SPIRIT OF ECHIZEN

Though I repeatedly tell myself I am not a collector of guinomi and tokkuri it seems like fate that I should end up with yet another of either of tse forms. Case in point and likel (?) our last pot for 2024 is this Echizen hekishayu tokkuri by Nishiura Takashi. Thrown out of local clay, the full, fat little form is light in weight which defies and stands up to the harsh firing process necessary to create the blue sand surface, frozen in time. With every turn of this pot it presents a landscape full of engaging details that not only please the eye but have a tactile warmth that makes it hard to put down. Perhaps the most intriguing detail is the area where the applied glaze transitions to the natually wood fired effects, creating a three dimensional boundary that circumnavigates the piece. Almost every encounter with Nishiura's array of forms, styles and surfaces leaves me quite satisfied though at the same time creates a quest to see yet another piece to compare and contrast the pots to best understand his lifetime of dedicated pottery making and the very spirit of Echizen in each and every one.

CBL

There is a near immediate recognition when you spot a pot by Ono Kotaro even when it is hanging out in the shadows. The icy clear, yellow or blue glazes that cling to the surface accentuate the meticulously carved lines that curve and wrap the form in a diaphanous embrace. This seiji tsubo by Ono was a Christmas gift for my wife who loves a wide array of pots but i do suspects she prefers them to the more rustic and esoteric Oni-Shino.         

Though not too large, the form is simple with the elegant curvacious carving creates a rather sensuous appearance that is the perfect balance between inviting one in while suggesting being a tiny bit distant. Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of this tsubo is where the glaze has built up ever so slightly adding to the feeling of perpetual motion as the undulating lines go round and round bringing the viewer "there and back again" and never tiring of the cool blue landscape. In retrospect, this icy beauty was just a perfect gift for the season and current, icy climate.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2024

Just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy New year and lest we forget, Festivus for the rest of Us!  (The long oval porcelain form is by Bruce Gholson)

RUSH

Every year about this time I am always wondering, what will be the last order, the last package to go out and every year it gets so close to Christmas and New Years that I just don't think I can get things done or out in time. This year, the last package to go out was on Friday, two sets of four bowls each in two different sizes, the package is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, Christmas Eve. However, this year my very last order came last week, for pots not made or fired mind you asking if it were possible to get them at their destination by next Friday, 12/27.     

The order was for two teabowls and two koro with lids, on set in soda blue and the other in Oribe and came in last Tuesday. Thank goodness they were smalls so I set about throwing the four pieces and two lids and got them all firmed up to trim later that afternoon, don't ask, stupid drying process. Once tooled and slipped, all four were force dried and put in the small kiln that evening and I fired them to bisque and quickly unloaded them by Thursday morning where they were glazed and reloaded for a glaze firing which I fired on Friday but just couldn't get them cool enough to make the Post office on Saturday. Packed them up yesterday morning and shipped them off this A.M. With any luck they should arrive on Thursday with one day to spare. Though I like a challenge, more often than not these types of rush jobs don't always end well. Hopefully next time around I have at least one extra day.      

I didn't take the time or get the opportunity to get the pieces photographed so I am using a stand-in for a photo to go along with this long winded tale. This teabowl was thrown out of stoneware and then had white slip apllied before getting the hakeme treatment for which this form responds rather nicely. The bowls and koro were all based on this form and idea though two were done in Oribe, at the very least it gives you an idea of what all the rush was about.

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

LEGACY

I heard a couple weeks ago that one of my favorite potters has passed away, Nishiura Takashi (1941-2024) of Echizen. His work is filled with the primal elements of what I think of as the Echizen tradition in modern times and of course there was no measure spared in adding a few spices to the mix and clearly showing his own voice in surface and form. Beyond his traditionally fired Echizen pots, Nishiura is well known for his hekisha-yu, blue sand glaze which though doesn't immediately appear like your everyday Echizen potter, it clearly adds another layer (no pun intended) to style that runs the gamut from very traditional to the likes of Kumano Kuroemon.   

This particular Nishiura tsubo was originally thrown round and paddled gently into an ovalled form creating this disticnt henko style for which he is well known. As is abundantly clear, this form is a perfect canvas for the applied sand glaze and the array of wood fired effects that build up and melt the surface into what stands before you. As a mixture of happenstance, gravity and temperature, the hekisha-yu surface paints the canvas in a unique way, never duplicated placing a narrative in front of the viewer that will vary from person to person and certainly from pot to pot. 

Though I am rather sad in hearing about his passing, I believe that Nishiura Takashi will inevitably be remembered as an essential lynchpin between the older tradition and what has become the modern state of Echizen-yaki leaving behind a legacy of pottery that clearly proclaims that Echizen stands with the other Rokkoyo and is ready for whatever the future holds.

 

SMALL & ROUND

So what is small and round and feldspar all over? In this case, a classic Shino guinomi by Kato Yasukage XIV, though the box is signed Shoji this mini-chawan is a very close approximation of the full size thing complete with the traditional hexagonal decoration. In fact one of the characteristics that appeals to me about this guinomi is the proportions which are relatively close to that of a similarly handled chawan by Yasukage. Similar in form, the high straight sided walls, slightly meandering lip and foot to base ration, being stable but neither too large or too small. Though this is not lkely to any use, it does feel good in the hand, coming in at about 120grams (thanks J.) Kato Yasukage created a traditional, simple and eminently functional miniature chawan that at the end of the day is perfect to use, filled to the brim for what ails you.

TOO FAR?

Tall lobed yunomi with incised and stamped decoration around the form. This yunomi started life as a simple lobed piece that I make on a semi-regular basis but I wanted a canvas to test the incised and stamped decoration together. Once decorated, I decided to go with my newish incarnation of this amber glaze. I think that though the surface is a bit full, it is not so crowded and works well with the glaze, making for a simple addition to a yunomi or teabowl moving forward. Coming off the heels of this test yunomi I have also upscaled the decoration to some smaller covered jars ad some vases as well. Truthfully I have a tendancy sometimes of going a bit too far with decoration and glazing so ending up with a concept that butts up against too much without straying into that territory is a big win as I look at it.

YOHEN

When I first saw this mizusashi I immediately thought, well this is the absolute definition of Yohen-Hagi if I have ever seen one. The kiln atmosphere and charcoal bed have altered what one normally thinks of as Hagi into this near alien panorama that works perfectly on the form and exposed clay, presenting a landscape over varying colors and textures on a solid, sturdy form. Beyond the variations on the hagi theme, the form has a wonderfully textured black lacaquer, roiro lid that is custom fit to the slightly ovalled mouth where lid and lip work in perfect harmony with each other.     

Over the years I have seen a number of first rate Hagi pots by Sakata Keizo (1949-2004) and always what piece I will next encounter and what exotic or traditional surface and form will it be. Like the work of Sakata Deika XIII, Keizo pursued a rigid and structured path until he found his own voice within the Hagi tradition where simple pots like this mizusashi are adorned, embellished even with surfaces that help a Hagi pot stand out from the crowd. While Sakata Keizo's career was somewhat short he has left a memorable trail and addition to Hagi and as such he was honored with the title Sakata Deika just after his untimely death.

RETRO-VIBE

Small covered cap jar based on exagerated bamboo nodes from a couple of firings back. This pot was thrown/ tooled and then covered over in a thin black slip before applying a thick white that was given the hakeme treatment. Once bisque the jar and lid were glazed in the soda blue for a nice light appearance which has a nice retro-vibe to it. This jar isn't too big or too small and and is part of a form group that I used to refer to whirling dervishes though this one is a bit more emphasized creating nice high points for the glaze to pool on. The past month has seen me bogged down in making terra cotta pieces just as I was getting a firm footing on the way to use this soda blue glaze which admittedly has its idiosyncracies and limitations. Even though it has been five years or longer since I last worked with this glaze at the end of the day it isn't exactly like I am starting from square one even if it feels like that on any given glaze day. Next step, make up 8000grams of glaze.

COOL BLUE

Illustrated is a rather large seihakuji covered box by Kubota Atsuko with an overall design of strawberries and foliage wrapped around the exterior of the surface. This wonderful cool blue form was exhibited and illustrated in one of her major exhibitions a while back and is a classic piece showing her mastery of porcelain, her applique technique and her use of celadon glazes for which she is know worldwide. The meticulous raised surface adorns this perfectly crafted box and is completed with a glaze that brings the entire piece together and presents a slightly otherworldly glimpse in three dimensions. Though Kubota is probably best known for her large, intricate platters, this condensed, dimensional form clearly shows off the best of her oeuvre and has the added benefits of being far easy to store, display and use and I have to admit, this piece is far more intimate and personal that what I was used to seeing which is honestly is my preference.

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1499000/ILLUSTRATED-EXHIBITED-SEIJI-COVERED-BOX-BY-KUBOTA-ATSUKO

BLUE SAND

It has been a busy and not in the good way kind of day so I am just putting up this quick detail of a Echizen wood fired pot by Nishiura Takeshi. The way in which Nishiura glazed this tsubo in his hekisha-yu, blue sand glaze has made for a wonderful landscape which is brought out to its fullest in the sunlight of the mid-afternoon, though some while back. The colors and texture on the vase create an endlessly moving and flowing surface that looks just a little bit different depending on your approach to the pot. Adding a new layer to the Echizen tradition, Nishiura Takeshi made and fired his pottery with enthusiasm and dedication and those attributes are clearly written across the pots surface.

WHY NOT?

I have to admit, I totally forgot about this 2Vu picture that I assembled only to run across it this morning. The original faceted Oribe water jar was made as a commission some while back and the intention from the start was to make a piece that fit an existing lid that was sent to me. This water jar was thrown somewhat thick and then quickly faceted on three planes that run around the piece horizontally while leaving a raised ring that interupts the facets and completed with a cut foot that compliments the form.  As with a lot of these pots, I went with the bare bones Oribe glaze which pools quite nicely where there are impendiments to gravity creating areas of deep, dark green accents about the pot.       

There is a slight irony to this posting as only the other day, a Japanese pottery collector asked why Westerners would make such pieces and my answer was quite simple, why not? Where would potters be without exploring forms and styles where ever they originated from? I suspect they would all just be stuck in the mud!

THE DETAILS

I have be fortunate to see and handle a lot of chawan (and other pots) by Tsukigata Nahiko over the years and to see even more on the internet and in various publications and from those experiences I have been able to take away a number of hard and fast rules. One of those "lessons" is that it does not seem to matter whether a pieces is Oni-Shino, some Shino variant, Oni-Hagi, Kohiki, Ki-Seto, Seto-Guro, etc, the vast majority of these pieces all have fairly round kodai, tooled round and finished round, finding a kodai that doesn't fit this formula is a bit like finding a four leaf clover, not impossible but perhaps best described as unusual.       

Illustrated is the base of a chawan that is in itself a bit unusual, the form of the bowl is kutsu-gata, also not round(ish) and as you can see, the kodai is a bit ovoid and though not easy to orient in this photo, in some respects looks a bit like a seated Daruma, narrower at the top and wider at the base. The wonderful tsuchi-aji and wad shadows are highlighted inside the depression where the foot was excised and is now surrounded by a wet, gray ash from the wood firing process, ash runs toward the footring as gravity and promethean fire has added to the iron and Shino glazes Tsukigata used prior to firing. Together with the well cut foot, running ash and glazes the potter has added more decoration to the bowl leaving his fingerprints cemented into the surface of the pot where he held the bowl while he was glazing it.       

I realize pointing out the anomaly of the way the foot was cut and addressed seems a small, almost insignificant detail but my personal belief is that the details make the pot, these same details authenticate the pot and these details are exactly why a potter builds a reputation over sometimes decades and decades of work. In the end, a potter like Tsukigata Nahiko is sought after because collectors flock to those details, no matter how small and when you add them all together and manage to fit them all on one small bowl it can be magic.