WEATHERED

Illustrated is another old Japanese lock style vase form by Shigaraki potter, Kengo Saeki. I have seen a number of these forms over the years and most are of modest scale, perfect for use and neither too small or too large but what makes this one a bit different is that it is one half scale of most that I have seen previously. What this vase form lacks in size it more than makes up for in attention to detail, character and a wonderful landscape differing on front and back. At first glance it could almost seem like these are two different pots where the one side shows off an archaic, rusted and corroding with areas of ash creating a fine texture while the other side has ash built up in different layers creating green glass along many of the angles created through the design. With each encounter of these vase forms I am reminded of ancient, weathered bronzes of centuries past where time has taken hold and added naturally to the pieces without any fuss or planning, producing an object that no amount of technique and skill alone could have created. As with my previous encounters in photos or in person, I look forward to the next chance meeting with the works of Kengo Saeki.

THE LITTLE CUP THAT COULD

Illustrated is a small "bourbon" cup with a slightly troubled past. Starting at the beginning this cup was from a group of pieces thrown off the hump using a small batch, gritty, sandy clay, most were facetted of which for some reason, I thought this was the best of the group. Being the top of the class as it were, I decided to go with the tried and true Oribe with iron and along with some 45 other pots, it was loaded and fired. Once unloaded, I realized that the very bottom of the kiln was slightly underfired and I decided to put this aside and fire it again to see what would develope. Loaded again and then midway through the firing we had a power outage leading to the loss of nearly the entire kiln load or really about 75% of the contents. For what ever the reasons are, most of my glazes do not fair well when they are firing and the temperature drops quickly leading to bad pinholes and a rather dull, muddy surface and are even worse when refired.  As I was surveying the bad to worse result, I decided to just hang on to this cup and several other pieces to refire next glaze fire to see what the results may be and in this case, third time is a charm (?).       

As you can see, the cup came out with a number of other Oribe based pieces with deep, shiny surfaces with not a single pinhole and truth be told, I am glad I decided to refire these pots, most of which I am much happier with now than I was just a few short days ago. A fellow collector asked me about when I was happy with my work and I told him, the feeling is always short lived but I must admit, I was happy with this little cup that could for more than the usual five minutes and it is likely to become my new bourbon cup for the foreseeable future for at least eleven minutes into the future.

MEMORABLE INTRODUCTION

I have to admit, before I encountered this Oribe vase, I had never heard of Sone Yoshiyuki which considering my interest in Oribe has been something of a conundrum. As you can see, this animated vase has a rather fantastical surface created after the pot was glazed and fired on its side, the surface has run in streaking layers toward the bottom as the pot lay creating a landscape that both reminds me of rock strata and a foreign landscape from a distant gas giant beyond our reach. The glaze has run toward the prominet and distinct shell scars which fossilized during the firing adding more details that bring the viewer in to survey the varying elements that create the whole. Either lug has a rather distinct bidoro drop, suspended as if gravity does not apply and the entire pot is streams of mingling iron and copper almost mimicing neriage until you look deep into the surface of the glaze to see the thrown bones of the hanaire.   

As for the form itself, this vase is a creative amalgam of the old and the new, borrowing some elements of old pottery while striving to show a modern rendition of classicism and an inner voice imbued with the playful* whimsy Oribe sprung from. The form has a casual quality to it while its posture is both determined and study showing off the simple alterations to the thrown piece that seem natural and in harmony with the finished object.  I have written about Sone Yoshiyuki previously showing off a magnificent bidoro emerald earring suspended from a vases's lug showing off the details that pull a viewer into the orbit of his pottery as well as making for a rather unique first impression and acting as a most welcome and memorable introduction. 

(*PLAYFULNESS IN JAPANESE ART by Tsuji Nobuo)

LIVELY ATTIRE

Illustrated is a rather impromptu photo of a vivid and animated nebula temmoku chawan by Kimura Moriyasu. The bowl, in transit as it were was sitting on the the chest when the sun very graciously decided to rake accross the chawan highlighting the running glaze, showing off the rich amber lip and multi-colored range of rivulets making their way down the bowl paying homage to heat and gravity.   

Thrown out of a crepe texturered buff clay, the form is simple, based on an archetype originated across the sea with a slight uneven wavering to the lip and a deep, almost profound well ending in a perfect mikomi. As straightforward as is the form, the surface is innovative and alive as the layers were first built up and then melted, comingled and ran down the bowl in short, controllable burst through what ends up looking like distinct bands of color surrounding the chawan. Though this photo was not staged, nor was permission asked for, this candid gives a good sense of what this Kimura Moriyasu chawan is really all about and like a perfect model, classic canvas clothed in expressive and lively attire.

ON THE OFF CHANCE

Illustrated is my old amber ressurected and used on a test yunomi on the off chance that it would work with a bit of wash over the surface. This addition was last minute when glazing a couple of weeks back and made its way between some v-bowls filling those dreaded empty nooks and crannies of the kiln. The addition of the manganese/ copper wash really adds to this surface and creates a depth to the glaze that it lacks as well as a bit of motion to the surface. I am rather glad the idea popped into my head as I was glazing and am looking forward to trying it on a less textural surface to see if the surface is as interesting without all of the fluting. I am in the process of glazing currently and further testing will have to wait until the next cycle unless something comes up and it usually does.

B&T

Though this may not be the most informative photo of this Hagi style chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko it still clearly shows the classic form of the potter and its stoic posture and well dressed foot as well. This chawan has an inscription on the box lid interior, it is named; "Confederate Rose", more pictures to follow when I find them. Highlighted by both sunlight and shadow here is a different exposure to this chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko and as I have mentioned previously, I think there are subtleties and nuances that stand out in this type of presentation including the "bones and toppings" of the piece. 

PRIMO REPARIO

Illustrated is the first piece of pottery that I have ever collected with a kintsugi repair, I have a real aversion to pots with chips, cracks or any damage and this has lead to a rather long term internal debate. Over the years I have had more than several pieces arrive damaged and in need of repair but I have found that a horse of a different color and I think because the piece arrived damaged, the trama or experience colored my perspective of those pots ever so slightly. Last year I spotted what I would under normal circumstances consider to be a near perfect Iga chawan by Furutani Michio, the caveat was a pewter lacquer repair measuring just under 2cm long. Based on the topography of the lip under magnification it seems obvious that something stuck to the lip during the firing process and was removed and the bowl was repaired at that time. I should mention that if done by or for the potter, this would be the third piece I have seen with repairs, the two others, one with staples and one with lacquer are illustrated in exhibition catalogues so one can guarentee contemporaneous repairs orchestrated or conducted by the potter, this one is most likely the same but conjecture.       

At any rate, this Iga chawan was thrown out of a rather dense whitish stoneware in a rather classical Furutani Michio shape where the bowl form has a depressed area running close to the lip which has also allowed green ash to build up in and run down from. The entire chawan is covered in varying degrees of ash thickness with a wonderful run of a thick river up toward the lip culminating in a large bidoro drop and due to how the bowl was oriented during the firing there is a thick deep pool close to the lip on the interior which is quite prominent and very hard to miss. The foot has the least amount of ash buildup of the bowl and shows off the crisp cut foot with crinkled texture inside to its fullest advantage. I could go on and on about the chawan and what I discovered in deciding to take a risk on this chawan is that it has no impact on the pot from my viewpoint, someone, either potter, dealer or collector decided this chawan was just too special to discard and had it lovingly restored with the perfect choice of lacquer which has altered this piece into not only splendid work of a master at the height of his skills when made but a narration about survival and the need to understand that a kiln accident is not the end of the world but rather the beginning of a deeper conversation about the importance of objects to a tradition and humanity, the perfection of imperfection on full display.

HIGH TECH

Illustrated is the high tech and top secret process by which I achieve some of the surfaces I end up with on my glazes. Included in the photo is of course a banding wheel as old as time itself, a folded piece of cardboard covered with newsprint, the glaze to spray and the lung powered atomized all focused on spraying the small teabowl glazed in Oribe with a masked decoration created using an impromptu cardboard stencil. In this case there were only two teabowls that need to benefit from this high tech and streamlined operation both intended as tests while the bulk of the bisque pots wait thier results. I should mention that on the other side of the photo, I was wearing eye protection and a painters mask with a tiny slit cut in to admit the mouthpiece of the atomizer. I realize this is not necessarily the best operation but normally I would have done this outdoors in the fresh air and upwind but it was raining quite heavily. Tomorrow is a day filled with appointments and errands and I won't get to fire the kiln until Friday, better late than never.

RIN

Illustrated is a finely thrown and carved porcelain vase with a pale seihakuji glaze surface influenced by Chinese Song ceramics by Kurashima Taizan of the Daizan-gama. Working in Sue located in Fukuoka, the pottery of the Kurashima family is known as Sue-yaki and as mentioned and looks to both Chinese ceramics and Arita ware for its initial inspiration. This tsubo like hanaire was expertly thrown and is thin and light yet the procelain has been fired to create a dense and hard clay that rings finely when tapped. The mouth and shoulder area has been exquisitely carved to create a five  lotus leaf design to harmonize with the rinka style mouth all under the thin coating of a simple, elegant blue tinted glaze that highlights the form.    

Kurashima Taizan is well known for his wonderful, Song inspired ceramics and carving that runs from rather simple to very ornate and complex. As you can see in this simple, static photo, this vase embraces the concept of "RIN" or "quiet clarity" and his work was included in the exhibition, RIN (1996) showcasing his pale blue and ivory colored carved porcelains. As the accompanying catalogue details, Kurashima's works conjure up thoughts of purity and elegance and having handled a few of his pieces, it would be next to impossible to disagree with that conclusion.

MORE TO OFFER

Illustrated is a Shigaraki tsubo made by a Fukuoka native now working and firing in Yokohama which coincidentally,  is only about a four hour trainride from the cradle of this ideal and aesthetic. Made by Hoshino Ryosai, this medieval style tsubo with a vivid and classic  incised  fence decoration has a simple form with crisp lines to form the mouth and flange with a wonderful coat of ash from top to bottom presenting a true sense of antiquity and honesty to the pot. What is clear to see is the varying ash formation and color that has painted this pot ranging from tradition browns and greens to hints of lavender and blue strewn across the surface.     

Having shown his work across Japan and abroad, Hoshino has embraced the Shigaraki (haikaburi) aesthetic that relies on skill, experience and serendipity to complete his work in the anagama wood fired kiln. This pot, all naturally glazed, shizen-yu has a rough and tumble surface while still having a sense of nobility in the stance and posture of what is a utilitarian vessel with quite honestly, so much more to offer. Each encounter with the work of Hoshino expands the breathe of his output from simple to the complex masterful koro showing yet another potter not residing in the birthplace of the tradition making pots that display excellent examples of what is at the very heart of the Shigaraki tradition.

MOTIVATION

I finally got motivated to sand, decorate and load a number of greenware pieces into a bisque yesterday and another one today. I total there are about 140 pieces ranging from teabowls to dinnerplates and pasta bowls, some orders, commissions and pieces I made as tests or new forms. The truth is the real motivation to get these pieces fired was the weather as we are in the midst of cold, cold rain which is supposed to ice up and with ice comes downed trees and power outages. Since I won't be throwing I can get three glazes made and two topped off and get around to glazing by Friday as I have some other commitments tomorrow and Monday. It is funny how the weather finally gave me the kick in the but to stop throwing and get stuff processed before there was a mishap as storing all that greenware was getting tricky. Illustrated is just a group of carved slip porcelain bowls about 9" across ready to be cleaned and then glazed in either my Oribe, amber or soda blue, there are also combed stoneware slipbowls, some chatterware and a few teabowls meant as filler in the periphery of the picture. Now that the second bisque is finished firing without any power interuptions I am rather glad to have these pots in a more stable situation but I still need to figure out where to store them while I am glazing everything up, the pitfalls of a car garage studio and limited wall space.

TRICKY BOWL

I realize that I have posted this Tsukigata Nahiko chawan before but I ran across this picture of the bowl highlighted by both sunlight and shadow and thought I might as well give it one more go. I think this is a tricky bowl to decipher when loooking at it in a more convential setting, the quality of the glaze, the posture and overall feel of the form can easily get lost or become just a bit fuzzy. I am not trying to paint this as the end-all of Tsukigata chawan but rahter it has some rather special attribute which are best observed under a variety of light soruces and situations, the more you can see and converse with a piece or this piece specifically the more you get to understand it at its core from the bones to the toppings.  

As for my personal take on this chawan, this has been one of my favorites that I have handled by Tsukigata Nahiko. I am unsure exactly how to explain it but it has a sense of antiquity and an eminently casual demeanor, more like it just happened than was thought out, thrown, manipulated and tooled. The bowl feels natural, well balanced on its pedestal foot and welcoming in the hands, I am not sure you get all of this from this photos and others, along with a video that I have made but since it is rather happy where it is, as is the owner, I don't think it will be making the rounds any time soon so this will just have to suffice until another one shows up, fingers crossed.

STRIKE A POSE

I have to admit, I have handled more chaire by Honiwa Rakunyu II than probably any other modern potter. Rakunyu II must have been rather prolific in regards to chaire and unlike every other potter I have visited in Shigaraki (and Iga) at most they may have had one or two chaire on display, but at the Honiwa home there were eight or nine and even at the time I found this just a bit curious. Along side many of the chaire were two distinct types of shifuku bags, those of fancy, historic textile patterns and the simple honest and almost mingei style homespun made by his daughter, those bags have always been our favorites.     

Illustrated is an ever so slightly different piece by Honiwa Rakunyu, a tall, slender and graceful Shigaraki hoso-chaire with a Kyoto style textile shifuku and a well crafted and excellently fitted lid. This slender form was likely fired inbetween two pots, slightly behind them as the face is covered in a fine, wet coating of ash that feathers off to the rear that is a darker brown hi-iro that is surrounded by a thin transitional border of an almost goma-like effect. At over 11.5cm tall this is a simple, resolute form intended for one dedicated purpose but the more I look at it the more I see that it serves as much for the eye as it does the hand and in this light strikes a distinct and timeless pose.

SOLVING PROBLEMS

When working with stoneware and porcelain, I don't think it is that I get bored easily but rather that I like to make new forms and when necessary solve new problems. This Kuro-Oribe thrown and altered cap jar was for me a new form and solved the small problem of keeping several areas of the pot round while squaring up other parts, namely the top and bottom of the form. I have actually used this technique quite a bit over the years but normally on a closed form but in this case I needed to work to alter the form and keep the waist and mouth round which actually proved to be rather easy as I got to work. 

Once the form was fixed, I beat the base so that the center of each plane formed the foot and the corners were a bit raised which makes for a nice shadow. Small paddled lugs were added at the shoulder and the lid has a step down which adds dimension to the surface along with the glaze run that also adds quite a bit of motion. The shoulder and upper plane had iron sprayed on them but the bottom of the form is just pure, straight Oribe and looks quite radiant and enticing in the sunlight. My goal this year is to make some larger versions of this idea along with varying the proprotion to see what I end up with and even after making some small bottles and a few covered jar I think I am safe in saying, I don't think I will get bored with solving problems or this idea and form anytime soon.

ODD ENCOUNTER

I vividly remember my first encounter with the work of Kotoge Katsuyoshi (Tanzan), we were in Kyoto in the early 90s and walked in to a gallery that had a myriad of his highly decorative pieces of Kyo-yaki on display, perhaps 30 pieces or so though mostly chawan, mizusashi, cha-tsubo and a few hanaire. There were precise, meticulous and everything one would want from Kyo-yaki but truth be told, just not our taste. When we left the gallery we went and had a beverage and pastry at a shop located next to another gallery that really caught my eye. In the window was a rather formal but very well fired Shigaraki vase right next to an Iga mizusashi literally covered in ash from head to toe and front to back, an utsushimono of a 17th century piece. When we went in there were seven or eight more piece all by the same potter, Kotoge Katsuyoshi! What I went on to learn is that Kotoge had studied with two rather high profile potters, Shimaoka Tatsuzo and Miyagawa Makuzu Kosai V given him a tremendous exposure to two very different styles of work and techniques geared to fanciful Kyo-yaki and rugged wood fired pottery. Besides having a deep immersion into the woodfired pottery in Mashiko under Shimaoka, Miyagawa Kosai V was actually known for having made some Shigaraki style fired pottery from which Kotoge would have had been exposed to during his apprenticeship.      

I should also mention that if Kyo-yaki, Shigaraki and Iga pottery was not enough for his repertoire, Kotoge Katsuyoshi is also rather well known for his simple and unpretentious Karatsu ware that focuses on chadogu, pieces used for chanoyu which he has practiced for over four decades. In an interview done while exhibiting in Spain in 2013-2014 Kotoge went on to explain that and I am only paraphrasing; most potters who create (or make) chawan rarely know the difference in spirit between a food bowl and a true chawan.  This is a subject that comes up quite frequently I must admit, where scholars, authors, tea experts and the like hold this continued opinion.     

Illustrated is a pot, a seemingly odd encounter that got me to this post in the first place, a classic Iga style mizusashi made by Kotoge Tanzan (Katsuyoshi) in 1990, the year of our first trip to Japan. As you can see in the picture, the entire surface of the pot is covered in a nice, glassy coating of ash though the other side also has a good amount of charring and charcoal like effect  as well, but what is really intriguing is that though very much based on an early Iga pot, this form has a sense of refinement that shows off his classical Kyoto, Kyo-yaki roots. The dichotomy of blending both Iga and Kyoto aesthetics makes for a rather idiosyncratic form which is easy to expect from Kotoge and his background in wood firing and Kyo-yaki. I think that even all these years later it is still a bit of a shock every time I see these rustic, wood fired pots from the hand of Kotoge Tanzan but having seen so many of his pots since my first encounter it makes all the sense in the world how his work would be so very different yet exactly the same.

CONTINUITY

On the left is a picture I have used on my blog previously of a well articulated and decorated henko form by Kimura Ichiro and a short while back the henko on the right was put up on Instagram, this one being by Kimura Mitsuru. To recap, Mitsuru was the son-in-law of Kimura Ichiro and as such he learned about his working first hand in his studio, making, glazing and firing. At first glance or in passing these two forms like alike but if you study the proportions, depth and angles they are ever so slightly different from one to the other. I suspect Mitsuru made this homage henko as a means of creating continuity from studio to studio as well as keeping alive a tradition which Ichiro inherited by way of Hamada Shoji and that Mitsuru inherited from his father-in-law.     

The use of common forms within families is almost as old as ceramics itself and is one of the underlying factors of what builds a school, style or tradition. In this particular case, Kimura Mitsuru used the basic three dimensional canvas of the henko along with glazes perfected by Ichiro and decoration that would be recognizable as that of the Ichiro family. The use of the creamy nuka with its abundance of texture brings depth to a form already well versed in dimension that clearly narrates a story about Mashiko, Hamada, Kimura Ichiro and its inheritor, Kimura Mitsuru.  (Photo used with the kind permission of 20thCenturyARTophiles)

LASTING IMPRESSION

Ilustrated is a graceful, four sided henko hanaire by Mukunoki Eizo. I guess I should say that this is graceful for mingei pottery but it does have that stoic sense and posture about it with soft and crisp lines defing the pot that is decked out in a slightly mottled shinsha red glaze with spots of almost apple green jade coloring scattered about the base and elsewhere. I think it is rather clear to see what a lasting impression that studying with Kawai Kanjiro had on Mukunoki Eizo where he made note of the lines, proportions and posture of the masters work and tried to infuse them in his own unique forms. Despite the genesis for Mukunoki's forms and surfaces coming from the Kawai-mon, he was able to chart a course that distinguishes itself from Kanjiro whose forms seems to be more dominated by sturdy and compact geometry while this pot reaches for the vertical and has a lighter profile and volume. Another aspect of this vase that I enjoy is the sense of purpose it displays, this vase was made to use, its primary concern is function with the aesthetics of form and surface perhaps seperated by just nano-seconds in consideration. The ideal was sculpted over time by the potter before a multi-part mold was made to cement the form into reality, so no small amount of planning and consideration went into the original design, mold and the final object and I think that is on display in this classic shinsha form.

LONE SURVIVOR

Remembering that Mondays are normally referenced as Mugshot Mondays, I pulled down this old mug and decided to take a quick picture of it. I know I have mentioned that I don't tend to make a lot of mugs but there is a back story to this particular mug. Back when I was teaching at Wesleyan potters, one of my classes was teens and toward the end of the session I made a dozen mugs, glazed each one differently and then let the students each pick one to take home, I had 11 students and this was the lone survivor that no one seemed interested in and so here it is, dusted off and photographed nearly 20 years later!

RUSTY ROLL

I have to admit, in my initial encounter with this chawan all I could think was what a simple, even quiet but perfect chawan. Looking at the distilled form, the thoughtful, concidered lip and perfect lift from a crisp, simple foot, what more could you ask for from a bowl? Well as luck would have it, besides the well conceived bones of the chawan, the surface is just alive with glimmering iron crystals that make up strand or tendril of movement that add to the vertical quality of the piece and creates quite the active and enticing appearance.       

This chawan was made by Kimura Morinobu who along with his two sibling has dedicated a lifetime to the pursuit of exploring iron in glazes like temmoku and yuteki-temmoku, all influenced by their Chinese archetypes. Along with Morinobu's continued experimentation with "iron in the fire", he has burnt to a cinder numerous types of vegitation to create a wide and exotic at times, array of ash glazes. This particular temmoku glaze has a beautiful flare with the intermingling of dark temmoku and a rusty trail all culminating in a vivid, undulating glaze roll that is a beauty to look at and to feel. The glaze roll culminates near the foot, exposing the clay and just feels good, cupped in the hands. Even though this isn't one of Morinobu's ash glazed wonders, it would be rather hard to consider this anything other than another homerun (at least to my personal taste).

SILO

Not much to say about this Oribe style covered jar with B.C. (johnny Hart) or Prometheus inspired finial with combed white over black slip. The form is loosely based on old storage building from Africa, looking a bit like a grain bin or silo and have three feet cut from the base. Considering that I really enjoy making lidded pots from cannisters, covered jars, cap jars all the way to covered boxes, this ongoing series of box forms, many resting on three or four feet are not likely to disappear anytime soon but I am thinking that soda blue and amber glazes may add a touch of diversity to the pieces. Perhaps next time (?).

MOUSEY

Though perhaps best known for his original and innovative Oni-Shino, besides being an all round renaissance artist, Tsukigata Nahiko was well versed in the full spectrum of the Mino tradition. Having a foundation in a wide array of glaze making, Tsukigata made a large number of pots that have quite a bit in common with their classical antecedants and this particular vase is no exception. Though neither rare or common, this vase dates to the late 1980s to the late 1990s and is typical of work which he described as Nezumi-Shino, once again taking his unique approach to the style where a highly active iron/ cobalt underglaze was used with a thick, viscous Shino glaze leading to this vivid look. There is an array of "special effects" where some of the colorants have boiled up through the surface; browns, blacks, blues, greens and turqouise perculate to the top layers of the glaze creating a rather unique landscape that like much of Tsukigata's works can easily be attributed to his hand (and mind) where what seems ordinary becomes anything but.      

Intentional or not, I immediately think of thick melting ice and snow slowing revealing the stone underneath though I suspect this type of landscape conjures up all kinds of memories and associations to each individual viewer. Perhaps one of the outstanding aspects to Tsukigata work is that no matter how many of a particular form you see, each and every pot has its own unique voice and especially landscapes. As I have seen a number of this form in varying sizes in this Nezumi-Shino surface, Ki-Seto, Oni-Shino, Muji-Shino and others, each piece is connected initially by form but each piece presented a nearly alien appearance to the other making it clear that though manipulated by the maker through glaze and firing, it was the fire that had the final say on what each pot would look like, maybe more than any other factor. In the end experience, technique and knowledge are one thing in the creation of a pot but without surrendering the pot and at least a bit of one's ego to the kiln and flames, these pots would be all the less so let's be thankful for those crucial decisions.

ILLUSION OF MAGIC

Pure magic is the best way I can describe the glazes and surfaces of Kimura Moriyasu and I suspect that anyone who has seen his work in person or in a book or catalogue would agree. The illustrated detail is from a chawan made in the late (?) 1990s where the overwelming color is blue enhanced by shades and nuances of many other tones all running into the interior to create a nebula of effects all surrounding the center composed of golden hues, adrift in some far off galaxy. I am simply amazed at how a handful of chemicals, some intense heat, a bit of alchemy thrown into the mix together with decades of experience can conjure up this illusion of magic locked within a three dimensional object. I think that the such work can better be described by poet or sage so I will let the photo tell its story all on its own as if a picture is worth a thousand words, I can imagine quite a bit more being written on the ceramics of Kimura Moriyasu.

ROAD TRIP

I am not sure how often this happens to other potters but I ran out of clay recently, I still have a good cache of terra cotta and porcelain but not stoneware. Part of this problem stems from the fact that a clay supplier I used to get deliveries from was goobled up by a really big company so now I have to make a supply run an hour west or two hours east to get heavy supplies like clay and chemicals for glazes and slip. Compounding this new issue is that our vehicle can only really carry about 500lbs at a time so I am limited with each trip. I know, things could be a lot worse, I could have to dig my clay and mine my own materials but truthfully i wasn't paying enough attention and "poof" the stoneware was gone.  

Illustrated are two, well three pasta/ salad/ what-have-you omnibowls that along with a spare teabowl were thrown off the hump and represent the last bag of clay. I threw these bowls to proof, test the amber and soda blue on shallow pieces as well as making sure that the glazes will work considering I am using newly sourced materials. Shouldn't be a big problem but better to be safe than sorry as the old days of saying; "well f#ck it" and filling a kiln with an iffy glaze are well behind me or at least I hope so.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Illustrated is a rather wonderfully fired Shigaraki uzukumaru style pot or is it? Made in Nagaoka City in Niigata the works of Kon Chiharu are sometimes called Echigo Shigaraki as they are made in what used to be Echigo Province prior to the Meiji Era but does it boil down to location, location location? Despite where it was made, this haikaburi tsubo was guided along its pathway from Shigaraki traditional pottery under the guidence of Tsuji Seimei who himself did not reside in Shigaraki proper. Under Tsuji's tutelage, Kon Chiharu master the insight into medieval style pottery, use of clay and firing where today his works are highpoints of the tradition irrespective of geography. This tsubo clearly has a sturdy and powerful form with a well defined neck and mouth that has a playful and wandering quality that makes for a rather distinctive and alluring vessel. Fired on its belly, the scars and ash flow surround the pot in a gravity defying embrace where the horizontal movement adds a trememdous  amount of animation to a form that seems rooted to the ground through its purposeful form and base. In this case the pot just happened to be at the right place at the right time and the sun did the rest of the heavy lifting.

WASHIZOME

Illustrated is a small washizome futamono by Saga prefecture potter, Eguchi Katsumi. This small covered box was skillfully thrown out of a dense, white porcelain with deocration using dyed paper to create the overall design before adding accents in sometsuke blue style. The entire covered box for is covered in a simple, brilliantly transparent clear glaze with the piece being deocrated entirely around the form with a single larger blossom depicted in the inside of the bottom and lid. As one might expect the fit and finish of this little box is equal to his large pieces, skillfully thrown, tooled and meticulously decorated with an exacting fit between the two pieces, top and bottom. This covered form is bigger than a kogo and measuring in at about 12cm across, not 100% sure of its intended purpose but even at this size, the possibilities are almost endless.       

As mentioned Eguchi Katsumi is well known for his skilled use of this washizome technique using traditional handmade Japanese paper in the pursuit of his decoration. Unlike many other Saga/ Arita potters, Eguchi is hands on for all of the processes in the creation of his work from throwing, tooling, decorating and firing making him a bit different than many in his community. Though this small covered box is simple with a simple design, this piece clearly portrays the style and technique developed by Eguchi Katsumi to its fullest and shows a dedication to not only his unique decorative approach but to his indigenous materials, firing and heritage blending tradition and traditional materials with a modern sensibility.

HANABI II

Recently I was contacted regarding making another hanabi fireworks teabowl but they didn't want an "exact" copy of the orginal set, rather something that had the same general decoration and feel but would stand apart from the other bowl. I was rather relieved they wanted something in the same style and technique because whenever you actually try to make a copy, exact or close, things don't normally pan out well, at least from my experience. On top of that, revisting something almost a year later I know I always wonder if I will get to the heart of why the individual wants it in the first place, does it have the same spirit or sensibility. I know this is basically a simple bowl with a very simple technique employed and not complex rocket science but when  someone wants something the goal is to try to live up to the expectation.     

Illustrated is the recreated hanabi technique, the white areas and the bowl shape are made a bit more formal with high mostly straight sides and just a hint of throwing rings around the form. As for the colors, they were easy to match and the bowl has that deep black, glossy look broken up with the white panels and colors punctuated and splashed across the surface. I would like to think I succeeded in my goal as the customer was happy so I guess that is about as good as it gets.

WELL CONSIDERED ADVENTURE

Illustrated is another Kuro-Bizen tokkuri by Oiwa Tomoyuki and this one is of a different form and approach than the previous one, another well considered adventure. Composed of a number of focal points and various angles and crisp, sharp shoulder the raised band around the waist and the inviting flare of the mouth all work well together while modelling its new suit of ash and lusterous black that  breathes life into paints the form and paints the narrates. The waisted center of the tokkuri calls to the user and makes for a perfect purchase for pouring of just admiring in hand while the dual texture of the glossy black and the semi-matt ash appeal to both eye and hand. There is something captivating about the posture and goals involved in the creation of this tokkuri; the body is a perfect size and the neck and mouth compliment the proportions and all together it carries out a conversation regarding function and aesthetics. To my eye, Oiwa has struck a wonderful balance of taking what he learned under his master, Kakurezaki coupled with his own vision and blended it into a statement about an evolving, modern tradition where new techniques, ideas and firing usher in a whole new understanding of what it means to be Bizen now and well into the future.

NULLUS SUBSITUTUS

I'll start out by saying that I realize there is no substitute* for the real thing, in this case a gosu hakeme chawan by Kawai Kanjiro but when I first saw this bowl, I immediately thought that this was in the top percentage of work by one of his pupils, Mukunoki Eizo. Both the broad bowl form and foot are reminescent of Kanjiro's chawan but there is a subtle difference in shape and the bold application of thick hakeme slip, a difference that is easily identifiable yet all the features of Mukunoki's pot quickly add up to one is truly a remarkable work by a student and not the master. Consideration has been paid to the form and  function of this chawan with a lip that is both sturdy and narrow enough to drink from with a broad, pleasant curve and volume to the bowl and a strong, pedestal foot that acts as a perfect resting place as well as a stark visual feature that weighs in as a counterbalance to the overal aesthetic. The interior of the bowl has a thick, crackled clear glaze while a gosu covers the highly textural hakeme slip in blue with areas of rich iron make their way to the surface adding even more dimension to a study in ceramic topography. 

Just to be clear, this chawan is in no way a substitute for the work of Kawai Kanjiro but given the difference in everything from foot to surface is it even possible to make that leap when you are judging the pot on its own merits and that of the potter, Mukunoki Eizo.  

( *I wrote this post after an exchange with a fellow collector who asked me if this wasn't just a "poor mans" substitute for the original, a contention I strongly disagree with.)

SOCIAL MEDIA

Being an individual more than willing to embrace the 21st century, I just wanted to take a momnet to let any bloggers know that I am also on both Instagram and Facebook. These outlet are using a lot of the old posts used first here on I, POTTER but there are some new and slightly different content if you wish to take a look.

https://www.instagram.com/albedo3studio/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100074959900457

ANOTHER CLASSIC II

Quite some time ago, 2012 to be exact, I put up a dealer's photo of a classic Furutani Michio Iga mizusashi and now here is an impromptu photo of the same mizusashi showing off the opposite side in situ. I am sure there is a wide array of superlatives that could be used to describe this piece but I will use a few; classic, modern archetype and elementally rustic. What is abundantly clear in this photo and the previous one is that this strong, sturdy form is like a completed puzzle of details that bring life to the piece from the casual potter's marks, the lugs, the lid and knob surrounded by a vivid lake of pure green glass. Through a carefully crafted blend of experience, happenstance and firing acumen, Furutani Michio's pottery stand out among his contemporaries helping to bring a tradition well into the 21st century and leaving behind a tremendous body of work which can be enjoyed at face level of act as an ongoing tool to teach modern potters what it means to have dedicated a lifetime to the dual traditions of Iga and Shigaraki pottery.       

You can see the original 2012 post by following this link;

https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2012/09/another-classic.html

YAKISHIME PART II

Back in 2018 I put up a post entitled, YAKISHIME about an unglazed, wood fired mizusashi by Kimura Morinobu. Little did I know at the time that this mizusashi would come my way and secondly it would also be only my second kintsugi piece of pottery ever collected. I was surfing around a site and happened to spy this Shigaraki mizusashi when I immediately recognized it from the retrospective book; KIMURA MORINOBU SAKUTO GOJU NEN, 1951-2000 and it was put up with a total of ten photo. What I had not realized when I first saw this photo was that it had two kintsugi repairs where the lip cracked as the pot was fired on its side with yet another pot's weight on top of it. In the firing the form compressed oval and the lip, top and bottom split a small amount and were both later repaired/ filled, kintsugi style which is shown in the retrospective catalogue.    

Illustrated is the mizusashi in question which is described as "Shigaraki Mizusashi" and living only a few miles away from Shigaraki perhaps the description is close to spot on. The face of this pot is covered in a thin, fine layer of ash that breaks and gives way to some ash, lots of hiiro fire color and various areas of buff, feldspar saturated clay where the mizusashi laid on its side during firing. The form, distorted from the firing process has become  wonderfully animated where it has been squeezed a bit ovoid which also lead to the mouth splitting at what was north and top and bottom during the process. The lacquer repairs bring a bit of restored dignity to the integrity of the mizusashi and the custom lacquer lid fits perfectly in the kidney shaped aperture of the mouth. 

In retrospect I find it a small dose of serendipity that I pot that I admired and decided to post should five years later come my way and at the same time teach me an interesting lesson about kintsugi and how that process has added to the presence and aesthetics of a pot that benefits greatly from the specific and caring traditional attention it received.

WHAT A PAIR II

I received this (and quite a few other) picture(s) the other day from a shuki enthusiast in Europe. We have been trading back and forth pictures of various pots but mostly guinomi and tokkuri and this was his latest addition. When I first saw these two pieces together all I could truly think was 'what a pair", these pieces just work well together in form and surface and must be a joy to have just hanging around on a desktop. Both the Bizen tokkuri and guinomi were made by Oiwa Tomoyuki, a former apprentice of Kakurezaki Ryuichi and despite some of the obvious influences of the master, Oiwa has carved out a nice niche for himself where his voice, handling of clay and his firings have become rather distinctive.          

The tokkuri has a wonderfully sturdy form where the potter has tied in various details from the tapered foot, swelled out mid-section and faceted top culminating in a crisp and depressed shoulder that serves as a great foundation for the perfectly proportioned neck and mouth and death defying drip, front and center. As you can see, this tokkuri was fired on its side where the running ash has beaded up near the shell scars of the wadding creating a nice focal point of unintended decoration. 

Not to be outdone, the guinomi was fired upside down ending up with two, nearly perfectly placed drip of ash suspended as if gravity was not one of newton's laws or a guiding principle of the universe. The rich, shiny black interior is comingled with deposited ash the runs vividly toward the lip creating a rather intoxicating appearance and perfect for its intended use. I am sure that at the end of the day, every collector and sake enthusiast has there own definition of what makes for a perfect pair but I think these pieces speak volumes about gravity and determination which is clearly written across their surfaces and form from top to bottom and to my eye, they just belong together.

SIMPLE MUGSHOT

Today was supposed to be a productive day, lots of plans, slip and glazes to make up, tooling a few pieces thrown yesterday on a whim and clean some stuff up around the studio. Instead, phonecalls, slight household hiccup, emails and other distraction but at least I got things cleaned up which lead me to uncover this rather old mug. I thought this would be perfect for a mugshot Monday thing, so I dusted it off, it is quite old after all and took an impromptu picture. At least now if you should spot one of these out in the wild you'll be able to recognize where it came from.

APPERANCES CAN BE DECEIVING

I guess the maxim "appearances can be deceiving" makes quite a bit of sense. especially when pots are involved. When I first saw this vase (a single picture) I was sure I was looking at one of the Miraku Kamei potters, XIII, XIV or XV though I suspected one of the earlier generations. Once it arrived, I realized I was rather far afield on this one judging solely from the single, static image, it turned out to be by well known studio potter, Yasuhara Kimei. As you can see this piece bares absolutely no resemblance to Yasuhara's best known sekki stone texture but rather showcases his diversity and technical glaze mastery which he inherited from his master Itaya Hazan during his days at the Totokai in Tokyo. Once he established his own studio in the very late 1920's much of Yasuhara's work centered around more traditional or classic glazed wares of which this almost Takatori style vase fits well into that body of work.  

Thrown skillfully out of porcelain this classic form had wonderful molded fish lugs applied to either side of the neck which brings this piece to like and breaks up the lines of the form. The glaze, running and streaking about the pot is the perfect surface accentuating each component of the vase including th addition of iron to the tips of the fins of each fish lug. I have to admit that given what is mostly considered synonomous with Yasuhara Kimei this glazed, simple pot has a simple sense of classicism and formality. This formality distinguishes itself from his later work but clearly shows his grasp of the fundamentals needed before moving on to a style filled with more freedom and adventure, even a potter needs to learn to walk before he can run.

POWER DOWN

Since I am sure everyone is on pins and needles, my terra cotta cycle concluded last Weds with an array of slip trailed, carved and black pieces for decorating all now in the drying phase. Illustrated is the first two pieces that I threw at the beginning of the cycle last week, two covered serving bowls, tooled and black slipped, carved and then the dots of white slip were added. My intention is to get the group of greenware blanks decorated and hopefull everything in a bisque this Friday or Saturday, it is cool and damp in the studio so only time will tell.

RARE?

RARE /rer/ not found in large numbers and consequently of interest or value; unusually good or remarkable 

 A lot of people end up using the term, "rare" when describing object to infer monentary value or aesthertic or cultural value and over the years I have wondered how often the term actually applies. I am in no way inferring that I somehow have the monopoly of what is or is not rare but rare is not defined as an object that is just rarely observed or come in contact with. I believe there is more to the word, beyond unusual, not typical or other descriptive terms, it has to be something that is uncommon, out of an artists or craftsman normal ouvre of being of such a incredible example that it deserves such a moniker. I will start by saying that I am not sure if this simple Shino chawan is rare or not simply because it is the only one I have ever seen but rather it is not at all typical of the potter who made it. 

This simple Shino chawan was thrown out of a dense, white Shigaraki clay and glazed in Shino prior to firing, the bowl was glazed and fired at Toyozo Arakawa's kiln and fired in a sagger. As for the potter, this was made by Shigaraki pioneer, Takahashi Rakusai III sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The form of the chawan is not exactly typical of the potter and the glaze and simple XXX design around the top portion of the bowl is not something you would encounter on a normal day strolling into Rakusai's studio. This chawan was made and fired at a time when some of the most important potters of the day where sharing ideas and space in their kilns to the effect of seeing Bizen, Shigaraki and Karatsu pots by Arakawa and other combinations by potters like Rakusai III and Kaneshige Toyo making for a rather fertile exchange of traditions leading to this possibly rare Shino chawan that is certainly outside of the tradition that the potter is certainly best known for and connected to the heart of Shigaraki. 

 I should apologize for the quality of the photo as well, this was taken nearly 20 years ago using a digital camera when they were in their infancy and it has been converted from an old discette to jpeg after jpeg and this is what I have ended up with. I don't have the option to rephotograph this pot so as they say, it is what it is.

SAIYU

At first glance I thought this saiyu mizusashi looked quite a bit like a piece by Shinkai Kanzan only to find out it was in fact by the Kutani potter, Asano Norio. Where Shinkai was influenced in this technique by Kiyomizu Rokubei VI, Asano came by this from his master Kitade Fujio before he moved on and set up his own studio and kiln, Kyokusen-gama. Like Shinkai, this technique uses paper resist with applied slip and then an almost Persian blue style glaze which has culminated into a thick blue roll at the base of the pot. A very thin cobalt wash was applied to the surface to accent the geometric design all of which is brought out to its fullest potential in the afternoon sunlight. This appears to be fairly early work of Asano and the the form, lid and knob are very simple in many respects it had to be to create a balance with the colorful and moving surface, a rather nice blend of form and function with a rather particular aesthetic thrown in for good measure.

THE VERY FIRST

I was digging through a box in the studio filled with pottery tools, sponges, clock parts and more when I found a little pot wrapped in a piece of THE CLEVELAND PLAINDEALER newspaper from 1990 where I discovered the very first. To be clear, this is the very first "tea caddy" that I ever made or fired and not at all traditional like a chaire I basically made a diminutive covered jar with a cut, tripod foot. The surface is four layers, three sprayed to create this look and well the squares were liberally borrowed from a well known Hagi potter. This series of pots were a lot of fun to make and though it isn't really anything but a small covered jar, this was how I thought an American potter would develop a pot specific for powdered tea if chanoyu evolved here. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

FIRST

It seems only fitting that the last piece I received last year and the first piece for 2024 were by siblings*, the previous a maple ash glazed guinomi and the later a yuteki-temmoku one. Illustrated is a yuteki-temmoku guinomi by Kimura Moriyasu which depending on the dimensions could be a guinomi or a chawan, a form typically used in both for this potter along with the way in which the piece was glazed. The background is deep and dark, almost black on which the rusty, spotted iron is sprinkled about excepting the lip which has a band of solid color that helps act to define the diminutive form. The foot's exposed clay is a rich dark black with a wonderful crinkled texture and a simple excised foot looking as if over a thousand or more have proceeded its creation. Perhaps a curious feature of this guinomi is whether by happenstance or planning there is a large rusty spot on the inside and out at almost exactly the same place adding a hint of visual flavor to the small pot. This particular piece has a nice weight and solid proportions feeling quite nice in the hand with a perfect lip for use and holding a generous but not unweildy amount of liquid and when all is said and done, it is quite clear this was not Kimura Moriyasu's first run at making a guinomi or even his 1000th.

 (There were three siblings actually; Kimura Morikazu, Kimura Moriyasu and Kimura Morinobu.)

IMAGINATION

Illustrated is an Oni-Shino chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko likely made sometime in the early 1980s that was originally put up on my blog and Youtube a decade ago as a slideshow video. This style of Oni-Shino is predominantly a feldspar Shino with some iron perculating up from the surface and a coating of ash about the surface having a passing resemblance to Bizen tamadare. As you can see the form is low and wide with a prominent and sturdy foot and lip that meanders just enough to get one's attention. The overall surface has wonderful punctuations of iron trying to seep out of the pocks of the glaze and there is a shadowy darkness under the white exterior composed of iron which together other features makes for an engaging landscape. Though this is neither my pot, nor my photo and I have not handled this piece, what I can say from previous observations is that this shape is sturdy and comfortable in the hand or just resting on a shelf, it has an almost defiant posture and commands its space with just the right lift from the kodai to create a wonderful shadowline and be just inviting enough to handle its form, feel its surface and get a sense of its weight, volume and presence. I realize a photo just does not suffice to fill in all the gaps but sometimes you have to make due with a crisp static image and a well tuned imagination or you can get a bit more perspective by going to Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_AGtIE4w7k&t=49s

TEXTURE IN MOTION

Before this chawan was pulled from rotation as we rotate our small collection, I decided to make this short video of this vividly textured Shigaraki chawan by Kengo Saeki. I was hoping that this video may convey the sense of form, surface and texture far better than a single, static photo would. Let me know if I succeeded at that task.