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.