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.