THE GOOD (M3)

Over the years I must say I have seen and handled a lot of pieces by Furutani Michio including on several trip to Japan and his studio. Admittedly, I suspect there are a number of people who have handled more but I have encountered enough to make a fair assessment of his better work. Given my experience with his pottery specifically, I often wonder, of all these really good and great pieces, what would or does make for a museum piece? In all this time, I have come up with a personal criterion that revolves around several key areas; how is the form articulated, what personal attributes by way of design elements and marks does he add to the pot, how does the piece build on the tradition of Shigaraki or Iga and potentially the rendering of some well-known utsushimono? Added to these factors, I find myself judging the surface and firing as a means to further communicate an ideal as well as present a landscape that narrates both the historical and modern context of the work. Last but not least, trying as best to compare apples to apples, where does it fit within other of the potter’s works for form and surface as well as within the overall contemporary examples of the tradition? Seems easy enough, well to be honest though this is subject to the greater degree, striving for objectivity makes this a less than straightforward proposition.         

As for one of the pots by Furutani Michio that make my museum mentis meae*, this classical Ko-Iga mizusashi is well up at the top of the list. Despite the fact that I have seen a number of his pots that could easily be in any museum, this Furutani Michio mizusashi stands out for a wide array of reasons chief among them is the fullness of its character where posture, animation and its stoic presence convey a hint of a “dark side” to this essential vessel. In his pursuit of this form, Furutani Michio has sought out an innate sense of antiquity and modernity, perfectly balanced where there is nothing superfluous, allowing the form and sparse marks and physical elements do all the talking/ communicating. The final keystone to this level of pot is the exceptional firing where the balance of just the right amount of ash works well to accentuate but not obscure any post throwing work allowing for the marks to further articulate the pot and give voice to the individual nature of this potter’s expression. All of these considerations and decisions along the way are based on study and years of experience which is why I consider this pot to be among the absolute top level of his work appears simple and effortless but a lifetime of making goes into each and every pot.  

One last observation regarding utsushimono, roughly translated as copies (of historic archetypes), like his contemporaries, Furutani Michio studied the classics and learned about forms and construction of coiling and coil & throwing based on these older pieces along with the historical perspective and its modern relevance. There are great challenges involved when making modern interpretations of the archetypes, capturing the essence of the originals is a prerequisite and no easy task. Careful observations and considerations go into these pots but it is also quite essential that the uniqueness, the idiosyncrasies of the modern potter be evident in each pot, one’s own voice within the spectrum of the tradition moving a pot from a mere copy and pushing “the good” to being so much more.

”It is an unscrupulous intellect that does not pay to antiquity its due reverence.”  (Desiderius) Erasmus

(*This picture contains an actual image of a pot or pots in an AI generated background or scenario) 

TIME-TESTED

This Tamba haiyu (ash-glazed) guinomi by Nishibata Tadashi is a visceral landscape compressed into the palm of the hand. Though not exactly the mini-chawan that I gravitate toward, this roughly hexagonal piece is a rugged, mountainous form, somewhat heavy in appearance with hints of wood fired effects especially in the form of rich hi-iro on the base. There is a calming and quiet dignity baked into this vessel with six opposing panels forms a connected and individual visages all considered with a confident hand that allows the surface to speak its own unique language.   

The exterior is a bit like a play, a drama of shifting temperaments, movement and elemental reactions to the heat of the kiln which is the time-tested crucible of all pottery. On one face, a thick, cream-colored ash glaze cascades down the sides like melting late season snow, pooling into a rich, opaque ivory. This "running" glaze comes face to face with the textured base, an iron-rich underworld of deep iron red and burnt sienna, a painter’s dream. The transition is not exactly smooth forming a chaotic boundary where the running ash glaze bites into the clay, creating a semi-volatile texture that feels ancient, almost volcanic.   

What is potentially the "front" of the guinomi features a startling contrast to the rear, an angled, dark opening of clay color appears where the glaze has been dipped to create a casual void revealing clay texture and iron spots most likely created by using the finger-tips as a brush, spots appear, punctuating the space as primitive a decoration as man can make.  The interior of the cup is where the alchemy reaches its zenith, a maelstrom created by chance and design. A pool of the swirling, running vitrified ash has settled in the well, cooling and creating a nebula of ash and perpetual motion.   

Turning the piece over, the simple kodai (foot) reveals the true nature of the Tamba clay. It has become a toasty, orange-red earth, where the hi-iro is further interrupted by contrasting marks where the piece was fired on wads. The playful visual and tactile experience of this guinomi is one of constant discovery, an ever-shifting landscape which only serves as a reminder that in the hands of a master like Nishibata, the kiln is not just a tool, but an elemental partner in the work.

 

WHO'S WHO

Majolica; earthenware covered in an opaque tin glaze and decorated on the glaze before firing

especially: an Italian ware of this kind (Merriam & Webster definition)

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I realize this isn’t the best photo but wanted to share this from the “early days”, maybe it was 1992 or 1993. For some reason, I had become a bit obsessed with this really chaotically decorated tin glazed majolica with oxide pigments which also lead me down the road of doing reduction lusters as well. This assemblage of decorations was called, Who’s Who and was illustrative of the people and places encountered on my bus and train ride into Cleveland proper seven days a week. There was never a dull moment and I think this decoration makes that abundantly clear. Thrown out of terra cotta, the pieces were glazed over in a slightly off-white majolica glaze and then each one was painted in series or individually depending on the piece. At the time, most every form I was working with including the leaning tower of Piza jars (not shown), were employed but here you have covered jars, teabowls, cups and saucers and small, one-person teapots that I was having fun making. I am not sure if it is clear or not but the cups and teapots all have pedestal feet, something I had started doing on porcelain pieces a short while earlier and I liked the feel, look and sometimes, the challenge. At any rate, I do remember this group of two dozen pieces coming out of one kiln load and though there is some level of cringe now, being in clay for a short while at the time, I was slightly pleased with these way back when. (I should note that I have Alan Caiger Smith, Dick and Patty Schneider and Linda Arbuckle  to thank for pushing me down this particular rabbit hole.)

GAKU HAGI

Illustrated is a pair of low, wide Hagi kohiki kumadashi-jawan by Kuroda Gaku. Kuroda started off pottery making in Kyoto before moving to Hagi where he set up his Nanchi-Kobo-gama, he is best known for and specialized in vividly textured pottery, like this kohiki which he refers to as Oni-Hagi. Known as isso-kumidashi-jawan, these pieces are a study in complex texture and variations in color including blushed areas and gohonde spotting making them a perfect set for use of simple contemplation. This set is a perfect example of one of his preferred forms that feel perfect in between the fingers make them much more than something “pretty” to look at where function is job one. Kuroda’s Oni-Hagi is the epitome of rustic, weathered from times long past despite being new out of the box, where timelessness is “baked” into his work, one pot at a time. 

WIZARDRY

The description of this piece is simple enough, Shinsha mizusashi but as you look closely at the complex surface you see subtle hints of Jun ware from the Song and Yuan dynasties. Like the simple description, this simple form is full of volume, looking like it is about to burst under the tension of the form and animated surface which has several layers of depth with movement and crystals popping up through the uppermost layers, though clearly Chinese inspired, you can see and imagine the skill of a modern Japanese potter behind this work.       

This shinsha mizusashi was made by Nakajima Hitoshi, the older brother of Living national Treasure Nakajima Hiroshi and despite his untimely and early death, his skill level, sense of form and surface and his remarkable glaze wizardry shine in most encounters with his work. Nakajima Hitoshi was precise in his throwing and glazing and his forms are models of perfection where most pots show no defects of line or scale, where lids fit perfectly and feet are exactingly well cut and attended to. Despite my description and the potter’s precision, his pots are not mechanical replicas of the antecedents, his forms show a strength and determination of his particular voice and can normally be picked out of the crowd if you will. 

As a point to a previous blog post, Nakajima Hitoshi is another one of those “hidden gems”, a potter lesser-known outside of Japan but whose work is of such a high standard in terms of every aspect yet are blanketed in a distinctly Japanese idiom. This potter and his work deserve a rigorous visual and aesthetic inquiry as in my humble opinion, he most likely would have been Ningen Kokuho had fate not had a hand in other considerations.

INEVITABILITY

Is it inevitability or fate that you are firing a small commissioned order and your kiln gives off this loud, FITZ-FITZ and then it is kaput? Did I mention the glazes respond oh so poorly to being re-fired, so 99.999% sure the load is wasted. Time, money and energy down the proverbial drain, I spent the afternoon considering my options. Do I move up to a larger kiln and incur the wrath and expense of an electrician, buy more or less the same model I have minus the Dawson kiln sitter or do I go into guerilla warfare mode and replace the elements, wiring, tube assembly and switch? Did I mention how handy-dandy I am not? To be fair, over the years I have replaced elements and switches but never the entire metal wrap assembly for the lid and hinge which has me feeling a bit out of my depth but what is the alternative to all the expense, swearing and sweating soon to ensue. Once cooled down, I can access the extent of the surprise attack on my sanity and having all the information is better than flipping out and just buying a whole new set-up.

On a lighter note, here is a simple meandering fluted teabowl glazed over in my Ao+ glaze on a porcelain body. This sort of has that roller-coaster feeling in terms of movement and definitely reminds me of the old zoetrope and zoopraxiscope of the 19^th century. I have used this technique under several glazes and it seems best suited for transparent and translucent glazes though temmoku and ash may be a good fit, maybe next cycle.

NONSENSE

"Tanuki sits in the dark,

Glowing moon hangs in the mist,

Watching over silent clay"

Shigaraki kogo by Furutani Michio, photo and nonsense by the lone potter at Albedo 3 Studio with a bit too much time on his hands.

SWAYING

In point of fact this Oribe take-gata hanaire by Kato Katsumasa is a vessel of naturalistic conviction, a bamboo-form flower vase that stands ever so slightly swaying as a sentinel of the Mino tradition within the modern age. In the hands of Katsumasa, a potter dedicated to the Mino tradition of Gifu Prefecture, the clay is not merely formed but interrogated to bring out vase from a simple handful of material. By employing a sensitive, sculptural hand, the clay evokes the structural presence of bamboo where the casually segmented nodes define the take-gata (bamboo shape) form.     

The defining characteristic that completes this pot is the rich, deep Ao-Oribe (Green Oribe) glaze, where the alchemy of surface and spirit of the form combine and add to an aesthetic that dates back to the Momoyama period (1573–1615).  Katsumasa’s decisive use of glaze is certainly unapologetically bold speaking to years of experience and many pots made. By determining the exact thickness, he has achieved a deep, vitrified emerald that pools in the recesses of the "nodes," creating a high-contrast interplay of light and shadow. Unlike the more restrained, translucent Oribe glazes, the glaze is thick and textured, often allowed to break over the sharp edges of the form to reveal the toasted, iron-rich stoneware body beneath. This interaction between the vibrant glaze and the textured and animated clay creates an organic appearance and movements for which Oribe is highly celebrated.       

Kato Katsumasa makes pottery within a legacy of over four centuries old Oribe tradition not as a static piece merely for visual admiration, but as a living language meant for use.  Within this modern Oribe landscape, this take-gata hanaire presents itself as a bridge between the avant-garde "deformations" embraced by the early tea masters like Furuta Oribe, and the careful consideration of contemporary craft. It eschews the delicate, painted motifs of painted Oribe in favor of raw, sculptural power as it is a work that commands its space, reflecting a philosophy where the potter’s labor is value and visible in intentional marks and in every copper-green pool. It is more than likely that Kato Katsumasa does not seek to simply imitate the past; he strives to harness its intensity, ensuring that the Oribe legacy remains as sharp and vital as fresh cut of bamboo.  

WBW 4-29-26

Recently, I have been going through some pots that I have intentionally keep since our big move to central NY and for some reason or another, I had kept this temmoku and tetsu-yu, iron glazed covered water jar. I remember that I made a group of them but this was the one that I held onto though I am not sure exactly why though I do like the way the iron cascades down the fullness of the pot implying just the right amount of volume. So, I decided to dust it off and give it a proper Hollywood back-drop session and ended up with a few options of which I thought this worked the best even if it does have some hints of reflection from windows and other sources. This particular pot was thrown in stoneware and then had small rondel style decoration impressed around the surface before being glazed in my no iron temmoku and my tetsu-yu glaze. The streaked surface and shimmering iron crystals are just right for a Way Back Wednesday and before anyone asks, yes this was put up on my blog, a very long while back.  

"A pot has to have a certain kind of 'internal pressure' if it is going to have any life at all. It must look as if it were being blown out from the inside."  Michael Cardew

WONDERFUL VARIETY*

I think in many respects this is about as straight forward Echizen gets under the guidance of Nishiura Takeshi. The form is simple yet strong and the surface is all natural, the results of Echizen style wood firing without the benefit of any additional glaze being added beforehand. I mention this because Nishiura is well known for his seeded surfaces including his Hekisha-yu, blue sand technique. On this pot, Nishiura relied on the wood firing process alone to bring the piece to life where ash built up in waves and melted, cascading down the tsubo, articulating movement over the bones of the pot. The face of the pot is painted in a wet, streaked surface aided by temperature and gravity while the rear shows the velocity of the kiln, wrapping it in a permanent embrace concluded in a rich hi-iro fire color. The mouth, lip stands out alone having developed a layer of crusty ash, a perfect texture to please the eye and touch and act as a counterpoint to all of the wetness of the pot. The base, perhaps the bottom third is completed in rivulets of running ash, many terminating in fat drips of ash further adding to the varietas admirabilis* of the pot. Undoubtedly, it will sound repetitive but each encounter with Nishiura’s Echizen is quite a welcome experience where the forms, surface variety and echoes of the firing process are so well integrated and articulated, leaving one eager for the next pot to show up and add to the ongoing narrative of his work.

M3 IV

Among the confines of my own personal museum, museum mentis meae (M3), many of the pieces contained within are those stalwart pots I would term “classics”, many from the post-war years and running up to the early days of the Heisei era. Within this treasured group of potters there are some that stand out for the artistry, creativity and technical abilities despite not reaching the vaulted levels of Itaya Hazan or Kawai Kanjiro. Surrounded by the giants and pioneers of traditional and technical stewardship I am always pointed to the work of Shinkai Kanzan (1912-2011), grandson of Seifu Yohei IV and student of the multi-talented Kiyomizu Robei V, his (Kanzan’s) pottery is well represented in museums throughout Japan. Like many of the post-war potters and especially many of the Kyoto artists, Kanzan’s mastery of form and glazes made his work immediately stand out among other potters of the area and times where he focused quite heavily on naturalistic designs and decoration where he brought to life birds, fish and others to life in his own unique style many of them created by using molds for sprigged on elements to narrate and animate his surfaces. Though, like with many of these M3 level potters, I show a pronounced bias, what continues to speak to me regarding his work is the interconnectivity of his diverse body of work where as you encounter one, it is easy to exclaim, “that is certainly another Shinkai Kanzan”.     

Illustrated or rather depicted in my mind’s museum is this classic, colorful and playful Nishiki-sarasa mizusashi by Shinkai Kanzan. This mizusashi was chosen because of this clever and complex surface which was an oft repeated technique used to both decorate and articulate his mostly simple forms. Using some version of a resist, which I have always assumed was cut paper, a profound pattern is created which once glazed and fired adds layers of depth and movement to the pottery in question. Using a buff stoneware clay, typical of many Kyoto potters, a thick white slip is applied onto the surface and then the paper resist is removed exposing the fullness of the pattern only to be glazed, in this case using a clear glaze where carefully and selectively applied oxide washes are employed and during the firing where thickness of surface and temperature add a degree of serendipity to experience to run and bring the pot to the fullness of its expression.         

I suspect there will be opinions out there that consider this a rather ‘dated” piece and ironically, I agree; modern in its day, it blends the Kyoto aesthetic with Art Nouveau and T’ang elements and characteristics which were percolating around during the 1970s making this a classic and even defining pot of the period. This blend, even dated, reminds me of Basho’s poem where even while in Kyoto, he longs for Kyoto, this is the state this pot brings me to as the encounter was a decade or so ago. I think that if I was being totally honest, when I think of Kyoto potters or Shinkai Kanzan specifically, this multi-colored and patterned mizusashi always spring to mind and with just a tiny amount of help from AI, I am able to see it almost exactly how I envision this pot in my mind. Isn’t technology great?   

(*This picture contains an actual image of a pot or pots in an AI generated background or scenario)

WBW NEW BEGINNING

By way of WBW, Way Back Wednesday and some new beginnings; illustrated is a pair of larger “lip bowls” glazed in my temmoku and iron yellow glaze. This is what happens when you push and test so much you can end up at someplace that you either don’t recognize of have changed something so much it is clearly not that same as when it all started. After this firing, realizing this was probably the end of one long cycle of testing and seeing how long it was before a surface might fail, I started testing the overglaze in earnest to the eventual outcome which I refer to as my saffron glaze. To be honest, it didn’t entail nearly as much testing as the iron yellow glaze did in the first place but after all I did have a fully functioning, melting and no longer crawling glaze from which to start. I wonder now if I started at the beginning or just ended at the end a bit earlier than usual?     

"And the end of all our exploring, Will be to arrive where we started, And know the place for the first time."  T.S. Elliot

TENSION

My first encounter with the ceramics of Gerd Knapper occurred rather by chance in what I seem to remember as 1989. While at the home of Tuttle Books in Vermont, I happened across a Kodansha book entitled, GERD KNAPPER; Clay Works and was quite intrigued by the seamless synthesis of German discipline and a distinctly Japanese aesthetic somewhat dependent of the elemental spirit of the Japanese nobori-gama. This ash-glazed koro (incense burner) is the work of Gerd Knapper, a figure whose presence in the landscape of yakimono was as unexpected as it was profound and a unique case of where East truly meets West or vice versa.            

The very form and surface of this koro is defined by well-conceived undulating surface of curvilinear fluting that converges, narrowing, constricting toward the base and the rim, creating a dynamic sense of tension, compression and expansion both real and perceived. These carved grooves serve a dual purpose: they provide a structural, neo-Gothic (?) architecture for the eye to follow and act as channels for the wood ash to pool and break during the intensity of the firing.            

The glaze is an applied ash to add life to the pot without hiding away the carved details, while the piece was gently fired in some sheltered spot in the wood kiln which was likely immersed in long hours of a pine-fueled fire. The applied ash works well across the surface, creating highlights and an almost sesame seed style surface which adds some depth and movement to the already animated form. The contrast between the toasted, iron-rich clay body and the ash, finalized by the flames finally steps in to complete the work the potter initiated when there was nothing but a ball of clay at the wheel.

The lid is particularly noteworthy for its openwork (sukashi) design. The four-petaled floral motif is not merely decorative; it is a functional aperture through which the incense smoke would traditionally rise, trailing like mountain mist. The carving here is confident, mirroring the deep fluting of the body and ensuring the vessel maintains a cohesive visual weight from base to knob and as was intended, the lid works together with the carved form, as both compliment and the completed element. Though small, from its design to its creation, Gerd Knapper completed this in his mind’s eye before he even wedged the clay.

IN MOTION?

I have been going through old files and decided to put up this slideshow video of a Shigaraki tsubo by Ogawa Seiho. This, in motion, well, sort of in motion shows off some details of this traditional Shigaraki tsubo and fills in some of the blanks that are certainly missed on a single static image. Hope this helps a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jiKwiXto_U

TRI-COLOR

In no small measure, I have long admired the general concept and visual of sancai/sansai glazed pottery and every now and again, I run tests and try my own, simple take on the technique. This Kushime Sansai Cap Jar is a study of the archetype where; form and the rhythmic movement of the slip help animate the overall piece. While the CD player helps in the motivation with Kitaro in the background of the studio, once thrown and tooled, the surface begins to show signs of awakening with the kushime, a direct and often used vocabulary. I would like to think these ridges are more than just decorative; they are part of the structure aiding in redirecting the glaze as it matures in the heat of the kiln creating this runny surface.         

If the porcelain clay is the canvas, this attempt at sansai (three-color) is reimagined, simplistically using prior glazes and oxide washes where the combination of amber, copper and droozy, washed out brown run diagonally following the predetermined furrows of the slip. At peak temperature, the base glaze thins over the high ridges of the combed texture, revealing the pale body beneath, while the washes play their part and pooling into cooperative streams within the valleys. The texture is a marriage of sharp definition and fluid softness; a topography of the seen and the felt which has become smooth from the assistance of the firing. As for the simple form, the cap, or lid, continues the movement drawing the eye upward to a central point, which is calm and still in contrast to the motion of the slipped areas.         

I would like to think (?) there is some degree of organized spontaneity in this work, though I know just what I will do. Working with slip gives you one chance and either you get it right or you don’t, maybe after 10,000 more pieces, I will get the slipwork and the glazing to work in a more “harmonious outcome*” but until then, this is just the way it is.   

(* reference to the movie, CROSSFIRE TRAIL 2001)

VOID

This enyu guinomi made by Karatsu potter Matsuno Jun represent a profound dialogue between the intentional hand and the elemental serendipity during any kiln firing. Crafted by a pupil of Iwabuchi Shigeya, Matsuno has distilled the lessons of the Kyoto school into a refined and simple, contemporary language that honors the spirit of his master while pushing into the realm of experimental territory of the modern enyu (salt-glaze) movement.               

The form of this particular guinomi is architectural yet intimate; it features a bold structure, where the clay has been shaped in decisive yet simple geometric strokes. This physical movement built into the pot does not merely create a shape; it creates a landscape for the hand and eye to navigate. The rim, slightly undulating and rhythmic, offers a tactile invitation that engages a user to accommodate themselves to its use. As for the kodai, the foot, its modelling is both creative and well-conceived for stability and the tactile encounter suggesting the diminutive vessel sprung from the earth rather than having been sculpted to its conclusion.                  

Examining the surface, the piece is a is a balance of simplicity and elegance where the kiln’s atmosphere of heat, sodium and a hint of reduction paint the form. The kohiki slip provides a creamy, parchment-like canvas, but it is the enyu process—the introduction of salt into the kiln at peak temperature, has brought a soul to the surface. This technique produces a subtle mesmerizing blush and minute texture to the surface encapsulating the clay. This warm, toasted pinkish bloom, surrounds the curves and lines of the guinomi like a slow-moving sunrise, a simple, poetic landscape. The contrast between these soft, peachy blushes and the occasional dark, crackled texture and the gohonde spots creates a visual depth that rewards long contemplation despite its simple nature. It is a vessel that does not demand attention through volume, but rather earns it through the quiet elegance of its complexion and the confident strength of its bones. Though this is just a quiet guinomi, it is in its appreciation and use that whispers of simplicity and the transitory expression of mono(no)awase fill the cups void to the lip.

VARIA

I have to admit, when I think of most Kawai-mon, Kawai school pots, I think of rather straightforward surfaces, they are beautiful but as for complexity and depth, that is somewhat rarer an encounter. To my surprise, I have a recent opportunity to acquire what I expected was a simple, large chawan by Kawai Hirotsugu directly out in the style of his master Kanjiro but upon arrival, I was more than pleasantly surprised. As you may surmise, within the iron temmoku glaze and splashes of red and green there is depth, complexities like looking into the varia of hataraki in hamon of a Japanese sword. The iron surface gives way to ashy ambers filled with small crystals, islands of tessha, blue to green streaks running from the splashed decoration and layers of boundaries around most of the additions to the base glaze. In no means trying to oversell this chawan but it is more of an anomaly than an everyday experience where I suspect the glazing and the heat had a fair degree more influence of the outcome than it normally does. Though I have handled at least two dozen pots by Kawai Hirotsugu, some have had hints of this complexity but this was the first encounter where the surface is composed of layers of complexity both bold and subtle with each effect as welcome as a long-lost friend.

INDIGO

As with most of my work, I like to see what forms and glazes work well together at times pushing what will and will not work. After making a number of teabowls a while back, I went through the usual suspects of temmoku/ medieval green, temmoku/ ash, amber, two types of Oribe and saffron/ iron yellow and had three pieces left over after a few firings. Since I hadn’t tried out this type of bowl with the soda blue and wanting to know who the form, decoration and glaze would all work together, I thought it was well past time and glazed them up, one faceted, sandy bowl and two combed slip pieces. The sandy bowl came out looking quite unappealing so it met with an unfortunate hammer accident and this is the remaining combed slip bowl.

This particular bowl, a bit ovalled and with undulating lip was entirely black slipped before applying and combing the white over and the base is entirely black except the foot ring which is the soda blue coloration over stoneware. As you can see, the texture and depth of the slip creates a neat effect altering the glaze color as it moves around the bowl and there is a really intriguing band of almost indigo blue at the base where the bowl and bottom join which makes for a nice accent. I have to admit, I am thinking that I prefer more straight forward thrown vessels for this soda blue glaze but may need to make a few more thrown and slightly altered pieces to get a fuller perspective, just one more thing on the list to get to sometime in the next year or so!

AN ISLAND

Illustrated is a rather well fired, even semi-crusty Iga mizusashi that draws much of its inspiration from various feudal predecessors while subscribing to rather traditional visual values. This mizusashi has a slightly wonky appearance where the upper most top of the pot is wide and undulating, supported by a sturdy base that completes the form. The surface has a mixture of ash effects from somewhat crusty, not fully melted additions to the surface to running ash, bidoro and fields of other colors and ash build up all natural acting as a written testament to a rather maniacal, even violent process. As a modern expression of the potter’s craft (or art?), the entirety of this mizusashi straddles that fence between the old and the new.           

Perhaps one peculiar facet of this mizusashi is that it was made by Kaneshige Motoo of one of the 20^th centuries most important Bizen dynasties, in fact, he is son number four of Kaneshige Toyo, Ningen Kokuho, a hold of the tradition of the region. Though working in and made in Bizen, Okayama prefecture, this mizusashi has the appearance of Iga-yaki, the traditional pottery of Mie Prefecture, a style chosen by Motoo perhaps in part to distance and distinguish himself and his work from that of his father and brothers, each of them widely recognized for their Bizen-yaki. Whatever prompted Kaneshige Motoo to embrace Iga-yaki is immaterial what is more consequential is that using Iga clay and firing methods have been enhanced by his nuanced use of those traditions forms and aesthetic idioms leading to a distinctly organic creation of Iga pottery. This mizusashi along with the countless others stands as a delightful addition, surrounded by a vast array of traditional wood fired pottery creating an island of Iga within an ocean of Bizen-yaki.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main"  John Donne

M3 III

Illustrated is another entry partially created by AI of a rather classical Sansai  (sancai) style mizusashi by Kato Kiyokazu (Kato Seizan II). The first pot I ever saw by this potter was a similar squared mizusashi with a sansai surface articulated with incised potters’ marks and punctuated by added device around the form. Based or influenced on some Chinese archetype or another this pot has a profound sense of form and volume just waiting to be explored with the simple removal of the lid. The well-conceived balance between form, marks and the flowing rich surface all point to an object that would easily be at home in a museum case showing off movement toward a distinctly Japanese aesthetic while not quite abandoning its Chinese roots.     

The truth is that many modern Japanese traditions and movements rely on their Chinese or Korean origins and this Sansai mizusashi is no exception. Beyond the tri-colored pottery, Kato works with hakuji, temmoku and ransai where his meticulous throwing and craftsmanship can not escape scrutiny of the viewer and where near perfection is called for. I chose this “sansai hana-mizusashi” as a classical and highest quality object by Kato Kiyokazu to reside in my Museum mentis meae where the nobility, tradition, history and aesthetics all come together in a clear vision where the viewer may leave the object behind but the conversation is likely far from over.  

“I want to establish a form of aesthetic beauty that blends a soft gentle atmosphere with a sharp, focused sense of tension.”  Kato Kiyokazu

(*This picture contains an actual image of a pot or pots in an AI generated background or scenario)

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

It is kind of an odd idea to be making snowberry designs as it is beginning to look like spring has sprung, even in central New York. Illustrated is a larger bisque terra cotta pasta bowl complete with black and white slip and sgraffito design, the basis of snowberry(s). The form and design are pretty straight forward, even simple if the throwing of terra cotta isn’t easy to define that way. After all these years, I am usually okay with the results but there has never been a more textbook definition of love/ hate than my relationship with the red menace, terra cotta. I probably have Dick and Patty to thank for that!  

IDEAL

I’ll start out by saying this is neither my photo or my pot, rather this Okabe Mineo oribe chawan was exhibited in the traveling exhibition, JAPANESE CERAMICS TODAY (1983), ceramics from the Madame Kikuchi collection. I have handled over a half dozen chawan by Okabe Mineo and seen ten times that many in illustrations but this chawan has stood as my ideal of 20^th century Oribe all these years. The simplicity and directness of the form, the throwing marks and spatula work all articulate this chawan under its evocative green surface where time is suspended and the old and the new are to my eye, undistinguishable. I was fortunate to see this chawan in person and since that encounter there are times when I wish I had not as it is precisely this chawan and the LIVING NATIONAL TREASURES OF JAPAN exhibition that flipped a switch and set me on this inescapable path of modern Japanese ceramics. Sorry for these poor photos but I think everyone interested in Japanese pottery needs to see this at least once in a lifetime. 

 

I almost forgot to mention, I was completely sold at the kodai!

 

NUDGE

Brilliantly animated beaked pouring vessel by Minnesota potter, Jeff Oestreich. The pot is composed of rather simple pieces-parts to create a wonderfully conversant functional pot that is so much more than that. The elements of the pot work well with the wax resisted decoration and glaze all finalized as a result of a soda firing all the way back in the early 1990s. Having had the opportunity to study with and act as a studio assistant back at Haystack, watching Jeff work, his concentration, meticulous technique and ability to nudge the clay into unique and compelling forms was quite a treat with this pot being quite the little treasure. Having had and cared for this pot for almost three decades, on numerous occasions it was pressed into service and works like a champ where in its use, once washed again and set away to dry, the piece glistens in its momentary wetness adding yet another pleasurable feature to its arsenal of appeal. By sheer fortune, years after acquiring this pot, a mate came along, almost the same exact shape and size but with a differing decoration but that will have to wait for another day. In this case one is enough but where one is good, two is surely better.

SOME MOVEMENT (FROM THE PAST)

In trying to sort out a ton of files and videos, I happened across this video of an older mentori and stamped Oribe style teabowl that I made in 2023 (?). I thought this was a rather simple bowl; simple form, simple and direct faceting, periodic stamp placement and the bare minimum for my Oribe glaze, only two glazes instead of five. I think the video conveys some of the volume and some movement (from the past). 

SHIMMERING GEOMETRY

Illustrated is a well thrown yuri-hakkin-sai hanaire with very pleasant proportions and measuring just about a shaku in height. Made by Furukawa Toshio most likely in the late 1980s or early 1990, this glaze and the geometric patterning is typical of his work where he cut shapes from platinum foil and then using sgraffito he animated the surface. In this particular case, Furukawa relied on a much more geometric design, less organic than some of his pieces where thin columns of foil give way to large rectangular devices where the form reaches its fullest volume. The vase is further divided into six distinct segments into which the repeating patterns are applied and carried out creating distinct fields of shimmering geometry.       

Expanding on his seiji and seihakuji techniques, Furukawa Toshio created quite a few of this yuri-hakkin-sai style work, many of which ended up being featured in national exhibitions across Japan. Like with his celadon works, Furukawa used this glaze/ foil technique on a wide array of forms and sizes ranging from guinomi and koro all the way up to large tsubo and rather expansive hachi. This vase is just one of a myriad of pieces that harken back to the works of Ono hakuko, Kato Hajime and the older Chinese wares from which this technique sprung but it is a fitting addition to an idea and ideal that has become almost synonymous with Japanese potters of the Showa through Heisei eras and now beyond.          

On a personal note, given the chance, seeing Furukawa’s yuri-hakkin-sai work in the sunlight is in my opinion the very best way to look the view away in one’s memory.

ROTATION

I realize that I put up a post on this chawan quite some while back but this was up for rotation and I decided to have a bit of photographic fun with it before just letting it hit the shelf and start to collect dust. The previous post, entitled, HIER EN DAR revolved around how differently a pot looks between varying photos and light sources, one being taken in situ and the other coming from an exhibition catalogue. Though a new post, you can see that I did decide to stay on topic, referencing photography as I decided to pull out a number of Hollywood style backdrops for this bowl since the past couple of days have been quite dreary, downtown days*.      

Illustrated is another photo of a rather dramatic and bold Iga chawan by Kishimoto Kennin. Using a photo of a half-moon that I took a long while back, I created this image without the aid of any photo manipulation or AI, just old fashion 1950s technicolor technology. I choose this moon image because as with most wood fired chawan, the front and back usually have different landscapes, in this case, the from is juicy and wet and the back is drier ash and hi-iro but the textures of both images seemed to work well to my eye at least. Having the chawan in hand, I also find it quite interesting how it affects my mood more so as the sun goes down allowing the bowl to “dance by the light of the moon”, balancing skillfully, exuberance and a sense of impermanence. It may sound overly sentimental but I am struck by the solemnity and moodiness of this chawan; was it intentional, baked in or is it just me?

(* A B-52s reference and homage to Quiche Lorraine)

RELUCTANT II

So, this is where the “magic” happens or at least begins and I think it is pretty clear from this photo what meticulous planning, measuring and precision goes into my hand-built pieces. This photo is of slabs for an order, a simple 16” or so tall vase, carved and to be glazed in my saffron glaze provided it survives my brutal and speedy process for construction devoid of any patience and less tolerance for perfect lines and exact dimensions. Rolled out of stoneware clay, the pieces are clearly marked for what is the interior of each side, so I bevel the right edges, the top and bottom and the solitary slab used to construct the neck/ mouth making this project entirely built out of slabs. Normally many of my hand-built pieces are a marriage of slabs with some hand-thrown addition for the neck and mouth but in this case the body and neck are to echo each other in form so throwing was out. 

These slabs are all quite wet and once a bit drier, the forms will be addressed closer to how they should look and the edges, the sides will have a bevel created and then scored for better assembly. I think I have repeatedly made it clear I am not much of a hand-builder, always reluctant to move in that directions but there are always those times when what I see in my head and want in three dimensions defies throwing, no matter how much you rely on the concept of T&A (thrown and altered) and that is exactly what is staring me in the face this time around.

EGGPLANT, REALLY?

 

Illustrated is another chawan by Kimura Morinobu and like most of his glazes, the base of this surface revolves around ash. What makes this perhaps a bit less like other ash glazes by Morinobu, apparently (?) this surface is based on eggplant ash, eggplant (なすび), really? The hakogaki reads, Nasubi-yu, eggplant glaze and I have seen about a dozen of his pots in this glaze surface ranging from guinomi, hanaire and of course several chawan. Though very simple and direct, this chawan has a wonderful fullness to the form, broad and full of volume coupled with this evocative surface that just reminds me of the Kyoto aesthetic where there is a mixture of nature and nobility written into the bowl. The serene landscape is interrupted by the iron peaking out of the lip and from the marks on the bowl meant to break up the continuity of the piece.       

As a bonus, this nasubi glazed chawan is also exhibited in a Mitsukoshi show from Heisei 14 (2002) and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue. Photo can be seen as an inset at the far right-hand corner. It is always interesting to see and handle illustrated pots as in general it makes me think that the piece is either above average or quintessentially classic in its presentation. Either way, this quiet nasubi-yu chawan is yet another pleasant encounter with Kimura Morinobu where I look forward to the next meeting with pottery that continues to define the simple and complex.

M3 #2

It will likely come as no surprise that I have chosen a pot by Tsukigata Nahiko as my second entry into my museum mentis meae and hopefully my explanation will excuse my personal bias toward the potter. The placement of this mizusashi in an uncluttered, display case gives a visual depth to the pot which as with many pictures, pots can suffer from their intentional austerity or their clutter of every day displays. This simple form was classically employed by Tsukigata Nahiko over the breath of his career, examples date back to the late 1960s and early 70s and run at least until 2001, the last “datable” mizusashi I have encountered of this shape. In defense of my choice, I should also mention that there are two mizusashi that are similar in style to this piece at the Tsukigata Daitobu Museum, one with a ceramic lid and one with a lacquer lid. This particular piece belonged to an advanced collector who shared my interest in the potter where it commingled with a wide array of pottery by mostly Ningen Kokuho and certainly, in my opinion held its own.         

Depicted in my mind’s museum with the help of AI*, this mizusashi is a classic representation and even near perfection of but one of the many specific types of Oni-Shino, the surface is clear, active and even luminescent with areas of ash built up around the entire form and appearing like a tamadare style waterfall cascade at the very front of the form. Among this avenue of Oni-Shino, there is a singularity of nobility present in this pot which Tsukigata choose to name, “Snowy Egret”. With the name, it clearly echoes the regal and naturalistic qualities and there are few better examples where form, surface, firing and concept all have pulled together through experience and serendipity to create a museum level work. As you look beyond the depth of this complex surface, the bones of the pot are pure functional simplicity, cloaked in a lyrical and contemplative visual narration of fire and a coalesced landscape present a near perfect object for the ritual of tea ceremony. In the end, I choose this mizusashi for my museum because of its sustained nobility and its classic character and characteristics of Tsukigata Nahiko, qualities the best pots exude and many pots and potters should aspire to.

“To appreciate the noble is a gain which can never be torn from us.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(*This picture contains an actual image of a pot or pots in an AI generated background or scenario)

WBW

So, here is an oldie for a way back Wednesday post. I can’t actually say I remember when this fully functional teapot was made but I was going through this phase of myths and mythology imagery around 92/93. I can also say that this hunting centaur teapot was more than likely made for a show but there in ends the details of when though I can say it was made in University Heights (Cleveland). As for specifics, this was slab-built terra cotta and slips under a thin clear glaze using the abstract background and silhouettes inspired by ancient Greek pottery as well as the myths of Greece and ancient Rome. If memory serves me, these teapots were mostly large, perhaps close to 15” long, 13” tall and about 3.5” in width. This time period is also when I stated notching out the handle for a thumb rest which usually coincides with the sweeping curves of the knob of the lid, I liked that confluence of movement. At any rate, this myth teapot was from way back when my hand building was in its very nascent stages so judge accordingly though I should probably say, I am not sure it has really progressed much further along after all these years except perhaps in my mind.

COMPLETE

As odd as it may sound, especially considering I would never use a chawan I have collected, I can’t look at a pot without thinking of Rosanjin’s concept that a pot is complete only while being used or in use. To that end and complete with my small inventory of faux flowers, here is an Iga vase complete through its colorful red and white arrangement adding a sense of fait accompli. This rather sturdy, squared up Iga vase was made and fired by Kojima Kenji with some of his tell-tail characteristics including his addition of quirky lugs or ears and a fired surface that at least to my eye is just a bit unlike that of any other working potter. The form is all purpose with some perfect additions of the potter’s marks and a rolled up or over foot that gives a visual and actual sense of stability needed to off set the weight of flowers or a branch, cantilevered off to the side. Though I find Kojima’s pots thoughtful and an excellent blend of form, function and aesthetics, I must admit, this pot with or without flowers real or imagined, is about as complete as they come.

E&G

Illustrated is what at first glance could be confused with the somewhat ubiquitous Toruko-ao guinomi under a full moon by Kato Kenji but in this instance, this is a less frequently encountered chawan. Over the years I have seen quite a number of vase and varying guinomi forms but this is only the second chawan that I have personally had the pleasure to handle. This particular chawan is a natsu-wan, a summer chawan in Kato’s transparent soda blue style with vivid, black decoration creating alternating panels around the bowls interior and simple banding around the lip and exterior of the bowl. The glaze stops abruptly short of the kodai showcasing the natural coloration of the reddish clay which stands in a stark contrast to the blue though very complimentary. On a rather personal note, I am rarely surprised by scale and volume but despite measuring just shy of 14cm, this both has a compact and almost fragile appearance. The low bowl does not contain “heaps” of volume but has an elegant and graceful sensibility, quite diametrically opposed to your average Kumano chawan, I must say. In the end, the proportions of this bowl are just classic in nature, without the context, could it be a chawan or a guinomi, either way it works quite well. 

RETRO SET

I’ll start out by saying I am not sure why this photographed this color as in person it is a richer, more vibrant soda blue like all the other pieces I posted. At any rate, this was a shadow set of a retro tea set that I made a while back in which I made two of each piece and this was what was left over. The general concept was a soda blue set based on a retro feel using the bamboo form for the water jar, teabowl and tea jar. The combed surface and the ridges make for excellent glaze collection areas creating a distinct look across the set and the small tea jar was finished off with a white lid to simulate the ivory of original Japanese chaire. In discussing this set, the original idea was for the tea jar to fit in the teabowl and the teabowl to fit in the water jar but the scale got a little out of hand so this was what was decided on in the end. I have to admit, I like the general concept of the pieces nesting into one another and may try that one of these days but the proportions of these three pieces fit the needs of the owner and as is, theywork well together and that is as good as it gets.

JUST A BOX

Well, to be honest, today was quite the day and not in a good way. The sun has given way to night and tomorrow will be another day which is bound to be a bit better. I basically ran out of time and thought posting this large, classic covered box by Kawai Takeichi would make for a simple and interesting post, I hope you agree.

M3

I have been thinking about posting periodically on my blog, a feature that in some respects I would consider a museum display conjured from my own mind, pots curated for their significance for this museum mentis meae (M3). Before you think I have gone completely daffy, what I have become curious about is of the pots that I handle and have pictures sent to me, which ones would actually be museum worthy and to what level, a large national venue or a smaller, more regional location, certainly a fair number qualify for gallery shows of a particular potter or as a link within a retrospective show irrespective of the venue. Together with this odd idea, rather than be totally left in the dust regarding AI, I can now in some small measure put this idea to the test, creating AI generated images using actual photos that I have access to, the bulk of which I have taken myself. I have debated for some time doing this, fearing it seems either naïve or even childish but since these social media posts are really more for me than the audience, I concluded, why not, post a few and see where that goes and where it may lead.          

For my first entry*, here is a wonderful ash and Shino tokkuri by Kowari Tetsuya. This piece belongs to a European collector but I decided to use this picture because of Kowari’s work, this form and surface are simply stellar and classic, indicative to a time-period from the mid-2010s to present. The articulated form, Kowari’s rather idiosyncratic construction of the tokkuri, speak to the very highest level of his work and when placed in this AI museum environment, the piece simply looks at home. To my eye, there are no real questions as to it belonging on display, it represents the top level of the work as I would judge a pot; concept, form, surface and gesture/posture. Once those hurdles are met, to my mind, it is clear that the pot differs significantly than a great majority of extant work and earns its place among the upper percentages of a body of work. Is this all just some exhaustive exercise and am I in any position to make any of these determinations? Maybe you would disagree but in my mind museum, this Kowari Tetsuya is perpetually on display and this isolated and uncluttered photo is exactly how I see it whenever I care to bring it to mind.    

(*This picture contains an actual image of a pot or pots in an AI generated background or scenario)

SOME LEVEL

I keep working on my saffron, iron yellow glaze, trying to get some level of consistency and dependability from it. This is one of those yunomi tests, thick kushime combed slip with the iron yellow glaze over. On this particular test, one of a half dozen, the glaze was used a bit thinner than normal and this was the results, it had still run mostly off the upper half and collected around the apron of the piece, running diagonally and building up. I think at the end of all this, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and success at some level, these results will just tell me, this surface is going to be whatever it wants, work however it wants and as long as it stays on the pot, who am I to argue.