T-POT REVISITED

For whatever it is worth, no I am not losing my marbles, I am aware that I posted this teapot in a post way back in 2012. To be fair, the previous post showed a rather washed-out version of what this rich, porcelain lobed teapot actually looks like and this ‘revisited” photo does a much better job. This teapot was thrown and constructed by Bruce Cochrane, a potter whom I always think of as focused and well considered, his pots have just exactly what they need and no more, not exactly less is more but just what the concept into reality calls for. My wife and I have owned this pot for a very long time and if memory serves me correctly it was our very first piece by Cochrane followed less than a week later by a large terra cotta covered oval dish form. I thought this needed a slightly better photo to represent the piece and, in all likelihood, when I get a better camera or develop better photographic skills, I may try my hand again at capturing exactly what it is that makes this so special though I guess it isn’t that hard to figure out.

SIROCCO

Today started out like any other day and then by late afternoon after finishing glazing and loading the small kiln, it seemed like chaos blew in like some ill-humored sirocco of old. As such, I will be brief, no hyperbole, no waxing poetic, here is a simple photo, enjoy or don’t, this is the best my scrambled mind can handle at the moment. Tetsu-yu nanten-mon tsubo by Karaki Hisao.

GBA²

It is funny how things sometimes work in cycles; this particular decoration started back in the 90s and every now and again it pops up to come full circle. In this case a thrown stoneware bowl was coerced square and then white slipped, gently combed before having black slip spontaneously trailed across the planes. Once the semi-vertical lines were created, the spots were added via finger painting the slip to add some punctuation to the lines. All in all, there is nothing revolutionary here, just a simple assembly of several ideas all under my GB amber glaze meant to imitate the old Cushing Albany amber as best as possible minus the Albany slip and the Cushing recipe. Last but not least since every technique needs a name, this was originally referred to as khaotique by a Belgian student at CSU and for lack of something better, it just stuck.

PROTAGONIST

Though the kinuta form originated sometime in the Song Dynasty (1127-1279), the form likely goes back quite a way from there having originally being made of wood and used as a type of “hammer” during the neolithic age. That being said, once the jump to clay, the wide array of interpretations of this form has been rather varied and during the 20^th century in Japan, kinuta-hanaire become not only popular but wildly diverse. Illustrated is a rather classic, even textbook kinuta form by Furutani Michi who has left quite a number of examples for our appreciation and study and though not any real achievement, I think I have seen well over quite a few pieces in person and certainly several dozen more in illustrations.   

This mallet vase is a wonderful, very well fired Iga piece with a number of effects creating a rich landscape which is currently highlighted by the mid-day’s sunshine bringing out the color variations, the crackling, the ash build-up and the texture created by being in just the right spot during the firing. Though not particularly large, many of this form, this one included, presents itself as a rather imposing, stoic form, which has fought against the ferocity of its firing process and emerged the victor, the protagonist which has defied the odds with its defiant posture and unique and expressive presentation. Though I will readily admit a bias, I think many of Furutani Michio Shigaraki and Iga pieces are truly outstanding but this Iga kinuta is clearly timeless with a rather medieval visage something the potter excelled at imbuing his pieces with history, tradition and a sense of self, there is little more that you could ask for.

SIDE NOTE

Though I have written and posted about Okano Hosei previously, I have to say, this oburi Shigaraki chawan just captured my attention when I first saw it. Large and in charge probably describe the attitude of this bowl which was well fired, upside down to boot where gravity defying effects are painted across the surface creating a rather captivating landscape. The form itself is simple but from a non-chanoyu person’s perspective and thinking of it as a vessel, it is nearly perfect; full, round, the perfect silhouette where volume, posture and attitude reign supreme*. The interior, the mikomi and at the other end, the kodai are both very well attended completing this simple package or rather aiding in tying it all together. There are a number of details when all assembled, create a captivating chawan, perhaps (?) the best one I have seen by Okano, excepting one, illustrated in an exhibition catalogue.   

On a side note, at some point after the purchase of this chawan, the new owner(s) wrote to Okano-san and asked about the bowl and its “unexplained” details to which he replied with a lengthy letter complete with several drawn illustrations of how the bowl was fired upside down and where it was placed in the kiln. This letter accompanied the chawan to the “New World” and with any luck will continue on through time as a testament of a wonderful bowl and a connection between potter and customer, possibly friend that I suspect has been echoed throughout history. 

(* Yes, that was an IRON CHEF reference.)

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

I recently had a prolonged conversation about what makes a good pot and though I am neither expert or terrifically insightful, judging a pot may start with the whole but may end with the details. In as much, I think in judging a potter, like Tsukigata (or any other potter) there are a variety of factors that push a piece into the upper 5% of their work, the “good stuff”*, then you judge those pieces on acknowledged masterworks and go from there. I realize I don't have a monopoly on pottery knowledge and aesthetics but I have read quite a bit, seen and handled a lot of pots as well as having attended conferences and lectures by people much smarter than me. I try to use objective aesthetic theory and principles in judging a pot and determining what is a "good" Tsukigata and what is worth just moving on from trying to avoid relying on pure emotions. Pots aren't coins where you can judge them on standardized criteria, pottery, most art is all about the nuances and subtleties. I think I have come to the conclusion that something good may have an infinitesimal difference from something that is not, it is all about how the details are all stacked up, that is why I am so detail oriented and post about this on my blog and elsewhere. The devil truly is in the details.

 (*Though not intended as a B-52s reference, it worked out quite nicely none the same.)

THE SPIRITS OF TESTING

I suspect at its core, this surface probably seems like a lot of the surfaces I like working with, this one is a bit subtle but I think has some potential for being upscaled at least to a teabowl size before I decide if I should continue on. Using a small faceted guinomi this is a bit different in that the base glaze has an ash glaze over it that also has some manganese carbonate in it, a material that doesn’t get nearly enough credit but, in this case, where it had a secondary “dose" applied with a brush, it creates nice waterfalls of streaking that perks up the surface quite a bit.      

As you can see in the picture, the surface runs quite a bit as well which is why the ash glaze was only dipped to the skirt and still managed to run all the way down to the foot where it looks like a disaster must have occurred but through kiln-god providence, it stopped a micron short of becoming one with the plinth it was fired on. Time to make up a bit more glaze and sacrifice a teabowl to the spirits of testing.

CHOICES

I recently handled a rather interesting and illustrated Iga chawan by Kojima Kenji. At first, I kind of ignored the catalogue and focused on the bowl, the captivating form, the movement of the bowl, the slightly undulating lip, the glassy, well fired exterior and the classic Kojima kodai built for stability and purpose. As time ticked by, I finally made my way to the catalogue packed with all kinds of pots I would just love to handle until I came across the teabowl in hand. I must admit, the first thought that sprung to mind was, why did they choose this angle to photograph the bowl as there are a multitude of perspectives this could have been shot from, at least four strong and impressive points. To my eye the catalogue photo shows a rather strong chawan, one certainly worth getting to know the bowl better by but in my opinion, there are better vantage points that better articulate the nature of this Iga chawan. I guess I will continue to ponder the reasoning behind the choice which gave way to a larger question in my mind, just how many other catalogue photos just hide features that would have been better off to showcase? I am sure I will never get an answer to this question.

PASS OR FAIL

Just a simple couple of yunomi with hakeme slip decoration under a soda blue glaze. I have received a bit of feedback from “un-named” critics* who don’t like the degree of inward curve to the lip but to my eye and lip, this is what makes this form work but does it pass or fail? The basic idea was to use the same general curve starting from the base in different directs but essentially mimicking each other, one good to grip and the other good to drink from. Having these in hand, I think they work well and the use of the opposing curves is exactly what makes this form. I would welcome any feedback as even all the years on, I am always looking to see other viewpoints beyond my own. (*One of these critics is a very good friend and I greatly appreciate his input despite the fact that he is wrong!) 

HIDDEN ASSETS

I am sure I am not alone in this, I suspect every collector has a potter or two that they think of as hidden assets among modern Japanese pottery. They are potters where you just like the way they work, fire, handle clay, decorate, their pots speak to you but in the general collecting scheme of things they are not one of the “top dogs”, they are not LNT or on the circuit of the big galleries but to you, there pots are rather underrated. When I think of these potters, I constantly come back to this motto I have come up with where “it is better to have a great pot by a good potter than a good pot by a great potter”. Seeing where a potter has excelled beyond his skill set, these are pots than speak to me and at their core carry out a long and lasting conversation over the years and even decades.   

Among this group of hidden assets, I count the work of Masamune Satoru and Kimura Morinobu at the top of my go to group of good potters who make great pots and this chawan is just another classic example of that philosophy. This Chinese inspired temmoku chawan was made by Kimura Morinobu likely during the 90s and has a wonderful, celestial style surface of minute iron crystals punctuated across the surface inside and out and further arranged by the five-point hoshi star burst in the center of the bowl. This bowl was thrown thinly and has almost seems weightless in the hand, the fine form culminates in a thin, delicate lip and a shallow cut kodai harkening back to numerous Chinese temmoku archetypes. This chawan typifies what draws me to Kimura’s ash or iron glazed ware; thoughtful and considered forms, glazing, decoration and firing, what more could one hope for from a potter?

QUEST

I suspect there are a number of collectors who are unaware there is a very neat book on Tamaoki Yasuo entitled; I AM ORIBE. Though this book is well illustrated with varying types of pottery that Tamaoki pursues, there are also a number of his Oribe pieces, both semi-tradition and much more modern like the one illustrated here. Using a somewhat limited palette of black, white, coral, greys and greens, Tamaoki has come up with a rich and engaging style, playful at its core but flirting with modernity with each creation. Many of these Oribe pieces use his “basic” forms as their canvas but that is where the commonality ends, his selection of space both positive and negative and random floating forms or devices hover of whites and coral rich backdrops making for the perfect backdrop, an abstract canvas folded like origami into three dimensions. 

If you have followed the work of Tamaoki Yasuo it was clear all the way back to his roots in the 70s and 80s that he was on a pathway of dedication and discovery. Plumbing the depth of what is Mino pottery and what novel approaches can be added the wide array of a living and moving tradition is at the heart of this potter’s work and this Oribe work is part of that quest. 

BORN TO RUN

When it comes to hand building, I am never quite sure how I got there or honestly exactly what I am doing. In my mind I had this idea that would play on the fact that some of my glaze surfaces run quite a bit, born to run if you will and, in this case, the piece sprung up from that central theme and decoration. Obviously, slab-built, out of stoneware, the main goal was the creation of a form that then had diagonal channels carved into it to allow the glaze to collect and run as it most certainly did. In this instance, the pot was glazed in my Kuro-Oribe surface though only the top two thirds, the bottom third was straight Oribe. Had I decided to go all in with Kuro-Oribe even the simple fact that this was fired on wads, placed on soft brick slabs, one inch thick, I suspect the pot would be a permanent resident of the shelf on which it was fired. 

As you can see, the glaze collected just as planned and ran down so precariously close to the base that as the kiln was colling, I still thought that I had a disaster on hand. Once cool enough, I picked it up and it came along without any issues. My general working process does not usually begin or revolve around an intended occurrence but in this case, how I wanted the glaze to respond and behave certainly was the genesis for the slab-built pot and likely not the best way to proceed in the future.

BIZAN-GAMA

I can’t really say I know a lot about the maker of this wood fired mizusashi but over the years I have seen a number of his pieces with a wide variety of surfaces and effects. Made by Oki Yasushi (b. 1948) of the Bizan-gama kiln at the foot of Mt. Koya in Kami-Amano, he has had a working studio since the early 1970s which he set up after studying in San Jose, California.       

As you may be able to tell, Oki specializes in yakishime, shizenyu style pottery relying on the wood, fire and kiln to complete the pot through its own distinctive process. This cylindrical mizusashi has an ancient feel to it like it has spirited away elements of Kofun and Sueki pottery and infused them into modern clay. The only potter’s decoration on this piece are several incised bands around the bottom half of the pot which in conjunction with the all-natural running ash is more than enough to present a rustic and simple aesthetic perfect for the tea ceremony or adorning one’s shelf or desk and an object of contemplation.  

Though this particular pot is in a typical, signed wood box many of the pieces of Oki Yasushi are adorned with quick, abstract drawing of the contents within. This is just another thoughtful feature and detail to go along with such an elementary clay vessel, steeped in history and tradition with a hint of the modern within its grasp.

SURPRISES

It is rather rare that I would collect a used koro, I have been burnt in the past, no pun intended regarding the overwhelming and sometimes offensive odor that is next to impossible to get rid of. I decided to take a chance on an obviously used koro recently, mostly because it is a less often encountered style by Yasuda Zenko, Kuro-Seiji (Black celadon). When the package arrived, I first set it in front of Khan, our first line of sensory defense and in mere seconds he moved on without interest, I opened the box and then unpacked the bubble-wrapped wood storage box, back to Khan and once again nothing. Feeling emboldened, I unpacked the wood box to find two distinct surprises, first off, the koro had almost zero scent, perhaps a lingering trace from years gone by but nothing of an issue whatsoever. The second surprise was that the lid is pure silver and weighs in at 57 grams and in spot value actual exceeds the cost of the koro in the first place.     

As for the Yasuda koro, it is rather traditional in form, resting on three feet, with an unglazed ring where the firing support went, the interior and exterior are glazed in the same manner presenting a somewhat dark and brooding appearance. I imagine the overall appearance is quite enhanced with wafting smoke coming through the three leaf like apertures, cut and then bent out of the lid with fine lines, delicately chased between each of the three leaves. Though not exactly a typical or traditional surface, what Yasuda Zenko created is rather modern expressive with a hint of an enduring Kyoto aesthetic, I think maybe I won’t scrap the lid after all(!).

 

BANDED & STAMPED

I fired two kilns last week and these banded and stamped Oribe pots were in the first firing. I made two sets to get one though both came out and the one set is now at its new owners. The idea was to make a set of teabowl and water jar for someone who had no intention of using it for tea and requested it in a more Western aesthetic. Both were thrown out of stoneware with pronounced banding around the forms before they were stamped with different but complementary stamps. The surfaces match and are just plain, old Oribe without any topical additions making for a rather crisp, clean look. There is nothing complicated here, straight forward throwing, tooling and glazing and most of the time, this is just what I prefer.

CRAZY

                             

                                  

There isn’t much I can say about this yohen temmoku style chawan other than what crazy pattern. The pattern is vivid, multi-colored with a sheen of gold across the surface which has its own topography which appeals to the touch and the eye. This chawan was made by Yamamoto Noriyuki, a potter I know almost nothing about, the pictures are a better narrator then I could be.

 You can see more of this chawan over on my Trocadero marketplace;

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1507990/WILD-YOHEN-CHAWAN-BY-YAMAMOTO-NORIYUKI

WATATSUMI

Illustrated is a rather generous and thoughtful gift that was sent to me some while back, sort of a thank you for helping out a new collector get their bearings, along with some basic translation help and hints as to what to avoid. This specific piece was sent to me because of my interest in texture as well as Ki-Seto glazing, made by Goto Hideki clearly his watatsumi guinomi has both in spades. This guinomi is a little on the large side and the visual and physical textures are both wonderfully complimentary to the evocative, twisted form. Considering our recent excursion into collecting guinomi, this was a very nice addition and let’s be perfectly honest, based on my usual choices in pottery, this little gem certainly stands out like a Godzilla in the Tokyo bay.

MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON

Way back when, at a time when clay, chemicals and energy were much cheaper, I would take and write a number of pottery styles on little slips of paper and then pick two out blindly. In one case I ended up picked “Greek kylix” and “renaissance majolica”, what I decided on was the body of an apothecary jar and the pedestal of the kylix and plus or minus, this is what I had come up with. Considering this was likely two decades ago, there are no photos of my previous crimes against pottery so last fall I started making a few of the pieces perched atop pedestals to see what I could end up with. 

This Oribe covered jar is one of the pieces I ended up making, made of stoneware out of two pieces, well three if you include the lid, the surface has an impasto decoration, moving around the surface at a diagonal in two bands around the form. Once bisque, I used my Kuro-Oribe glaze and well, the rest is pretty self-evident. Two traditions blended together to create this horizontal, raised covered pot, a little bit of Greece, a bit of Italia with a pinch of Japanese pottery and a momentary lapse of reason coalesced with the aid of some clay and heat.

TIL DEATH DO US PART

Illustrated is a quick picture of a most welcome marriage of a tokkuri and guinomi by Nishiura Takeshi. The guinomi is the new addition and was something I was actively looking for to pair up with the existing Echizen tokkuri, a not too novel concept adopted from a fellow collector in Europe. It would seem every tokkuri needs a guinomi or two and vice versa, in some respects this completes the other even though the chances they will be used are slim to none. The clay and surfaces of these two match quite well with hints of Nishiura’s somewhat unique hekishu-yu, blue sand technique and though I am on day one of glazing for two firings, I took a few minutes to catch this pair in the height of the afternoon’s sun. Though I really love this surface highlighted by the sun, this surface has tons to say whatever the light source may be, I am alive, I am Echizen and til death do us part are perhaps their strongest messages.

SAKE-WAN II

I am not sure at times the differences between coincidence, serendipity and kismet but recently after acquiring a raku guinomi, another one, slightly different popped up by the same potter. Made by Konishi Heinai II, the guinomi on the left is the newer acquisition, simply marked “red guinomi”, this like its partner in crime on the right both resemble miniature chawan which I often refer to as mini-wan. Despite being different surface, both have very similar sizes, forms and even weight which is a testament to a skill honed through repetition and decades of production. Perhaps the only real difference between these two pieces is the kodai and surfaces are a bit different and to my eye, they compliment each other rather well. I know I said this previously, I am not normally drawn to Raku/ raku potter with the exception of Raku Kichizaemon XV and Konishi Heinai II, one is in my price range and one is not, can you guess which is which?   

BTW, I should note I would love to use these for bourbon and not sake, but truthfully, I just don’t have the nerve!

CONTAGIOUS ?

Not sure if it is contagious but I have noticed a few potters have recently had accidents of one type or another and now can proudly add myself to that list. I have been a hobbled after a small accident and things have been slow going of late though I am now in the midst of a concept of a plan for my imminent glaze firing. I had to make up a number of glazes and have glazed up a few test pieces to proof all the glazes and surfaces as well as having made up several dozen glaze tests. Most of these are unheard-of combos from existing glazes that I use currently or have on hand from past use and feel the need to do this every now and again. 

Once the test bowls are fired, the glaze test will all go in bigger firings to get a more reflective outcome, I will start glazing up somewhere around fifty pieces, almost a dozen with lids. There are several orders here and the two kiln loads will be divided up among soda blue, amber, saffron iron yellow, temmoku and two types of Oribe. Until the glaze proofing is complete, I am trying to take it easy as the last thing I need is to end up making things worse which in all honesty, I am very good at, at least I know my strong suit.     

By way of a quick post, here are the two ring jars that held up my last firing. Though they looked similar just glazed, the one is saffron with black iron over and the other is Kuro-Oribe which has pooled nicely in the depressed channels. Both are small covered pieces that will take up little space and can be used for just about anything short of holding a full party bag of peanut-butter M&Ms coming in at 13.5oz, I know this for a fact as I tried.

DETAILS

I was recently contacted and asked "what's with all the detail pix?" and thought to relate this simple experience. Years ago, I was contacted by a dealer with a group of photos of a pleasant looking chawan that I really didn't show much interest in but was highly encourage to take a look at the piece in person. The pot arrived and true to their word, the bowl was quite exceptional in person and was betrayed by the limits of the photographs. Flash forward to the digital age and the internet and these details flush out pieces that may seem nice in an overall shot but with a detail picture the whole thing becomes a lot clearer in terms of what is actually happening with the pot and its surface. As if that wasn't enough, by sharing detail pictures a clearer understanding of pots that many individuals may not ever get a chance to handle is the next best thing to seeing the piece in person or behind glass at an exhibition or museum show.   

Illustrated is a perfect detail shot, this is the interior of a Ki-Seto guinomi by Goto Hideki. The texture and glaze are just perfect for these semi-amorphous forms based on seashells, watatsumi, creating depth and movement to counter-balance the nature of the forms. Normally, the interiors are hidden but it is exactly this detail that clearly illustrates the brilliance of the partnership between the whole and the sum of its parts at which Goto excels.

KUSHIME SHINO

Wonderful combed Shino henko, bottle form with thick glaze over a rich, deep red iron yohen surface with hints of pale green covering the pure white areas. The henko has intentionally carved facets or channels that help animate the form though the thick, finger swiped Shino brings movement and animation to the form. Matsuzaki Ken including this in an exhibition in Heisei 14 where it is prominently illustrated.  You can see more of this Matsuzaki ken henko over on my Trocadero marketplace; 

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1507539/ILLUSTRATED-COMBED-SHINO-HENKO-BY-MATSUZAKI-KEN

THIS IS WHERE IT BEGINS

Illustrated is a simple porcelain cup with impressed decoration, this is one of many thrown cups used for testing as I upscale from test rings or pods, in essence, this is where it begins. This particular test is quite rudimentary; I am using cobalt and manganese in conjunction with the soda blue glaze to see what effects I end up with and how best to use these oxides as decoration. As with most testing, I am really just trying to establish a baseline for color, saturation and style, I’ll get back to you when or if I figure it out.

KAKI-TEMMOKU

On some level it is easy to see the influence, style and surfaces of Shimizu Uichi in this small chawan style guinomi. As you focus in closer on the form, it becomes clearer that it is in fact by Shimizu Yasutaka, son of Uichi and the perfect student to carry on his father’s legacy and profound knowledge and use of iron glazes. Thrown out of a well textured, buff style stoneware, the exposed clay has a crinkled, chirimen-hada style texture that is then covered over in a deep rich, dark iron glaze that has had areas of a drifty, iron red kaki like glaze applied over which has been stretch and drawn thin exposing cells of dark black piercing the secondary veil. Though well known for his use of turtles as a motif in two and three dimensions, I believe Shimizu Yasutaka is at his very best when he makes use of layered iron glazes like this kaki-temmoku (persimmon temmoku); they are simple, direct and to the point and always beckon to be used.

ALL-NATURAL

Illustrated is an old (?) mentori-kakeire by Kohyama Yasuhisa likely dating from the 1970s or 80s. Though early work, to some degree it doesn’t look all that different from some of his later work from form, technique and surface. Like some older pieces that have been around the block a time or two, this vase has a few tiny flea-bites around the extreme of the mouth which have been repaired with a pewter finish lacquer that clean up the edge but doesn’t quite distract as much from the continuity of the surface. I really love the incised channel that separates the body from the mouth/ neck area and perhaps one of my favorite features is the bright, all-natural fired clay color that seems to glow or just beam. It is always the simplest things or details that get to me and the rich color just beckons to me, “forget the exterior, come explore the riches hidden within”.

POTTER AND FLAME

Illustrated is a rather traditional Echizen hanaire by Nishiura Takeshi, far more conservative than his hekisha-yu blue sand pieces and showing a far more feudal appearance and austere presence. The form of this vase seems like it could be from Shigaraki, Iga or Bizen but I think it is the surface that really gives it that Echizen flavor where the rich iron clay has flashed over to a deep, almost crimson hue that has melted a bit and has become quite wet in appearance. The firing has deposited a nice layer of ash to the upper portion of the vase which during the firing has turned to liquid and run down the pot aiding in creating the distinct illusion of verticality. All of the surface effects add to the rugged, sturdy form bult for use while being finessed by potter and flame to create a classic Echizen vessel that shows Nishiura’s ability to move back and forth between the traditional and the modern voice he has given to his pottery. Though this would appear to be quite a distance from his later, unique pottery, the strength and vitality of his work is written across the form and surface on this hanaire acting as its own signature of the work of Nishiura Takeshi and no other.

TIMES TWO

Some while back I was asked to make a couple of whisky bottles and after some thought, design and back and forth, I arrived at this simple shape. The bodies were slab built and the neck and stoppers were both thrown and added to the mix. The surface was first covered in black slip and then the white slip was applied, impasto style before being bisque and then glaze fired with my Oribe and some Kuro-Oribe accents in the center of each side. The original two were done in temmoku and ash and honestly have a much different, darker appearance than these two which were made a week or so later. This is certainly no complex form, simple lines, straight forward texture and glazing but without a doubt, they certainly don’t look like your average whisky bottle and that was the idea all along.

MATSUKAZE

This rare and double illustrated Matsukaze Oni-Shino mizusashi is by Tsukigata Nahiko, the father and creator of all things Oni-Shino. This very sturdy, weighty hyotan inspired mizusashi is a perfect centerpiece for chajin and collectors alike where the wonderful crackled feldspar Shino glaze has cascading rivulets, small streams of ash running down the surface making for a rather evocative and seldom seen effect among Tsukigata’s works. The form and surface are excellent examples of Tsukigata’s surfaces and forms though the Matsukaze (Pine Wind) style surface is rarely seen and is well represented in the book on the potter, ONI-SHINO where this mizusashi is illustrated. Beyond the illustration in the ONI-SHINO volume, this mizusashi is also illustrated in an exhibition catalogue contemporaneously to the book.   

 

BODE, VAUGHN BODE

 

Way back in the day, I was the go-to kid in the neighborhood for getting stuff done; lawn work, shoveling snow, house painting, general errands and I even dug out an entire foundation by hand one summer after a severe rain storm filled it in with mud. The point here is I always had money for the monster/ horror/ sci-fi matinees, 45rpm records and comic books. Like most kids my comic interests was the early superheroes that then moved on to things like THE WIZARD OF ID, B.C. and ultimately anything and everything by Vaughn Bode. Bode’s work is a mix of the irreverent and not politically correct storytelling and illustration, his Bode Broads set a standard of female iconography and their graffiti versions can be seen on buses, trains and building now literally around the world with a little bit (!) of help from his son, Mark Bode.

What inspired me to wax nostalgic is that my COMPLETE COLLECTION OF DEADBONE EROTICA by Vaughn Bode arrived yesterday. It is a perfect anthology of Bode’s collected comic book works and it a class act from cover to cover, the illustrations and coloring is excellent and vivid and did I mention all of the Bode Broads together with a few references to Cheech Wizard thrown in for good measure? Truthfully this brings back all kinds of memories from my misspent youth but there are certainly worse things to be interested in and this book is highly recommended whether you are a interested in graphic arts, comic books, illustrators or a long-time fan or new to the genre, it is easy to be offended but very hard to be disappointed.

NEVER ENOUGH TIME

Today was one of those busy days, I have several pots to tool and slip decorate, had several pots to throw, slip to make up and four pots to pack to go out tomorrow. I am not complaining, time just flew by today where there is never enough time.  

Just this quick post of a rather unusual, not rare Ki-Seto chawan by Hayashi Shotaro with accents of tanpan to break up the rather uniform surface. Beyond the glaze choice and accents of copper and iron oxides, the faceting and spatula work breathe life into this form making for a rather pleasant chawan that feels quite at home in one’s hands or just hanging out on a shelf or near your computer on a desk. In reflection, though not a massive chawan, it is still likely just a bit too big for bourbon, I’ll have to look elsewhere today.

ANTICIPATION

Almost two decades ago I saw my first Sue-Bizen pot buy Yoshimoto Shuho only to find out it was already taken but at some level, collecting is about patience and “strategery” as Will Farrell (imitating George Bush) would say. The biggest problem was that my first encounter was with a dramatic and feudal piece that was a rather high bar to exceed. Then after quite some time, flash forward, having seen quite a number of Yoshimoto’s pots, I finally found a piece that had the same degree of surface, Sue-Bizen atmosphere and feudal inspiration and by sheer happenstance it had a lid, a perfect mizusashi.      

Illustrated is the Sueki inspired Bizen mizusashi by Yoshimoto Shuho, squared in form, each plane of the body is a series of deep, rustic carved channels or furrows that surround and encase the piece while the top of the pot is recessed a bit and completed with a lid cut from the clay of the pot itself. The surface is a series of colors, all washed over in a thin coating of natural ash giving the impression that this is more an Iga pot than a Bizen one but rest assured it has all of the tell-tale characteristic of early, wet Sueki ware and Sue-Bizen in particular. The surface varies from blue-grey, to light tan and greens and where the ash has built up in the ridges of the pot, there is small pools of ash, all crazed and doing its best to imitate bidoro effects. It was a long time waiting on what I considered the perfect replacement for the Yoshimoto Shuho vase all those years ago but when you combine the anticipation, the potter, a firing and a covered pot, it was certainly worth the wait. 

P = (a + b + c)

triangular (trīˈaNGɡyələr) ; shaped like a triangle; having three sides and three corners

Though not the most exciting photo, this teabowl came from a series where I was looking to do just about anything other than round on the wheel. The geometry and technique are quite simple as it is more about patience, waiting on the right consistency of the clay and then whacking it about to shape and defining the lines a bit with a rib. This one has had white slip applied waiting on some version of a transparent glaze, be it Oribe, amber, soda blue or my Ao+. At the end of the day, the thrown object left as it was on the wheel has a continual vista constantly giving way to new details of a continuous landscape while triangular, hexagonal, square forms throw up planes of surface and decoration that present new discoveries just around each edge of the form. Both approaches have their uses and purposes but every now and again, bending a circle to your will and beating it somewhat violently are just moments well spent.

TRIUMVIRATE

For good or bad, I must admit, I have a real “thing” for covered pots; covered, jars, mizusashi, boxes and what have you. I know I have mentioned this before but the mystery of what the interior looks like and “what's in the box” never cease to hold my attention and get my curiosity peaked to say the least. Though the Oxford definition of a box is; “a container with a flat base and sides, typically square or rectangular and having a lid”, a ceramic box can be so, so much more.  

Illustrated is one of those ceramic box forms that is so much more that the generally accepted idea of a box. This covered box has a wonderful form with perfect fit and finish as well as being well suited to function. Made by Bruce Cochrane, this was constructed out of multiple pieces of stoneware, dipped in a wonderfully visual and textured crackle slip and then wood fired, the interior has a liner glaze of Shino. Perhaps one of my favorite hidden features of this covered box form is the ever so slight hint of green glaze across the surface and where the glaze pooled a bit and to my eye, when was the addition of green anything but a bonus? Great box, great texture and what a wonderful surface, the ceramic triumvirate.

RAMBLING ACCOUNT

Fair warning, what follows is a concise (?) rambling account of a recent experience with a fellow collector that falls short in its telling compared to, say, Shakespeare but I will do my best to be as impartial as is possible also bearing in mind that right or wrong can reside somewhere in the middle. Less than a year ago, I started receiving messages from a beginning collector of Japanese pottery asking about different potters, signatures, the issues of fakes and other common issues. Over time the relationship became what I refer to as one of “internet friends”, we would share links, talk about recent acquisitions and best of all, we agreed to not compete against each other which worked quite well on both ends. Along with this “sharing is caring”, I sent along links of more than several pots that I was watching and waiting, well hoping would come down in price. Among these, this fellow collector decided to buy several of these pieces and to be fair, my thought process was, well, he was willing to pony up and spend the money at a time when I was not, best someone got the piece(s).      

Fast forward to recently when a pot I have been watching and this collector was aware of that fact (as I had originally sent him the link) for several months, finally went down in price but was on sale for only an additional 40 minutes. I contacted the other collector and told him I was going to purchase the pot unless I heard back to the contrary, he was online as I messaged him. Not hearing anything, we decided to go ahead and made the purchase and again informed the other collector, we had made the purchase, no subterfuge, we wanted to be above board. At this point, somehow cast as Othello’s Iago, the collector came back and used some choice language and finished his final message with, “I hope it arrives damaged”.      

Over the years I have certainly had a few dust-ups with fellow collectors over specific pieces, most were forgotten after the heat of the moment and of course, some were not. Collecting is fiercely personal, presumably driven by passion and to quite an extent, obsession but in all my years of collecting I have never had a fellow collector wish a pot arrive damaged*. Again, not painting myself as innocent in this tragic affair but the final statement and gesture really do have me wondering, how can someone really care or be passionate about an object and hope for its untimely demise, in my book, that is misguided at best and certainly more likely an unacceptable attitude of anyone who honestly values the hand made. (*As a post-script, I should mention the pot which caused this angst arrived, safe and sound, well packed and complete with a 20% off international shipping coupon, thank you very much.)       

Not to be confused with the pot in the ramble you may or not have made it through, here is a very cool blue heki-yu guinomi by Kimura Yoshiro with a flock of birds design making their way around the piece. The rich black decoration is just perfect against the deep, azure sea blue where the animated, whimsical nature of the piece would certainly add to the experience of use. Perfect blend of the old and the new and honestly, just a fun piece all around.

BIT OF SODA & COPPER

I am never disappointed with the sheer range of iron and copper in glazes and this is a perfect example where a bit of soda and copper make for an interesting surface. Though this is my tweaked version of a soda blue glaze, I didn’t come up with this all on my lonesome, I am honestly not sure where it came from, Linda Christianson, Linda Arbuckle or possibly Kirk Mangus way back in the 90s, but it works well and has been a staple glaze all this time.      

This soda blue hakeme teabowl stems from a series where a simple cylinder is thrown on the wheel and then somewhat inspired by the kutsu-gata concept, manipulated a bit before using a rasp and a simple disposable thin wedge to finish off the bowl. The bowl is then covered in a thin black slip inside and out before a thick white slip is applied and then textured, hakeme style. The diagonal pattern works well even on this ovoid form to play on a sense of movement. I am working on trying to figure out how this soda blue glaze works with various forms and ideas and suspect like my saffron, temmoku and Oribe glazes, there will be no shortage of attempts and failures leading to the occasional success, time will tell.

UNUSUAL EFFECT?

While I realize that an unusual effect or detail doesn’t make for a great pot, at the very least it does give you something to consider, think about or study and this area on the foot/ base of a chawan is just that. Looking at the kodai of a Kumano Kuroemon chawan what becomes immediately clear is that the iron that has been applied to this bowl has become very metallic and iridescent making for a rather engaging detail. I suspect this chawan had a hint of reduction during the intense wood firing at exactly the right time to reduce the elements just enough to create this alluring luster which I rarely (?) see on any pieces by Kumano. This metallic surface coupled with the normal clay color of the potter and the rich, soft, emerald green Shino covered in ash makes for a rather rich landscape at a place where it is mostly kept hidden at least while it is perched stationary on a shelf or desktop. However, when you take a moment to explore the chawan in hand going round and round, inside and out and finally to the base and foot this small treasure is exposed, a bit like a rainbow after a sudden shower.    

(Since this is not my pot, nor my photograph, this is all there is, no overall picture so please don’t ask.)

TO DO LIST

This is an old photo but I think it gets the message across, it speaks of what it is to be a Shino henko vase form by one of the leading potters of the region, Wakao Toshisada. I realize that not being a chawan, a vase doesn’t get all the same level of glamorous attention but the surface and wonky form of this piece certainly grabs my attention. The vertical form asks the eye to dart up and down the form where the uneven Nezumi-Shino battles between curdled grey and the iron that has made its way to the surface making the white decoration of grasses stand out across the pot, reaching upward again bringing the eye on a journey to the articulated shoulder and perfectly formed neck and mouth on what at its core could be considered a simple vessel.  As for Wakao Toshisada’s intent for this work, I will let this quote speak to that end; “Above all, I want to mix modern styles with traditional Japanese sense of beauty as it is presented in Nezumi-Shino.”. I think it pretty clear that he can check that goal off his list of things he had intended to do. 

WHAT'S THE HOLD UP

What’s the hold up, well the last two days were crazy days with workman here and then waiting on them to return, what should have taken a couple of hours became two days in a blink of an eye. To that end, pictured are the last holdouts, the last three pieces needed to fill the kiln and get on with the glaze firing. Though the two ring jars look glazed the same, they are not, one will be my saffron glaze with black iron accents, a total of three glazes, the other is Kuro-Oribe, three glazes and two washes in total. The bowl on the banding wheel is soda blue over combed slip with some accents that should show up nicely one fired, fingers crossed. The real slow going for a lot of my glazing is needing to wait a day after putting on the first base glaze, as you can imagine adding a day with a service interruption just adds more time and with me sort of dispossessed from my studio space and material to even carry out my list of glaze tests has dragged this firing off longer than expected. With any luck the weather will now cooperate and the temperatures steering clear of the 90s and I can get this fired and an order out the door.

Classic, medieval Ko-Iga style hanaire vase form by veteran potter, Kojima Kenji. Clearly based on some Iga archetype this sturdy vase was thrown and slightly manipulated to give the form a nice sense of gesture before adding thick and purposeful lugs and adding marks across the surface to further define the landscape of the piece. The front, entire shoulder and mouth are covered in ash from a dark ominous area where the vase sat in a charcoal bed to the green opaque glass that creates a distinct landscape reminiscent of medieval pottery masking its actual age. This was made and fired to recapture the feudal appearance of Ko-Iga ware at which it has clearly succeeded.  You can see more of this pot over on my Trocadero marketplace; 

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1506348/MEDIEVAL-KO-IGA-HANAIRE-BY-KOJIMA-KENJI-KK-MKIH9 

The FOURTH

Happy Fourth of July to all, cherish all of your freedoms, from the simplest to those that make us who we are.

CANNOLI COUNTRY

My wife was on a business trip recently which brought her smack-dab in the heart of cannoli country so she made her way to one of our favorite North-Eastern bakeries. Situated near Madison, CT is home of the cannoli truck and Meriano’s Bakery and no visit to the area is complete without bringing home at least a few special indulgences. Illustrated is the perfect ration of goodies, two chocolate covered cannoli with traditional filling along with a flakey and tasty lobster tails also with the standard cannoli filling and to finish things off two very rich and rewarding strawberry and cheese croissants. The group is displayed nicely on one of my terra cotta black and white slipped plates, roughly 14” across. No sooner are the pastries gone than I am already plotting another excuse to be in the area of Meriano’s, where the flavor never wanes and in fact I think may be better each and every visit.

QUICK REVISIT

This is just a quick revisit, a fly-by of a recent Seiji guinomi by Ono Kotaro. It is likely just me but this photo shows off the lines, furrows, curves and shadows that defines this little pot, crafted and conceived through years of experience and practice. It took me some time but I have learned there is as many ways to look at a pot as there are pots or maybe even stars in the sky.