic and perhaps wooden archetypes passed down over the centuries including within the Tamba tradition. Created to imitate its wood cousin, the form intimates wood slats and woven bamboo bindings with the big distinguishing factor being the presence of running and dripping ash and hi-iro flashing around the form. A feature that is immediately spotted is the thick bidoro drips attached to the underside of the bucket's handle, hanging precariously and locked in their present state until time or calamity see fit to alter them. It may sound redundant, but I like traditional pots, ideals built on centuries of use and ceremony that keep one eye to tradition and utility and the other to aesthetics and pleasing the user in both arenas.