BROWN

I made this short video slideshow a number of years ago of a rather large, over 16” tall sake bottle by Ningen Kokuho, Fujiwara Kei. This video shows off a rich array of details that all come together to make for a rather intriguing and memorable (brown) Bizen pot. Enjoy the slideshow. 

HOPE & TESTING II

Every now and again I will throw a group of small footed bowls or cups for anticipated testing and this is just such a piece, no frills, bells or whistle rather singularly about seeing results. I keep trying to figure out what to do with my Hagi white glaze that on its own is a bit lackluster. I was a bit surprised by the sheer amount of color saturation that I got with the simple addition of a black glaze composed of manganese dioxide, iron oxide and cobalt, the glaze just melted into the surface and more or less maintained the decoration which I figured would just melt into an unrecognizable mess. I guess the bigger question now is will this continue to work and where do I go from here though I suspect the next surface may be horizontal and a bit less vertical. We will see and yet I am always mindful of my testing and glazing strategy; “Sperare optima, Parare pessimal, Expectare inexpectata”

CREATIVE BLEND

Emerging from the shadows, the skin of this lobed melon style Oribe vase highlighted by our Sun clearly shows off the clay texture and marks of the pottery without even a hint of ambiguity. This Oribe pot was made by Tsukamoto Haruhiko who I have written about before and like in previous examples, his works are a creative blend of whimsy, volume, form, surface and exploration. There is volume and movement at play where the form is animated, alive and filled with gesture and playfulness based on centuries of Oribe archetypes where those features are sought after and hard won by generation after generation in pursuit of the tradition. Though not terribly large in scale, the fullness of the form partially narrated by the marks of the potter are concluded with a casual and free-spirited neck and mouth that serve as a perfect conclusion to the piece where scale is relative. Tsukamoto has managed to pull together a wide array of features, details, form and surface to create a perfect addition to the Oribe tradition where I am constantly reminded, it isn’t always easy being green.

ALL THAT JAZZ

So, I am rather sure that this will not be what everyone sees in this pot but when I first saw this Oribe vase, it reminded me of a scene of the Bob Fosse story, ALL THAT JAZZ. The posture and attitude of this hanaire by Sone Yoshiyuki has that vibe of confidence and surety wrapped up in a form casually thrown and then skillfully manipulated, marked and slightly beaten before it had lugs slapped to either side of the vase adding a bit of definition to the pot. As you can see the rough, almost torn throwing marks, caused likely by a piece of rough wood or a rib has filled with the Oribe glaze making for a real sense of rhythm circumnavigating the form while the area on the face that looks to have been pushed in just a bit with long vertical marks has a pale, amber hue contrasting rather poetically against the deep green. Though I suspect all of these considerations, marks and alterations happened in mere minutes, it is the practiced hand of years, even decades of work that make for the rather casual and spontaneous appearance that creates such a simple and often duplicated vessel. What I see in this vase is a vocabulary of the old tradition of Oribe, ushered in by Furuta Oribe intermingled with that modern touch which Sone Yoshiyuki has plied to the clay, glazing and firing of his highly individual work. 

WAY BACK WHEN

On a recent phone conversation, a fellow collector was talking about Matsuzaki Ken and his Yohen-Shino at which point I mentioned that way back when I had done a fair amount of experimenting and had also come up with a Yohen Shino glaze back in the very early 90s while working at Cleveland State University. In point of fact, after coming back from seeing a group of majolica and faience pots I decided I wanted to create a luster Shino and started making up  tests in Jan 1992 and by Feb 1992 I had hit upon my first successful glaze surface, ST212/2/92y (Shino test #212, 2/92) that you can see illustrated in the pictures of a teabowl from the first large batch of this group of Yohen-Shino. Having taken some cues from Alan Caiger Smith I was able to, firing in a rather healthy reduction atmosphere to create a surface that had a rather lustrous, iridescent surface which was the first time I had ever seen this effect on contemporary pottery*.      

To be clear, I am not saying I invented this but rather I had never physically encountered it before nor had I seen it any magazine or publication (this did pre-date the internet by quite a few years). What I can say about this surface is that I did not decide to carry out this testing based on something I had seen but rather something else, arts and crafts pottery and reduction lusters on majolica triggered this whole line of inquiry. Before I seemed to move on from this technique, I had also started firing small pieces in saggers that had pulverized charcoal and sometimes oxides mixed in and spread around the base of the enclosures to further effect the surface. Honestly like much of my testing over the years this was highly enjoyable having an idea and being able to put it into practice and reality to make this wonky "new" Shino come to life. 

(*As sure as the earth spins around the Sun,  am sure that someone out there is going to pre-date my testing and use of this glaze)

BLAST FROM THE PAST

This wonderful kohiki faceted vase is a blast from the past, both my past and the potter’s past as well. Dating from the 1990s, this Korean Joseon influenced kohiki vase is a classic example of the work of Yoshimura Masaya (b. 1938) who’s works span various traditional archetypes as in this case to rather unique, contemporary interpretations of the singular use of slip. 

This mentori-hanaire is pure simplicity, perfect lines, full, dynamic volume and a surface that is one part simplicity and another part complexity in just measured balance. Adding to the landscape, each faceted line shows through the slip along with part of the lip focusing one’s attention away from the purity of the surface, surveying details that almost seem out of place yet end up helping to define the form and pot overall. It is clear that Yoshimura spent a lifetime pursuing and dedicated to kohiki slipware while adding his own modern and idiosyncratic fingerprint to a rather old tradition which spans centuries and countries in its origin.

A BIT OF EVERYTHING

I am sure that I am repetitive in my use of descriptions for a great number of wood fired pots but despite that fact, I think I choose my words somewhat carefully and with an eye on what I am actually thinking and not some device easily put to use. What gets me there is this katakuchi style mizusashi, truly this has that medieval, old presence, like it was plucked out of the kitchen and pressed into service by some tea master of old including the manufacturing of a custom lid to complete the package. The surface both inside and out is just a wonderful array of effects, a bit of everything as it were, on this well fired pot, crafted by the hands Sugimoto Sadamitsu and fired under his watchful eye and decades of experience to make such a simple, humble and captivating vessel.     

Timeless, another descriptor I use well too often is perhaps among the best ways to characterize this mizusashi as it is seemingly not bound in the past or the present, it somehow is on its very own parallel timeline. The foot is flat and covered in ash while the front and back present somewhat differing landscapes where the one side is covered in streaking, cascading ash and the other is a blend of runny ash and rich red hi-iron color fumed during the firing. However, it is the interior that holds the biggest surprise, once the custom lacquer lid is removed, the interior is a series of waterfalls that culminate in a large, pure emerald green pool that is a bit like encountering a pot at the end of the proverbial rainbow. Timeless, wabi-sabi, medieval, classic; in the end it doesn’t matter how it is described, this Shigaraki mizusashi has quite the landscape and just sings instead of speaking. 

 

SAFE BET

Since I have wrapped up my recent orders, today was the day that I decided to take some time and make a few stoneware teabowls for myself. They are a bit time consuming as I deal with each one from start to finish; I throw them, alter them a bit, blow-dry them, address the lip, deal with the base and foot and then give them a gentle, diagonal shave. The tools involved are simple, while throwing, nothing but a sponge and then afterward I use a knife, a rasp, heat-gun, sponge and one of my favorite new tools in multi-packs, my Lowe’s special shims which I sand to a sharp edge. Perhaps what I enjoy most about these teabowls is the amount of lift they exhibit from a somewhat smaller foot which in truth is neither too small or too large, just the right pedestal for the job. Now that there are a group made, I will wait on them drying and likely move toward the Oribe and Kuro-Oribe surfaces, time will tell but it is a pretty safe bet.

I SEE WHERE YOU ARE GOING

I think as you look at this very early Shino mizusashi by Tamaoki Yasuo, it is rather easy to think to yourself, I see where you are going based on this pot and his work of the past five decades. I am not 100% sure when this was made though I suspect in the 80s based on several shows of his work I attended in 1991 and 1992 as well as a number of catalogues, but his manner of handling clay and his glazing is more or less easy to identify even in this early and less mature work. The fine mogusa clay was casually thrown with little manipulation off the wheel, the gallery is study and perfect for this thick, thrown lid and knob which is just right for the scale and function. Though early, you can see the foundation of many of Tamaoki’s Shino formulas in this glaze which marries well with the softish form, simple throwing marks, taper and indentation. The glaze appears to be applied rather haphazardly but there are several applications to get to this point showing off a rich red where the pot was held during glazing to a soft, slightly toasty white running down the surface making full effect of gravity and showcasing the vertical qualities of the pot. 

Now I won’t go as far as to say it has that old Edo style appearance but it does capture some of that feeling while making a break from the stiffer forms and glazes of many of the 70s Mino potters, excluding Arakawa and Tokuro. In truth, I find it rather intriguing to be able to draw that “through line” in the work from present day all the way back to where it began.

YAKISHIME SHIGARAKI

Well fired yakishime Shigaraki chawan by Yoshisuji Keiji. This somewhat simple chawan, appearing almost as it came off the wheel has a wide array of glaze effects from a dry, dark ash to a coating of ice like, light green ash where the entire bowl is completely surround with the wood fired effect that you can see. The foot works well with the form, on the small side which I really like, creating a nice pedestal for the bowl which also provides some nice lift and creates a great shadow line as well.      

Yoshisuji Keiji (b.1952) lives and works in Shizuoka Pref. and apprenticed under the internationally recognized Shigaraki potter, Kohyama Yasuhisa. Making a wide variety of wood fired, yakishime pottery out of Shigaraki clay, Yoshisuji makes both functional and non-functional ceramics including some sculptural pieces which includes his well know and sought after “apple” and Buddha hand okimono. Though this chawan shows the distinct influences of his master, Yoshisuji works with his own forms and distinct firing style creating pieces that pay tribute not only to Kohyama but the wood fired tradition rooted in Shigaraki and now spread across much of Japan.

You can see this chawan over on my Trocadero marketplace;

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1505092/YAKISHIME-SHIGARAKI-CHAWAN-BY-YOSHISUGI-KEIJI

EoD REVISITED

I put up a bowl that I made as a spur of the moment, end of day kind of project and it occurred to me I never put it up finished. Illustrated is a simple porcelain v-bowl with chattered black slip and a soda blue glaze to complete the package. As I mentioned before, trying to make the chattered pattern look a bit distinct, I use the very corner of the tool and in the end, I get what I get and each piece looks just a bit different from each other. I will say when working in series of slipped and carved pieces, turning to this simple and enjoyable technique reduces the sameness of carving a dozen grasses pattern pots in a row and I am all for keeping things interesting.

TSURUKUBI

My understanding is that this vase and another that I had here were bought from an auction house in Japan a number of years ago, a gourd vase and this crane's neck (tsurukubi) vase, one Iga and this one Shigaraki pottery by Furutani Michio. This hanaire was fired quite well and has a rather nice landscape composed of three distinct strata of color from the light brown area at the base, the greyish-blue collar with some additional ash effects to the dark, almost ominous nature of the upper most part of the neck and mouth capping off the long neck. 

When I first saw this pot I thought this was a slightly unusual form for Furutani Michio and then over the years I have seen several more though each one it own unique piece with its own unique surface also proving that no form gently nuanced or sophisticatedly designed was beyond the reach of potter and flame. This vase has a rather engaging tactile presence where rough gives way to smooth in patches like it is battling for some supremacy but the real winner in this fight is the viewer seeing the array of wood fired and visual effects that go beyond traditional Shigaraki pottery clearly representing the firing, surfaces and philosophy of one of the greatest Shigaraki (and Iga) potters of the 20th century, Furutani Michio.

RECIPRICOL

Recently a friend sent me three wonderful books as a gift, one of them was a large folio on Kawai Kanjiro and the binding is all handmade Japanese paper. Refusing payment, even for the postage I wondered what could I sent to offset this debt as we have something of a reciprocal back and forth going on, more of my pots seemed a bit insignificant and then along came a chawan. As I was searching the auctions, I came across what I thought was exactly the right chawan; exotic yohen temmoku surface, just a bit on the small side and what the dealer assured me was a bowl that was not too heavy. The recipient of the bowl is an avid tea drinker, putting his pots to hard use and he is rather particular about size, weight and of course aesthetics. Several weeks later the bowl arrived here and was shipped off to its new owner. 

The chawan is by Ii Koji who I know very little about though I have seen several chawan, a Kuan style celadon vase and misc. guinomi, yunomi and small plates. The surfaces are somewhat similar but I thought this one worked quite well among those that I have seen. With any luck this will find favor at its new home, be used hard, put away dry and enjoyed for many years to come.

BURUGURE

I have to admit, this covered jar was nearly impossible for me to photograph accurately. Thrown out of stoneware with black and then combed white slip, the base glaze was my Oribe and over that went two different iron glazes to the effect you see here. As you may be able to tell, the secondary glazes were applied to just below the combed slip and during the firing they all melted and ran down the pot thanks to our constant companions, gravity and thermodynamics. The result is a rather broody appearing slip-jar with a variety of colors running down the surface with the combed slip design calling out, what about me? This wasn’t exactly what I had been going for but considering this application had only been tried out on smaller pieces, I can’t honestly say that I really knew the final outcome. What I can tell you is that I had made five of these covered jars in total, two fairly traditional Oribe, one amber and then two in what ever this version of Kuro-Oribe should be called, maybe I should go with Burūgurē-Oribe moving forward?

MEMORIAL DAY 2025

 

COLLECTOR'S NIGHTMARE?

I realize it will likely sound like I am just droning on again about how differently pots can look from illustration to illustration or in person but I imagine this being the bane of many a collector's nightmares as a piece arrives and looks quite a bit different than expected. I should qualify this and say, this is not always a bad thing but in some instances the variation is too great and the piece is in the end, just not what was anticipated.  

Illustrated is a pot that to be honest at first glance doesn't look like its photo, this Shigaraki mizusashi by Suzuki Shigeji was illustrated in a volume of the GENDAI CHATO TAIKAN, as seen in the upper right corner showing off a nice, grey suit with blue tones and some charcoal effect. What I got to experience first and is to be honest much closer to my photo taken using a single tungsten bulb which is far more suited to the Shigaraki moniker showing everything from wet green to browns of various colors and tones.   

Aside for the color/ photo issues, this Suzuki mizusashi is all about the classics from form and potter's marks to the lid, lid placement and the wood fired surface, all indicative of a Shigaraki inspired traditional piece. Despite the overall appearance, the gallery where the lid fits is encircled with a ring of glass which is a nice detail that welcomes you as soon as you lift the lid. Covered pots have that sense of mystery, "what's in the box" as it were, is it cookies, seeds, dog food, who knows what and little details like a flowing green glass river around the form add to that sense of wonder. If only every lid hid such a surprise and whether by plan of serendipity, Suzuki Shigeji succeeded in adding that right amount of additional wonder to his ritual based wood fired jar.

MORE BLACK & WHITE

I can’t remember posting up any of this trailed glaze work before, so if I had, well, here it is again. The teabowl was thrown out of a small batch sandy whiter stoneware, glazed in a thin coat of a clear glaze and then I trailed over shiny, deep black decoration which under some lighting looks browner than it is intended to. The interior is also trail decorated tying the bowl together and then the foot is loosely tooled to give it an overall casual feel. Though it may not get noticed, this is just another incarnation of using more black and white surfaces that I seem to always come back to, in fact, I rely on this quite a bit more than almost any other surface, I wonder if at the end of the day if it is routine, habit or comfort that is the motivation?

SHOWING OFF

I am pretty sure the name Tabei Kenji is not exactly a household name in the West but for some while now I have encountered a number of his pots and to be honest each one has its own charm, each being a rather solid, functional work. Tabei’s life in pottery started while attending Waseda University before he moved on to work at the Gifu ceramics Experimentation Station (?) after which he left Japan to teach ceramics in Pakistan while studying the roots of Buddhism. Once he returned to Gifu prefecture, Yoroyama Village he founded his studio and later founded the Yoro-yaki Pottery Village and a pottery in Nago in Okinawa. His work seems centered around various Mino traditional styles as well as wood fired haikaburi techniques. 

Illustrated is an early, interesting wood fired yohen style Shino chawan that was thrown out of a sandy, buff clay with an array of color changes from a soft caramel colored surface to areas of rich red with ash effects as well as lustrous and iridescent details on the lip as well as punctuations making their way through the pours of the glaze. The intriguing surface clothes the form complete with throwing marks to a T while also hiding small areas of spatula work that break up the uniformity of the bowl. At its core, this was made as a rather practical chawan, there are no bells and whistles and the pragmatic form and well attended kodai are meant for use while through experience and firing the surface has added a rich environment to a pot that be just perfect in use or as I am constantly saying, just hanging out on a shelf and showing off just ever so slightly.

SAKE-WAN

On the whole, over the years I have not found many “raku” pieces that I have felt compelled to own if you exclude the various pieces at the Raku Museum and other similar venues. However, for some reason the raku work of Konishi Heinai II has always resonated with me, the surfaces, forms, firing and the way he finishes the kodai, all in all they just fell right to me and when it comes to this style of pottery, that is where my attention normally focuses. 

Illustrated is a simple little piece, entitled, “red sake bowl” this small pot is a spitting image of one of his larger chawan forms down to form, surface and the kodai, it isthe perfect mini-wan in this case intended for sake. The glaze is a wonderful landscape of colors, depth and texture where a universe’s totality seems painted within the overall surface just adding to the somewhat mysterious and contemplative narrative. Not to sound redundant, but I don’t usually go for raku pottery, but when I do, I choose Heinai, Konishi Heinai II.

DUSTED AND REVISITED

Okay, full disclosure, this is a bowl I have posted previously but recently rephotographed it once it was thoroughly dusted and clean. This teabowl is one of my saffron yellow over Hagi glazed bowls and I think this revisited image really shows off the character of the surface. The bowl was a small batch clay which once fired punctuates the glaze surface and adds quite a bit to the overall appearance of the piece. The real reason I have hung on to the teabowl all this time is that this is the best this glaze can be, others come very close but for some reason for a dip it in white and dip it in iron piece, the surface is just exactly what I want from this glaze and in fact there were actually three teabowls and a mizusashi in that firing that all came out at this level but I stubbornly held this on a shelf where as I mentioned it was covered in several years’ worth of dust. Now rephotographed it was placed back on the very same shelf in the very same spot where it is likely to collect several more years of dust before I pull it down again and ask, why can’t they all come out this way?

SHELFIE*

This is a quick “shelfie”* I took for the Japanese studio pottery group over on Face Book yesterday. In this picture there is a large Shigaraki tsubo by Kohyama Yasuhisa, carved wood Kannon figure, a large Warren MacKenzie stoneware charger and the small but wonderful little “feelie” by Rose Cabat. I am pretty sure most of these have been posted before but here they are in situ, a group that has been out on display for quite some time now. Though our collection is quite modest in size, we rarely have many pots out, rather, they are rotated from display to storage as it were over the year. I often think this keeps us from getting complacent with the pieces and their re-emergence is quite special though on that rare occasion a piece comes out of hibernation and fails to impress, time to go. This is our way of displaying pots which keeps the environment in constant flux, just the way we want it.  

(*Shelfie was not my idea, it came from a Face Book group on Japanese pottery)

IRON FOREST

I wonder if John Heywood included this Renaissance proverb in his anthology (1546) if he saw into the future, seeing this mounted tile ala his contemporary Nostradamus. The proverb I was referencing is “Can’t see the forest for the trees”, which may or may not apply to this large glazed landscape tile by Kimura Morinobu but is certainly easy to see where it could. Made of thick and heavy (!) stoneware, the slab is decorated using iron and ash to present both the forest and the trees in a semi-abstract manner, aptly entitled, “Mori” or Forest. Starting in the early 90s Kimura Morinobu began using this design quite a bit depicting both cat-tails and trees using a clear style ash glaze and deep, rich iron on all types of two- and three-dimensional pots where the cat-tails became a favorite on larger tsubo with a nuka style glaze. 

In the book, KIMURA MORINOBU; Sakutoh Go-Ju Nen 1951 to 2000, there is much larger forest tile decorated in a nearly exact approach as this framed one, the date is 1996 (Heisei 8) while this one is not illustrated it was exhibited at the Osaka Takashimaya Department Store sometime in the mid to late 1990s. All in all this is a rather nice presentation of another dimension of a potter who has dedicated a life to his pottery art and in this case conjures up an iron forest with nothing more than a paintbrush , a bit of clay and some toasty temperature.

EoD

Full disclosure, this was one of those end of day, what are you thinking pots, there is only one and more than likely there will only ever be one. I remember that it was later afternoon and I was trying to decide, make something spontaneously or just call it a day and this is what I ended up with, thrown out of stoneware in two parts, it was luted together after a few minutes under the watchful eye of the heat gun and then later tooled. Once bisque, I glazed it Oribe as the base and then sprayed it to give it the Kuro-Oribe treatment to this effect. I do realize to get good at this form, one off likely won’t get me there but the bigger question is, is this form something I wish to pursue?

THREE MOVES LATER

So this slipware cider jug has a short backstory that goes back over two decades, 2001 to be precise. One year we were gifted this Ray Finch Winchcombe cider jug by Dan Shutt, a very good friend and antique dealer as an anniversary gift. Dan new of my interest in Michael Cardew, Winchcombe and of course slipware so when he ran across it at Brimfield, the large flea market in Massachusetts he struck up a conversation with a dealer from England who brought a container of English antiques with him, this jug among them. After some clever negotiations, there were no other kind from Dan’s end, he acquired the jug complete with its original spout to boot. Fast forward nearly a year and on a trek up from Delaware to see us in CT he brought along the jug and gifted it to us where we have had it out and about ever since that first encounter. With Dan’s passing, every time I see the pot, just above eye level, I am reminded of Dan; his humor, tenacity, generosity and his humanity, is there any better way to enjoy a good pot?           

As for this Finch jug, the surface of this red clay had a coat of black to brown slip applied where it appears either or depending on the lighting together with a slip trailed decoration around the entire form. The whole pot is rather sturdy in its throwing with a thickly potted mouth and a strong and very functional handle also decorated with slashes of slip. This is clearly intended as a rugged and functional pot and clearly succeeded in that task though it still sits mighty pretty on a shelf, three moves later where it is looked at several times or more a day.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU II

I first salt fired quite a long while ago and have always had a soft spot for salt fired pots, in fact before I even made pots I was in love with the early salt and wood fired pottery for 19^th century America, many of which were around my in-laws home. Having a fondness for salt fired pieces, beyond the obvious Hamada pieces, I have been attracted to the simple pots based on Kyoto aesthetics of Iwabuchi Shigeya which as I have mentioned before may have been our very first internet purchase back in the very late 90s.    

Illustrated is a simple Haku-Enyu mizusashi with a thick crackle style slip over a buff stoneware now darkened to a toasty brown from the firing. On the face and back of this form, shaped like a rhombus, are flora designs, resisted in the slip application which now stand in perfect contrast to the pure white texture of the overall form though there are some areas of pink blushing and subtle gohonde style spotting. The mizusashi is finished off with a crisp, tapered lip in which a classic, custom roiro-urushi lid fits to complete the form both functionally and visually. When asked recently what I liked about the rather simple and older style piece, the truth is, just about everything.

LATE AFTERNOON

Some while back I put up a short video of one of my Oribe katakuchi in use with four Oribe mini-wan bourbon cups. Though not restricted to the use of bourbon, here are the same four cups just hanging about in the late afternoon sunlight to give a sense of the texture and surfaces of each piece. The combination of the sandy small batch clays, the gentle faceting opening up the surface of the pieces together with the multi-glazed, Kuro-Oribe style glaze makes for a rather interesting piece in the hand whether you are using it for sake, bourbon or any other litany of liquids.       

Though this Hamada Shoji quote may be apocryphal, I find it rather engaging, even playful; “Oribe is not a collection of forms, but a way of being”.

CAST A SHADOW

A while back I was rummaging throw some big, blue tuffy(s), looking for a tiny Japanese teapot and I came across this pot which immediately brought me back to Cleveland by way of Akron, Ohio. I cleared off a shelf and apparently decided to take a few photos at exactly the right time, using only natural light, this hand-built vase cast a shadow that is just a perfect companion for this Bob Yost pot. As I mentioned this vase was handbuilt in Bob’s rather unique, even quirky style where the posture and attitude become the central theme in a multipart play about vessels. The piece was glazed rather casually though I suspect by some experienced design in Dave Shaner’s red to yellow which seemed to be all the rage in the early 90s in the Ohio area though this application is near to perfection for the form. Perhaps the most engaging feature of finite details is the small lugs looking like some pre-historic appendages and adding movement and whimsy to the overall presentation. Without waxing nostalgic, I miss my decade long sojourn in Cleveland and it is these moments that give comfort and a constant reminder to the years spent there, enjoyed to the very fullest with lots of clay in all forms along the journey.

WONDERFUL MEMORIES

This is an old picture, converted from a 35mm slide to a digital image some while back, pictured are four jugs drying slowly having been made by Bill Klock sometime back in the 90s. Coming across this image reminded me this was the very last time I worked with Bill having moved to Cleveland and working at CSU and then my own studio in University Heights. I think I was in town for three weeks, one work cycle where we made lots of stoneware pots and then gas fired one group and wood fired the other. I don’t think I have a single pot left from my time there though I do have several of Bill’s. Though this was my last working trek in Plattsburgh, it was certainly not my last time visiting, every chance I would get I would make my way to Upstate NY and visit Bill, my dad and my wife’s family.  

As for the four jugs, I am not really sure of when Bill began making these forms though I suspect it was thoroughly cemented during his stay working at the Leach Pottery. These pieces have that classic English, Leach appearance complete with stamped decoration on a couple of them. I wish I had a photo or photos of these finished and though I may have somewhere I was just not able to lay my hands on any. At any rate, you can imagine them decked up in rich temmoku duds with some ash accents as well as his favorite celadon glaze, Whitings 1, 2, 3, 4 Celadon, maybe I am being nostalgic, but this brings back wonderful memories.

GROUP PHOTO

A while back I ended up throwing a couple dozen covered box forms and here is one group photo of four of them, some have been posted before. In this group all in one form of Oribe or another, the finials are all based on the Prometheus and Johnny Hart, B.C. inspired critter that I think makes for a functional and intriguing motif. All were thrown out of stoneware and despite that fact, each has its own unique surface treatment, on bare clay, over slip or slips and over the rugged fluting inspired by Maximillian armor. The fluted box has a simple tooled foot while the other three have either three or four feet which gives the pieces a bit of lift. As I mentioned, I went on a tear making a group of these forms with little thought as for decoration, glazing or purpose but since I enjoy making lidded pots, did I really need any real goal other than to throw and end up with a group of functional pieces that I suspect have as many uses as there are people who may end up using them?

IGA?

Iga, I do not think so but rather Canadian! What you are in fact looking at is a gift that came with a pot a short while back by Bruce Cochrane. This simple slab dish wood fired which securely rests on three long bar feet has a rather pleasant East meets West presentation good for just about anything from garlic shrimp to being just perfect for two large canoli. I believe Bruce choose this particular piece because he is aware of my interest in texture as well as the overall aesthetic, either way, it was appreciated and has been used a couple of times. 

This small plate also came with a thoughtful note; “….. It has a very interesting surface so I thought you may enjoy it. It is a porcelain clay with coarse silica chips. There is an ash glaze on top and it was fired on top of the bag wall in the woodkiln so there was quite a bit of flame contact. Maybe for sashimi? Enjoy!” What is not to enjoy, thoughtful gift, great surface and perfect for pastries?

SUBJECTIVE?

I realize that this is a purely subjective observational comment but really, is there anything more seductive than the surfaces of Ono Kotaro? Clearly thrown thick(ish), Ono sets about carving a rather curvy, sensuous pattern in deep relief that wraps around the form and creates a brilliant topography that is a joy for the eye and the hand. If you factor in that is perfect little form and all of its dynamic movement, a guinomi is the clone reduced in scale of a chawan, well you have the perfect little pot. Finished off in a pale blue seiji glaze, the guinomi is sealed and ready for extended use for your favorite beverage, a small portion of blueberries of just sitting there, static on shelf but with this form, let’s be honest, there is a sense of constant motion no matter where it ends up.

ONE, TWO, THREE

Back before the Holidays, I was asked to make two sets of bowls, a larger serving bowl and two smaller bowls for soup, salad, chili or what have you. By the third email it was determined they would be cog-ware in my Oribe glaze, light on the kuro effect except the interior. As with many orders, to get two sets, I made a shadow third to make sure I had two sets of three and this group was the remaining larger and smaller set. Plus, or minus, these all came out fine and I married up the surfaces to make two cohesive sets to get packed up and shipped out. This set is currently in the studio collecting dust and I wonder do they get brought up and used or just hang out until they find a new home? Maybe it will come down to whether or not I need a bowl or two next time my wife is out of town and I am a bit on the lazy side.

THE VOICE OF A POTTER

Illustrated is a classic Yohen-Shino henko by Matsuzaki Ken. Sturdy, solid and solitary this bottle has a vivid surface composed of iridescent Yohen-Shino anchored by areas of thick, pure white, swiped Shino making for a vivid landscape and vivid visual ride around the sides. As you can see there are areas of iron and ash punctuations about the surface with the shoulder and neck receiving some wonderful ash from the firing adding an additional dimension to the piece. With each application of glaze, layered to create depth and distinction, this work all carves out its own unique niche within the Mashiko traditions.    

Though Matsuzaki Ken makes a wide variety of these simple henko forms, at the end of the day they are anything but simple, the form has been carefully considered to allow the surface treatment and firing to maximize the piece, a canvas for the varying landscape of ash and glaze. Though there may be a multitude of these form in several sizes and surfaces, each presents it own unique story, narrating the voice of a potter who spent extra years with his master in an effort to break free of his weighty influence, clearly at this is task, Matsuzaki Ken has excelled.

LIVE OR MEMOREX II

I end up following a number of museums and galleries on Instagram and to be quite honest, everyday is something new, interesting and even exciting. Recently on the feed of the Shizuoka Museum of Ceramic Art, up popped a rather familiar vase, so familiar, I had to take a double-take to a shelf near my desk, a classic “live or Memorex” moment. Illustrated is a photo I took a while back together with an inset from the museum of a Nagasaki sancai hanaire by Yokoishi Kasuke XIII. While it was always quite clear these pieces were molded, hand finished and then meticulously glazed, it was still a somewhat surreal experience. I should note that I think everyone in this same predicament may say, hey, mine is better, but apart from the actual object itself, I will say, to my eye, the one here in the US has a much better glaze application with wonderful running gradation of colors and placement.   

On a side note, for anyone considering acquiring a similar piece or a piece by Yokoishi Kasuke XIII in general, these pots are sturdy, solid, weighty and by no means some half-hearted attempt at mass production. Though the wood signed box is a bit on the economical side, the vase and glazing is honestly top notch and if you like sancai or Nagasaki sancai in particular that this is likely the pottery and potter for you.

SIMPLE, SQUARED

Illustrated is another one of those simple, squared yunomi that I really enjoy making here at the studio. I am not sure if I settled on yunomi over mugs because of my admiration and time in Japan or is it I just don’t like the fussing around with timing and handles, maybe a question for another time. This one was thrown out of stoneware and softly squared up to allow for a less severe look and then covered over in impasto applied slip before its final meeting with Oribe and iron. The diagonal application makes for some rather interesting effects as the glaze runs and channels down the furrows making each and every one just a bit different and each plane its own unique landscape which come together in an overarching theme. It may be simple in design and execution but the texture and surface hopefully push it to another place entirely.

IN ALL PROBABILITY

I can’t say that I have handled many pots by Mino potter, Kato Yoji but I can say it is often funny how things come in threes. This wood fired pot is the third Kato Koji I had encountered and is everything I like in guinomi with a fierce posture and form, flowing and active surface and looking every bit the chawan despite it actual scale. Having been fired on three small shells, the scars from the firing punctuate one side while also giving the piece a tremendously tactile adventure to the fingertips. The face of the guinomi is defined by soft throwing marks, drifting rivulets of green ash against a dark brown surface that as it wraps around the pot it shows off iridescence that flows into the interior as a most welcome surprise in the handling. If I am being totally honest, part of me wishes this was a chawan every time I see it but, in all probability, alter any one feature of this diminutive gem it is more than likely you strip it of what makes it so appealing, best leave things just as they are.

FOUR SEASONS

Illustrated is a Kutani style porcelain vase that we refer to as “the Vivaldi vase” due to its rich decoration showcasing flowers unique to the four seasons along with bold calligraphy in gold in a cartouche adjacent to each respective panel. Made of a pure white porcelain, this vase was then glazed and fired and later covered over in a rich surface of red enamel before gold, purple and blue were applied. The gold was detailed by way of sgraffito that brings that surface to life and adds more depth to the surface. This rather ornate vase is just a perfect blend of old-style Kutani technique and workmanship while showcasing the efforts and innovations of a century’s long tradition. 

This vase was made by Kitade Seiko (b.1926),born in Kaga Prefecture and student and son of Kitade Tojiro, launching his career in earnest when he was selected for the 6th Nitten Exhibition in 1950. Like his father, Seiko adds naturalistic, Kutani inspired devices, designs and decoration to his work which is meticulously crafted and painted where sometimes simplicity rules and others where the surface is densely decorated with complex and well thought out patterning. Working in stark decoration over white porcelain, using cobalt or red pigment as a canvas or the combination of the prior, this octagonal gourd style vase is a wonderful example of his work which is true to the style of his father, Kaga and Kutani while leaving room for his own unique interpretation of all three.

LOCAL INSPIRATION

What appears to be just another teabowl is in fact, a small serving bowl so it is true, appearances can be deceiving. This single hexagonal bowl was actually from a group of four that were ordered a while back but being me, I ended up making six to make sure I ended up with the number required. Thrown out of a white stoneware, each bowl was made roughly hexagonal and they had strips applied and flame blossoms, well that’s what I call them, inlaid as alternating decoration. Once bisque and reasonably sure they had made it, they were glazed in the soda blue glaze I have been using and there it is. I will mention that one feature that I like is where the blossom was inlaid, the glaze helps create this droozy effect where the black runs a bit, creating a softer line than when it was first done.       

I should say, to some, very small degree, I have used the work of Victor Schreckengost as inspiration, a designer and ceramic artist from Cleveland (Heights) who I actually had met back in the very early 1990’s. Though maybe you have to put on your imagination caps, much of the black underglaze decoration comes from seeing Schreckengost’s marvelous Jazz bowls showing off his carved and fluid designs under a Persian style blue glaze, how can you not be inspired by such brilliance that was lingering right in your own backyard?

 

FLOATING CLOUDS

At its core, this is a rather simple vase, elegant in its presentation with hints of Chinese porcelain thrown in for good measure. This hanaire has all the characteristics of the evolved tradition where over the centuries Takatori ware became more elegant and cultivated in form and surface to both meet the prevailing tastes and to create a ceramic canvas for a specific ideal. The crisp lines and subtle details act as a vessel that in some ways in this instance is a pedestal for the exotic fish lugs that have become a calling card among the modern, posts 19th century Takatori Miraku potters right down to the current head of the family, Miraku Kamei (Masahisa) XV. Springing from a century’s old tradition, dating back to almost 1600, modern area potters relied on older Takatori ware ideals/ archetypes to appeal to the somewhat conservative nature of the establishment chajin and under Kamei XIII the Takatori teawares moved from being a regional pottery to having far greater national exposure. At its core, Miraku Kamei XIII (1883-1956) made his pottery specifically oriented toward those who practiced (chajin) and collected articles (chadogu) for the tea ceremony (chanoyu) and over time he gained the reputation as a nearly peerless maker of chaire.               

As you can see in this vase made by Miraku Kamei XIII there is a streamlined elegance to the form, the superfluous details are cast away relying on the purity of line/form and enticing and intriguing surfaces. By combining oyu (straw yellows) and rokushoyu (green-blue) glazes, Miraku has brought movement and life to a rather simple and stylized form acting almost like floating clouds on a static form pointing to the highly detailed and articulated fish lugs and broad distinct mouth and lip of the pot. As I stated, this is a simple form with intriguing and curious details that are highlighted by a complex surface of movement and subtle painterly qualities that are as timeless as the Takatori tradition now in its 15th generation and moving toward another century of dedication to an ideal and devotion to purpose and ceremony.

ACCOMODATING

A short while back someone messaged me and ask if I could post an overall picture of the Kumano chawan from a post several years back. It took a while to find the photos which were taken some while back and narrowly missed being either deleted or corrupted in a major PC melt-down but I do my best to be accommodating when possible. What I can tell you is this bowl was quite memorable, quite large and the face gives way to vivid Yohen-Shino with an almost chaotic field of texture and color. Though this is an old photo, likely taken with my old Mavica and saved on floppy discs originally so it is not the best quality to show off this rather nice Kumano chawan but it will just have to do.  

The original post can be seen here; 

https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2021/07/crucible.html  

WHAT IS THE PLURAL OF FLUTE?

                                 
                                   

            

This was clearly an end of day pot, not thought out and just thrown using some clay already wedged up. Obviously, it was slightly thought out as it was thrown thick enough to flute vertically and horizontally which interrupts the flow of the movement of the surface. There is a simple lid surrounded by concentric bands to add so movement and interest to that as well and completed with a slab impressed handle based on a Cubist apple stem. The idea to this spur of the moment pot is pretty simple and since a fluted surface looks good, I went with my Oribe and accents of iron which have created cascades of color running down the furrows. By the way, what is the plural of flute in this context, is it as simple as flutes?

NONE THE LESS

Though not made in Shigaraki, this simple, lobed mizusashi is Shigaraki none the less. Having studied with Tsuji Seimei, Kon Chiharu made this classic vessel for tea ceremony which was then fired in an anagama to create a classic, even traditional style of pottery that is synonymous with Shigaraki. The form of this mizusashi is somewhat simple and entirely functional where impressions were made while the clay was still wet and a practical lid was thrown completed with knob so that it would sit just atop the pot, closing the opening and at some level hiding the contents from view. When fired, this pot was fired upright, the lid was wadded to the piece and the form was fired on wads as well, the large botan-mochi style area on the face of the pot was created by some pot acting as a defensive linebacker keeping some of the flow and velocity of the fire and ash from reaching its intended target. The majority of the surface is covered over, excepting the one resisted area on the front and a small area on the rear, in a coat of wet ash presenting a sense of being freshly washed, a feature that I am always drawn to. Everything about this pot speaks to centuries of a medieval tradition even if it was made and fired a few miles away, clearly Shigaraki to the very bones of the pot.

WHO?

Illustrated is a detail from a large covered box form by Ito Hokuto (b. 1961) a student of Ningen Kokuho, Fujimoto Yoshimichi. Using porcelain as a canvas, the form is first glazed and fired and then the magic of varying overglaze colors, techniques and textures take place in this case creating this evocative owl design, one of three perched upon a lone branch and high-lighted in silver overglaze with sgraffito detailing. The planning and execution of Ito’s work is rather inspired a blend of the chaos and formality using quirky designs to tell stories and articulate the surface and form. More to follow. (Short post, lost all track of time today!)

ANGLES AND CURVES

Illustrated is a seriously well thought out and conceived covered box form by Canadian potter, Bruce Cochrane. Though moderate in scale, its impact is larger than it proportions where intersecting angles and curves create a form that moves along with the eye as it is traversed. In some aspects this covered form reminds me of the Cubist paintings of George Braque manifest in three dimensions where the use of Shino glaze and the process of wood firing have created a landscape that highlights every plane and surface to maximum effect. As I study the piece and especially the form, there is movement in the lines and I am clearly reminded just how complex simplicity can be.