WHERE NOW?

Though it may not be Kilimanjaro, The Coliseum or perhaps the Parthenon, these fire and clay landscapes are composed of both wild and subtle beauty ranging from the serene to the chaotic. With each and every piece that I encounter by Kojima Kenji, I see these wide array of landscapes, keshiki that range from experiences and memories of my personal encounters to images, photographs (and video) that I have seen that connect me from place to pot and this chawan is no different. Reminding me of the tail end of winter where ice gives way back to rock face among the majesty of the Adirondacks I think back on the very last snowshoeing treks through  the wilderness where thick ice has made its home on rock and stone at every turn. 

As you can see in this photo, this is a strong, determined bowl with just the right amount of manipulation of the pot to bring attention to the lift of the piece, the shadow line, the posture and the casualness of the lip. The face of the chawan is covered in a translucent coating of natural green ash that gives way to the wet, fumed area of rich brown that concludes in hi-iro on the rear. When you put all of the individual details together, there is a seductive quality to the chawan that is certainly further enriched by its ability to transport you to a different place and a different time with little more than a small amount of clay and the masterful brushwork of a fierce and rather convincing firing.

DNA

The box that accompanies this chawan is simply marked, SHINO CHAWAN which in truth is a faithful description that leaves out some of the details that one can clearly see with just a simple glance. Thrown out of a fine clay this bowl has that classic Shino sense to it, part Momoyama and part modern in its DNA but it is also clearly recognizable as a chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko. Though I see those influences, including a dash of Arakawa Toyozo in the shape, posture and lip, I also clearly see that this is a near textbook "plain" Shino chawan by Tsukigata. 

Making wonderful use of the marriage of shape and surface this chawan was carefully manipulated to create a more dramatic effect and just the right amount of movement that brings a pot to life. I find this chawan pleasing to the eye and hand with a soft, blushed color that in some respects reminds me of a winter trying to hang on while the spring is in a hurry to take over. It is hard not to enjoy the narratives that Tsukigata paints on the surface of his pots substituting clay, glaze and fire for oils and canvas, either way, it paints a rich portrait that brings more depth of meaning to such a simple teabowl.

F.C.E.

I'll be perfectly honest and say that I really don't know a lot about the potter who made this sweet Ki-Seto guinomi but when I first saw it, the reaction was visceral. Made by Iwatsuki Takemitsu (b.1949) this guinomi is part of a body of work mostly influenced by Momoyama pottery with a specialty in Ki-seto where he has spent 30 years experimenting with the right combination of clay, ash and firing techniques to try to reproduce a surface that he has set in his mind's eye. As for this guinomi it has that wonderful quality of at first appearing like a miniature chawan, the great posture and form are complimented by the sparse use of Ki-Seto glaze over incised decoration with copper accents. Even in this static photo, the pot is in motion with the variety of alterations to the thrown form aiding in this production from undulating lip, pinched and altered body and the accentuated lines around the waist and at the base create this perpetual motion. Though this guinomi is not made by one of the great Ki-Seto masters  if Iwatsuki was after capturing the character, playfulness and spirit of the Momoyama antecedents, he has done a pretty good job, definitely a first class effort.

UPSIDE DOWN

A while back I put up a couple of different post in regards to a sculptural Bizen piece by Kaneshige Kosuke, son of the Ningen Kokuho, Kaneshige Toyo. I think it is fair to say that when thinking of Kosuke it is his sculptural body of work that initially springs to mind and as you flip through TOH #45 that is all that is illustrated in the book about this artist-potter. I think it is also safe to say that among sake enthusiasts and chadogu collectors that Kaneshige Kosuke has also create a wonderful array of guinomi, tokkuri, chawan, mizusashi, vases and quite frankly, everyday using pottery. Looking at his body of work and the pioneering aspects of his sculptural pieces I can see why these pieces have attacked  the lion's share among critics but his wheel thrown pottery stands out among a large field among the Bizen tradition and are quite easily at home in daily use, for the odd and rare ceremony or occasion or up on a shelf to help define and even influence one's environment.

Illustrated is a low Bizen chawan with a slightly wobbly posture and seductively undulating lip with a line creating the slope to the foot that echoes the movement of the mouth and creates a nice sense of movement. If you notice, there is a drip running up the bowl on the left which visually defies gravity but is actually the tell tale clue that this chawan was fired upside down. I think as you move away from thinking about Kaneshige Kosuke's Bizen sculpture, this is not a bad chawan to look at; classic lines, traditional yet modern form, nicely articulated surface and a lift off the foot and shadow line that are pleasing to the eye and the soul not to mention a wonderful sense of calm. It may not be a sculpture but following in his father's footsteps, but the way Kosuke uses clay and firing can be seen in pots just like this chawan combining a feudal tradition with concerns and aesthetics of a new millennium.

A NEAR PERFECT CHAWAN

Okay to be perfectly honest I need to qualify the title of this post, A NEAR PERFECT CHAWAN, what I really am saying is that this is nearly perfect in relation to what I really enjoy from a chawan, it is personal taste based on what I can get from this type of pot. I think I need to make another disclaimer, this is not a chawan, it is a guinomi but as I have looked at it and studied it, rolled it around in my hands and felt the texture of the surface and clay it is rather apparent to me that this is a guinomi that is actually a more like a miniature chawan. The form, lip, interior and kodai are exactly what I would want from a chawan by the potter, Haneishi Shuji (b.1962) or anyone else for that matter but instead of it being 13cm across it measures in at just about 7.5. As you can see in the photo, the form is casual and has a looseness to it having a sense of motion with a soft, undulating lip and a wet surface composed of a layer of ash with areas of running brown green bidoro and imprints from the shells on which it was fired. I have to admit that this haikaburi Kasama-yaki guinomi isn't exactly a perfect chawan but it certainly makes for a great gem of a guinomi that just begs to be taken for a thorough test drive.

( I should also mention that this is not my first encounter with the works of Haneishi Shuji, I have seen quite a few and handled perhaps a dozen. The last encounter was with a kinuta-hanaire that was very simple in form and had a subtle surface covered in a pale green natural glass coating. I am trying to get to handle it again so that I can take a group of photos to make a slideshow video of the vase and in turn I will make a short video slideshow of this guinomi in the future.)

NOW IS THEN; SHINO AND THE OLD MAN

Illustrated is a screen capture for a wonderful old Japanese documentary that I found about Arakawa Toyozo. The fact that this is subtitled is certainly a bonus but seeing footage of perhaps one of the most famous potters of the 20th Century gives one a great insight into a way with Shino. This documentary was made circa 1968 by documentary film maker/ director; Matsukawa Yasuo (1931-2006) and is known by its Japanese title, IMA WA MUKANSHI SHINO TO OKINA. I don't want to say that such videos are rare but they are not seen frequently enough outside of Japan and any insight in to the nature of a master's work is certainly not to be overlooked.

"Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. All is a riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

LIGHTING FUNDAMENTALS

I know I have discussed the various lighting that I like to view pots in from the normal indoor, incandescent, tungsten bulbs, photo lighting, daylight and even direct sunlight. These lighting fundamentals each reveal various details and visions of a pot and allow the fullest, most immediate conversation that I can have with a piece though on many occasion the pots don't stick around long enough to cycle through all of the different phases of light. The way each type of light picks up on specific details, colors, clay quality and other features literally turns a spotlight on to each piece uncovering aspects that may easily be lost in one light source alone. The illustrated Kumano Kuroemon chawan has quite a bit to offer in each distinct light but in the direct sunlight the bowl just comes alive with a shimmering, sparkling appearance composed of feldspar and ash with crystals at the upper reaches of the surface creating a macrocosms within the confines of a teabowl. There is a richness and sincerity in this bowl painted by the expert guidance of Kumano in clay, glaze and fire and when you add a small portion of the sun, like magic, the chawan springs to life.

FUJI-SAN II

I recently had an email exchange with a fellow collector and at some point, he mentioned a Fujisan chawan that he admired but had missed out on. I have not seen the piece but from past experience, it is rather difficult to orchestrate the Fuji-san motif well so that it articulates appropriately with the bowl form. I am certainly not saying it can not be done as there are quite a few chawan decorated with Fuji that work quite well. This reminded me of a Wakao Toshisada Shino chawan that I have on the hard drive of just such a bowl with exactly that motif and to my eye, it works exceptionally well. This chawan has a sprawling scene of Fuji-san that covers the entire face of the chawan in a variety of colors and technique creating a powerful image which fits the form so well as if the two are absolutely inseperable. Wakao Toshisada created an image that is reminescent of many a great Edo period painting with hints of the great Rimpa and Nihonga masters in this work presenting a powerful and three dimensional painting on a classic and timeless chawan made by a master at the very top of his craft.

X MARKS THE SPOT

I put together a rather short slideshow video of a bowl that was fired a few weeks back using my new NOA (Nuka Oatmeal Ash) glaze with masked white and black slip decoration underneath. I like working with bold geometric forms as design and the X and O flanked by the varying stripes works well around this bowl form. By ash glaze serendipity, there are a number of contaminants in the ash that I used and in this case, copper spots showed up on the inside floor of the bowl and directly over where the X marks the spot. Not planned but of all the places for a copper spot to show up, this is arguably highest on the list.

A HANDFUL OF CLAY AND SOME ASH

I liked this chawan as soon as I saw it, boiled down it is just a handful of clay and some ash for the glaze. Making pottery really doesn't get much simpler or elemental than this, a potter, in this case Mizuno Takuzo throws a bowl he has thrown a thousand times before and adds an angular texture to the clay and pushes out from the interior creating fractures and fissures on the exterior. Later on and once bisque, the chawan is glazed in an ash glaze that Mizuno has used for several decades which once fired creates a wonderful surface for his pottery, accentuating every line, crack, dipple, fissure and highpoint on the pot taking this simple glaze and giving it depth, complexity and an ability to communicate with the viewer/ user. I am perpetually drawn to a pot that speaks of function while spinning a tale of it making and aesthetic choices that stem from years of making simple pots that are so much more when you are willing to stop and listen to what the clay has to say.

OH THE DETAILS

I was shuffling through  a disc filled with photos I have taken, looking for a specific group of pictures and saw this detail shot of a chawan that was here a while back. From my perspective, this is the type of complex, mysterious and active surface all rolled in to one chawan that is just alive and electric to the eye and touch. Made by the "Bear", this chawan by Kumano Kuroemon is an exceptional example of his work with such a rich array of activities and surfaces that the viewer is unsure where to start, the thick rich Kuma-Shino, areas of glassy ash and crusty tamadare paint the bowl like a nebulous, cosmic painting of clay as canvas, a handful of materials as paint and fire as the brush. The back, interior of the chawan is covered in ash which is eroding pathways through the Shino glaze ending up and filling the pool with a molten pond of ash frozen in time and covered in various other glaze and ash generated features. When I think about pots with complex surfaces, it is all these details that are apparent in just the singular photo highlighting a Kumano chawan that jumps to the top of the list.

"Beware of the person who can't be bothered by details."  William Feather

SOMETHING BORROWED

Though the form is famaliar, the surface is one that is not so common, especially on a Tsukigata Nahiko mizusashi. The box is simply marked, ONI-HAGI MIZUSASHI and the piece was likely made in the 1990s and certainly owes some of its style to the pioneering works of Miwa Kyuwa and his younger brother, Kyusetsu. This classic, thick white Hagi glaze was "created by Miwa Kyuwa in the 1960s and came to its fruition with Miwa Kyusetsu in the 1970s and 1980s ushering in a new style of glaze for the tradition which spread throughout the region and ultimately across Japan. Though lacking the black slip under the glaze, this surface by Tsukigata has many of the classic attributes of Miwa Shira-Hagi but as you look closely you can see the wet, iron rich stoneware peeking through the crawled surface resembling melting snow giving hints that this is something a bit different. Naming his borrowed glaze style, Oni-Hagi as he did with most of his glazes and styles, Tsukigata used his glaze with care and thought creating a thin wash of glaze around the foot and at the shoulder to show a contrast within the overall surface. As I mentioned the form is classic for the potter but the bright surface brings a fresh appearance to the pot much like trading a dark suit for a stylish new white one. It is easy to see how the viewer would be drawn to the piece but an even bigger appeal would be the feel of all the hard, bumps and crawling glaze creating texture on texture, what a great sensation.

SHAKEN NOT STIRRED

Mining the very depth of playfulness, which is at the heart of the Oribe origins, Ikeda Shogo (b.1976) is equally at home with clay and potters wheel as he is with a brush and his wonderful designs which he has shaken up just a bit. This particular Narumi-Oribe style chawan is well thrown and the painted imagery which includes traditional devices as well as written English, trucks, cows and even a light bulb captures the essence of what is Oribe in modern times. His work is delightfully functional and at times visually provocative engaging the viewer and acting as both invitiation and inquisition regarding how and what we think of modern chadogu. Despite growing up in Kagoshima, Ikeda specializes in a variety of Oribe styles and what is readily apparent is that despite where he was born or works, he has grasped the very heart of this modern tradition and bent it to fit his own vision.

DEJA TWO-VU

Admittedly, I am not a photographer, basically I am a guy with a white or black backdrop, a bulb and a simple digital camera which does 99% of the work, in other words, I point and shoot. Possibly the only way I get half way decent photos is that I take the time to take lots and lots of photos, for some pieces I have taken well over a hundred shots and end up with perhaps 30 or so on a good day. That leads me to this illustration, a 2-Vu of a piece that recently came my way, a wonderfully rustic and casual Kondo Seiko kohiki chawan with the most relaxed posture I have seen in some time. I was struggling to get the camera to focus correctly on the white surface and switched to black to see what differences it would make and here are the results. I was a bit stunned by how different the photos are using all the same settings and lighting between the black and white backgrounds and after fussing around for some time, each show the chawan in an entirely different light. The black background played on the shadowing and disappearance of the form as it moves away from the central focus while the white back drop clearly picked up all the the keshiki, activities in the slip and glaze and the hues of color on the otherwise, stark white chawan. Both tell a unique story but at a certain level the stories are as different as MOBY DICK is from A TALE OF TWO CITIES, though I like both photos from what they say, I think I prefer the photo of the bowl bowl behind door #2.

AN INVITATION TO TEA

A long while back I wrote about an early 17th century Shigaraki chawan that belongs to the Cleveland Museum of Art and recently I found a photo of a chawan that though rather modern, has many of the same attributes of the original from form, posture and overall presence. This chawan is by Furutani Michio, made in the 1990s and has the very same attitude as if extending an invitation to tea. This is a simple bowl, high sided with casual but not overly emphasized throwing marks with a slight flair as the bowl progresses to the lip. I imagine it is a rather tactile bowl with the areas of peppered ash creating a familiar and active sensation. Though these two bowls were created centuries apart, it is obvious the Furutani Michio considered the exact same functional and aesthetic sensibilities as the 17th potter; how does the chawan feel in the hand, considering the weight, circumference, the lip, the tea pool and the appearance; basically, how do you make a chawan that appeals to all of the senses. Though if you were to put the CMA chawan and this one by Furutani Michio side by side, there are obvious differences but it is the similarities that ties the old to the new and after all, that is the best that a potter steeped in tradition can ever hope to do.

SHARED PSYCHOSIS

There is just something so intoxicating about a good wood fired pot. Over the years I have tried to put my finger on exactly why they are so appealing but as I ask the question an exact reason still escapes me. There is something so elemental, primal and honest about the process of shaping clay and placing it within a kiln and then unleashing a premordial energy and ferocity into the mix which despite a potters best intention and skill does what ever the heck it wants. The truth is that every firing is different than the previous for a variety of reasons from how packed the kiln is, placement of pots, stoking, external temperature, barametric pressure and any other variable that can create great pieces or doom a firing. The illustrated bowl shows off the potential of a well placed bowl in a woodkiln and the mastery of a potter who knows how to exploit his clay, process and firing. Made by Shimaoka Tatsuzo this wonderful bowl shows off his skillful zogan technique together with a rich  rusty purple fire color and a face covered in running ash where the piece confronted the fire, head on. I may not have figured out exactly where the love of such pots stems from deep in my psyche but I take solace in knowing that I am not alone.

KOBU-SHINO

Soft white feldspar bordered by areas of rich, deep iron filled with cells of texture and color cover this pot from head to toe including the soft and undulating lid and purposeful knob. The truth is that every time you see a pot by Sakai Kobu, the Kobu-Shino immediately identifies exactly what you are looking at and though I have seen a number of mizusashi by him over the years, it seems like it is much more common to encounter his chawan than these larger pieces. As is readily apparent from the photo, Sakai throws his pots so they appear like that have a softness to them, the curvy lines almost look like the pot is in mid-collapse but it is these characteristic attributes that are so appealing to the eye and to the touch that are only accentuated by his skillful use of his modified Shino and iron glazes and his use of slips under the surface. Each pot paints a landscape, a portrait, a still life as the potter sees fit with his pieces resonating at different frequencies to different viewers, this is the beauty of his Kobu-Shino.

HIER EN DAR

Illustrated is a rather robust, exhibition chawan by Kishimoto Kennin. I handled this chawan a while back and always find it interesting when I can correlate an exhibition photo to the pot in hand to get a sense of not only what the bowl looks like to my eye and through my camera lens but also through the vision of a photographer in their studio somewhere in Japan. I will start by saying that the photo I took of the page out of the exhibtion catalogue is a bit washed out but at least from my experience does not capture the richness, depth and power of this Iga chawan which I have tried to portray in my photo. For those interested in technique, using my camera set to automatic focus and with the tungsten filter set to on, I used a 100watt tungsten bulb to photograph this piece and other than to crop the photo, no photo manipulation was undertaken. The photo I ended up with here is exceptionally close to what the chawan looks like in person and unlike the catalogue picture, you can see the depth of the ash surface, the richness of the clay and the perpetual wetness that the pot exudes. I have written about Kishimoto Kennin in previous blog posts, I truly admire how he handles clay and fires his pots from Iga to seiji and all the styles in between, he strive to allow the clay to speak under any natural of added surface and creates pots that add to the traditions in which he works. I was very happy with my experience handling this chawan and being able to see it here and there but it never ceases to amaze me how different a pot can look through two different lens.

DISPARATE BUT NOT SERIOUS

I have to admit almost nothing I see made by Suzuki Goro surprises me anymore. My first exposure to his work back in the mid-1980s were as disparate and far afield from each other showing various styles, techniques and surfaces which he is now rightfully well known for. I have seen Suzuki work, seen several videos of him working and handled quite a few of his pieces over the years and despite the diversity there is a quality, essentially how he handles clay, how it is pushed and manhandled that prevails in each and every pot. The illustrated pot is an excellent earlier example of his work, fired Shigaraki style though maybe it is best classified as haikaburi style; this deformed wood fired mizusashi has a wonderful posture and attitude that manifests itself in most of his work quite naturally. Without ever forsaking function and purpose, Suzuki creates these pots that stretch the rational of pottery making and in doing so his pieces have at times a fantastical and lyrical presence rooted in strength and conviction. It is always easy to praise a potter who is known internationally and is a favorite among critics, scholars and collectors but in respect to Suzuki Goro it is always easy to see and understand why his pottery has an allure unlike any other potter today.

POSSIBILITIES 461

Illustrated is another of those macro detail shots that highlights the complex, diverse and even magical surfaces that Tsukigata Nahiko was capable of through his mixture of clay, iron, ash, feldspar and fire reminding one of a rich orchestral symphony or the complexity, flagrance and palette of a fine wine. In this particular case the rich iron surface has combined or coalesced in to shimmery, copper and golden crystals that border the runny iron with small areas of ash coated feldspar popping through to the surface. While looking at the rich, deep red iron to purple tones of the surface these areas of intensely complexity punctuate the surface and create small and wondrous universes circling the cosmos of the entire chawan. Though this may be a rather bold statement, I can't think of many potters who have created and painted so many pots with so few materials as Tsukigata though I know there are others. But as I look closer and closer at his work it is the balancing act of artistic singularity, simplicity and complexity that keeps bringing me back time and time again; a conversation so informative it is at times a rather formal lecture of what are the possibilities.