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.

WHITE OUT

We have had our share of weather here for the past two weeks being on the fringe of the three seperate Nor'easters that have hit this region but today the sun is out creating a virtual white out as the treees, ground and building are covered in snow and the drips of the melt can be seen and heard every where. The mood as you look out the windows made me think back on a wonderous Miwa Kyusetsu Hagi chawan owned by a friend of mine. It is broad, generous and full of spirit as it creates its own visual white out as you survey the form with hints of the rich daido clay peaking through crawling in the glaze and at the foot where the glaze is either thinning or non-existent. I really like this chawan, though large it is not as large as some of Kyusetsu's (Jyusetsu) later more sculptural and statement oriented pieces, the crawling is just the right amount of activity to activate and animate the surface and the posture of the chawan, foot and lip all present a form directed by purpose and a particular aesthetic. Thanks to the  intimate scale of this chawan, I can't help but see a snow covered universe held firmly in one's hands.

THE DARK SIDE

I put together this video slideshow of a Hagi chawan that came my way a long while back by Koto Kenshin. I really liked the posture of the piece, it has a calming and peaceful nobility to the form and the color variations trapped within the glaze surface draw the viewer into the pot to admire the traditional Hagi sensibility right down to the dark side that paints the face from lip to foot. The maker of this chawan is a traditional Hagi potter, born in 1947, Koto Kenshin established his own studio and kiln in 1970, the KoHagi-gama where his son, Koto Komei works today. When you look at all of the potters working in various traditions it is sometimes easy to get lost in a sense of sameness but with the right attention and vision, character makes pots stand out from the crowd and this chawan has character to spare.

KURINUKI

I've put together a rather short slideshow video of a kurinuki style Hagi chawan by Kaneta Masanao. Rather well known in the West, Masanao is a master of looking in to a block of clay and sculpting, carving and hacking out wonderful objects and vessels that add yet another dimension to the Hagi tradition. Each and every pot has a distinct character while being related in broad terms to other pots of the same technique, it is this uniqueness and quality that draws one into the world of Kaneta Masanao and hopefully this video will convey his expressive kurinuki technique.