CENTER OF ATTENTION

A while back I posted up a tokkuri and guinomi by Echizen potter, Nishiura Takeshi and thought it time to post a slightly more formal shot or two of the sake cup to fill in the blanks and make it the center of attention. Based on Nishiura’s “blue sand” style of glazing this guinomi fits into the Goldilocks’ zone of neither too big nor too small, perfect in my hand as well as my wife’s. The form is simple, acting as the canvas for the hekisha-yu surface with lots of activity and texture to capture one’s attention and imagination. In this context, it is almost like a small, distant moon is perched on a simple pedestal adorning a table of shelf and just waiting for your favorite spirits to complete its function. As you can see, the thick, glaze roll is the perfect place to grab this guinomi, making for a snug grip where the texture pleases an additional sense, sight. This may be a simple and compact little vessel but it does have quite a bit to say about the modern Echizen tradition and even more to say about the potter.