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.