CRACKED

There is a quiet and grace to celadon which is not lost on potters who makes pieces that are best suited with seiji glazes; simple and streamlined forms with accents only where called for. Starting life as a thrown round bowl form and then ovaled, this seiji mizusashi has a beautiful, cracked, double refractive surface which clings to the thoughtfully thrown vessel where the slight undulations to the pot are accentuated by the surface. The mizusashi is then completed with a custom made black lacquer lid which compliments the form to the fullest creating an eye catching work that takes decades of experience to carry off.

This functional and simple tea piece was made by Kyoto native Kimura Nobuyuki (b.1965) who studied with his father, Kimura Morinobu one of the Kimura San- Mori; Kimura Morikazu, Moriyasu and Morinobu. Nobuyuki set up his own pottery studio/kiln in Shiga prefecture in 1992 and has had a rather busy career winning numerous awards with frequent exhibitions through out Japan. His work is predominantly seiji pottery with a variety of glazes that run from light elegant blues, rich greens, yellows and even pinkish lavender pieces all the while keeping in mind what forms are best for this deceptively simple glaze with a dash of complexity thrown in to keep the potter on their toes.

KAWAKUJIRA

Illustrated is a broad and generous Karatsu-kawakujira (whale's mouth) decorated guinomi by Ikai Yuichi (b.1963). Ikai, a native of Kyoto and the Gojo-zaka area first studied with Shimizu Yasutaka and then Ningen Kokuho, Shinizu Uiichi before moving north of Kyoto to set up his Kihei-gama noborigama kiln where he has honed his skills in both celadon and ash glazes. At just about four inches across this guinomi is a handful and the pebbled, kairagi crawled surface just adds to the pot making for a blend of sight, touch and taste while in use. With many pots the sense of touch is overlooked but with a guinomi like this, Ikai hasn't failed to include any of the senses from the view of the pot, the smell and taste of the sake, the feel of the surface and the sound of the ubiquitous toast; kanpai!

PARTS CLAY, GLAZE & MAGIC

There is absolutely nothing like the strong posture of a chawan by Kawai Kanjiro. The wide, bold foot acts as a defining pedestal to what at first glance looks like a common bowl form but with closer inspection it shows its user friendly attributes where it sits well in the hand, has an appropriate weight and the lip is out turned just enough to let slip the right amount of liquid. All of these considerations were honed by Kawai over a lifetime of work and experience, through trial and error and an eye for the simplest yet often overlooked details, the master creates a work that has been stripped to the least amount of detail yet creates a pot of supreme beauty and utility. This wan-gata style chawan has a rich iron temmoku glaze over areas of thick slip "patted" on to the surface dividing the bowl in to sections and creating visual depth and movement but born of equal parts clay, glaze and a little bit of magic. There is mastery and mystery married in the works of Kawai Kanjiro that has as much meaning and relevance today as they did over well over five decades ago which can be summed up in one word; timeless.

BLUE MONDAY XVII

Rendered in varying tones of back ink with subtle washes and blue water color, this scroll captures all of the beauty of a masterpiece pot in two dimensions. Painted on paper, this graceful and towering vase has a fluid decoration as only Kawai Kanjiro could render them and at the foot in a rounded cartouche he has signed the scroll using the single kanji; KAN. I am more than particularly fond of preparatory drawings, sketches, water colors, shikishi and scrolls that outline an potter's thoughts in 2-D and this scroll certainly alludes to the brilliance of his masterful, three dimensional forms. Kawai Kanjiro has left a large number of ephemera to document his creativity as well as a good group of calligraphy and paintings created solely as two dimensional works of art. This particular scroll stands somewhere in-between preparatory drawing and work of art and would certainly be exhilarating to see it re-united with the pot which it may have inspired.

PAINTED SNOW

Illustrated is a casual photo of a superb pot sent to me by a collector friend. Though like the casual photo, the pot is also rich in symbolism and movement with the feeling of being both relaxed and immediate. This horai, iron glazed mizusashi was made by Shimizu U'ichi (1926-2004) and reflects the spirited nature of winter with the balance of the austere black iron and the fluffy white glaze with the quick rendition of the kanji for flower and moon ( and snow just out of view) etched through the white with the finger, like painted snow of a by-gone  and well practiced literati master. Working out of Shiga, originally a native Gojo-zaka potter from Kyoto, Shimizu makes use of clay and materials from the Hira Mountains which divide Kyoto from Lake Biwa and Shigaraki. Beyond creating a unique vision in iron and celadon glazes, the works of Shimizu U'ichi reflect the blend of the rustic,  the cultured and the brevity and serendipitous that is evoked in the environment and pottery that surrounded this 20th century master.