Friday, October 11, 2024

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

Anyone who has taken even a cursory look at my blog or Instagram page will not be shocked to see yet another chawan, another pot by Kimura Morinobu. I know I have said that part of the reason is that I truly enjoy how he handles clay which I also realize means very different things to different people. To me this is a simple and honest chawan, obviously based on any number of archetypes having that classic rustic, folksy, unpretentious and antique appearance, was that enough adjectives?  The bowl is desribed as hakeme chawan but in truth the thick hakeme slip has cracked creating a vivid texture to eye and hand alike. There is a transparent ash glaze over the bowl which has hints of blue to white where a bit thicker creating a wonderful contrast with the cracking underneath. 

Though I think it rather obvious in the simplicity of Kimura Morinobu's work and this chawan as case in point, there are layers of complexities surrounding the bones of the bowl like the moons of some far distant planet. The layers add the depth and attraction that a good pot should have and which Morinobu seems to bemore than a bit fluent in based in part to nearly seven decades of experimentation, exploration and dedication. I guess after seventy years or so it is simply all in a day's work.