NEAR PERFECT HARMONY

There is something rather special about a simple bowl that though subtle has all the bells and whistles you may want or need. This Yamada Kazu E-Shino is mostly pure white Shino with a perpetual wetness and texture that has a life of its own and a simple decoration just rising to the surface in bold or muted tones of iron red adding some depth and movement to the bowl. In truth, the simple yet gestural form is an apt canvas for Yamada's classic Shino glaze that is fat and full adding a pinch to the volume of the pot where its motion and posture are enjoyable all on their own. This is a large, robust bowl, a handful if you will that has a good, considered lip and a kodai that speaks to the fact that the potter is rather practiced on this features. Putting these details together narrates the character and presentation of the chawan which though simple is like many other pots, nothing short of complex  getting all the pieces to work together in near perfect harmony.

PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE

When I first saw this chawan and read the box I was immediately transported back in mind-time to the old Reese's peanut butter cups commercials, "you got peanut butter on my chocolate".  The box reads; SHIGARAKI-ORIBE and though I have heard a number of things paired up with either, the combination was a bit new to me. This chawan comes from the inventive persona of Kengo  Saeki where almost anything would seem possible as longs as he doesn't stray outside the laws of physics, where old feudal locks become wood fired vases and old koma-inu become fanciful, whimsical and even comical caricatures of centuries of traditional representation.    

Like many of his Shigaraki chawan this Shigaraki-Oribe chawan was wood fired and is a study in his forms and texture where the tactile qualities and aesthetic decision making wrestle with each other to see who becomes the dominate player but like many competitions, a draw is called as they are equally matched. As you can see the paddled texture completes the sturdy, almost angular form as it it was hewn from a block of stone or close enough, clay in this case. The form fits well in the hand and despite its presence it is neither too heavy nor to light, it would seem that Kengo Saeki landed smack dab in the Goldilock's zone once again. Shigaraki-Oribe, the term grows on you and the more I think about it the more natural it sounds.

 

CITRINE

Illustrated is a recent teabowl made out of a sandy small batch clay with the new(ish) golden brown amber glaze. I am trying to figure out where it works and where and doesn't and give it a little more depth but testing can be challenging by going too far or not far enough. After several more adjustments something new has shown up, where there are small voids of collection points, the glaze settles in to become like citrine, sparkly and puctuating the surface here and there. I can't say I exactly know why or how but realize the more I fiddle with the glaze the more likely I will lose some of the features that add interest to the surface. I think my next steps will to leave the glaze formula alone and start by adding a wash or two or three to the surface and see what happens next. I realize I can't just leave things be and will continue to tinker with it until the next time I unload the kiln the test piece is surrounded by a puddle of glaze.

WAY BACK MACHINE

Illustrated is a rather robust and sturdy covered Shino and ash pot by Don Spraque of Oregon and every time I walk past this piece it is just like a 'way back machine" bringing me back to our time in Cleveland. This covered pot was purchased from Sylvia Ullman at her gallery, American Craft Gallery in the 90s and has found its way on a shelf in our home through a number of moves and has never lost its appeal or presence especially as I turn the pot base and lid quite frequently making for quite a number of presented faces.

Thrown out of stoneware, the pot is a vocabulary of Spraque's pottery marks and stamps and the lid is finished off in his classic, ritualistic knob while the surface is a rich Shino glaze going from a blushed  orange to a more sedate creamy color with applied ash here and there adding a some visual accents where needed.  The base is finished off with the footring being cut away to provide four stable feet making for a nice sense of lift and shadow. This is a hard pot to tire of as there are little details here and there that keep you on your toes wondering, did I know or remember there was a small impressed stamp here or there making it almost factory fresh every time I pass by.

JUST ANOTHER ONI

Illustrated is a rather stoic, defiant and possibly irate Oni seated and taking full advantage of the sun as it emerges from the shadows. Though this is just another oni in the oeuvre of Fujiwara Ikuzo, this particular piece strikes a chord with its strong posture and pose and the well fired surface where just the right amount of ash has coated the form without obscuring any of the details. Carved from a solid block of clay by Mashiko artist, potter Fujiwara Ikuzo, his process starts out in a flurry where he gets to the bones of the sculpture, removing the broad strokes if you will before honing in on the details and bringing character and emotion one knife cut (or chisel) at a time. 

Like something akin to Frankenstein's monster, hewn from some amount of malleable earth, it is not electricity by rather the intense process and flame of the wood kiln that breathes life into his creation. The sheer diversity, animation and scale makes Fujiwara Ikuzo's work worth a second, third and one hundredth look to drink in all the spirit of the clay and his various studies of mischievous oni.

NEW TOOL

So I have been working on this new series of teabowls where the bowl is thrown and slightly altered and then the rest of the work is done off the wheel on a foam pad on a banding wheel for elevation more than anything else. As per usual I have been struggling with the foot which just is a constant thorn and a conundrum that I just can't crack. I kept thinking that maybe I can blame my available tools for the foot attempts failing to materialize as I want it to and then just within eyeshot I found a new tool. Off on a shelf not far from where I work on the wheelhead there was an opened pack of shims bought at the local hardware store, 20 to a pack for $3 and with the finest adjustment to sharpen the front and one side, I was in business. 

First I set up the size of the foot and begin nearly vertical cut to define the size and shape, next using the shim at a slight angle but horizontal I cut around the bowl and remove the donut like ring of extra clay. From there I use the shim to contour the foot and bowl profile and I think I may actually be getting somewhere. As I mentioned in a previous post it may take another 108,000 bowl but armed with my .15 cent shim and some amount of idealistic determination maybe I can get somewhere (?) sooner than later. 

FOUNT

In an email exchange I was recently asked if I was going to or at least close to running out of pictures of pots to which my answer was simple, "I hope not". To that end I went to a file and found a group of quite a few pictures and this curious plate surfaced. This thrown, triangular plate was made and fired at Kent State (KSU) back in the early 90s by Kirk Mangus. I was working there at the time and Kirk decided to demo a few things of which this plate was one of them, pulling out the clay and as the plates circled the wheel he would apply uneven pressure at the three point in affect throwing a triangle. The next day or so he set about tooling the piece which has that distinctive Mangus flare and then a week or so later it along with a lot of pots made it into the anagama and away we go. Fired upside down the silvery flashy creates a surface that appears perpetually wet and in some degree of motion. I am sure there are a number of potters who throw this way and fire wood kilns but you just have to admit, Kirk Mangus was truly one of a kind, inspired, fun and an unending fount of experience and knowledge. 

 

SOFT BLUE

On our very first trip to Japan like most people we tried to squeeze in as much as possible up at 6am and to bed by 1am or so. The irony to our plans and known destinations was the myriad of accidental or stumbled on places from an temples to antique stores and galleries. On one particular day we were taking what we thought was a shortcut near the  Sanjusangendo in Kyoto and walked literally right into a gallery-antique store. In one small display was a group of luminous turquoise pottery by Kato Kenji, our very first exposure to the potter; several guinomi, two vases and this rather soft blue koro. Unfortunately the koro was out of our budget so we ended up with a single guinomi with dreams of other pots in our future.   

With Kato Kenji firmly on our radar over the years I have seen and handled quite a few of his pots including quite recently when this sweet, simple koro arrived at our doorstep. This simple form is decorated in one of Kato's classic designs articulating the form before it was glazed in this hazy, semi-opaque Toruko-ao. The pot is finely thrown with a wonderful pierced foot acting as a pedestal for the koro adding to the "exotic" flair of the piece all decked out  and appearing a bit Persian in orgin but hinting at its origin being thousands of miles away.

HAKEME KATAKUCHI

In a previous episode of THE TRIAL AND TRIBULATIONS OF CLAY, well my blog, I mentioned the last of a group of katakuchi that had to be fired and this is the results. Thrown and pushed oval(ish) I then applied hakeme white slip at the central area of both sides trying to create a sense of motion in the somewhat animated form. Most likely resulting from me being a creature of habit I went directly to my Oribe glaze and these are the results. The interior has some nice effects from the glaze which works its way into the very center. Now based on a previous conversation with a pottery aficionado is it possible to tell from this picture what hand made the spout, left or right?

SIMPLE SET

Illustrated is a simple set,  a medieval  style Echizen wood fired tokkuri and guinomi by Miyoshi Kentaro, though once upon a time there were two guinomi but that is a different story all together. The way that Echizen stoneware takes on that greyish tone when fired compliments the accumulation of ash which in this case has run down the surface making for a rather pleasant and appealing landscape. The tokkuri is a nice size, neither too small or too large and is on the lighter side in weight and in general feels good in the hand as does the guinomi especially when held between the thumb and forefinger. Though I am not a real sake drinker, I have come to appreciate the degree of specialization that goes into making these functional piece for this purpose though the same can be said for any pot and all of their proposed uses, a pot that works well is surely a lot better than one that doesn't.

JUST ONE FLOWER

Though not nearly as ornate as the futamono that I posted a few months back this small, simple kogo is a strictly functional piece decorated in Eguchi Katsumi's patented washizome technique. Using a deep black instead of cobalt, this simple, low kogo was created as a practical piece where certain aesthetic consideration were employed to help will the space of the lid with a well conceived floral design, just one flower Vasily*. The use of paper to "dye" the design onto the pot creates a slightly uneven edge which soften the designs and then a hint of sgrafitto helps define the blossom's interior. At its roots, this Eguchi kogo is simple in form, execution and design and clearly owes just a bit to a rather long tradition of pottery making in Southern Japan.  

(*Slipped in a THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER reference there in case you missed it.)

 

HARLEQUIN

Basking in somewhat direct sunlight this thrown and altered, squared yunomi, harlequin style comes complete with visible fingerprints and sunny glare as standard options. This bowl was slipped in white and black to create the alternating circle and squares harlequin style pattern and then glazed over in my Oribe glaze to "dramatic" effect. There was a group of these squared yunomi in my most recent firing in a variety of  surface treatments but sharing a common link in they are all some version of green.

CANVASES

Utter simplicity yet a rather complex presentation where clay texture, form, lip, foot, geometry and graduated tones of Oribe all work together to create this evocative guinomi. Created by Suzuki Tetsu, son of Juyo Mukei Bunkazai, Suzuki Osamu, he has charted his own unique pathway, distinct from his father where much of his work revolves around various incarnations of Oribe and layered copper and iron glazes painting a rich landscape on his modern forms, literally canvases  for the 21st century. Though seemingly simple in exectution that a subtle details and consideration that steer you to just how complex such a small piece can actually be. I am captivated by the clay surface and its interaction with the glaze(s) creating a rather nuanced visual texture. Simple and small perhaps but in hand far larger than its diminutive dimensions may initially impart.