HIKIDASHI-GURO

There are very few potters who create a broad and diverse body of work that are as instantly recognizable as the pottery of Koie Ryoji and this hikidashi-guro chawan is no exception. The chawan is a classic Koie pot and bares many of the characteristics that point directly at him from casual, wonky form, incised marks on the exterior and an often used kodai. There is little else I can say other than as Koie touches the clay, it is given its distinct voice. Enjoy the short video.

THROWN GREEN

Illustrated is a close up of a pair of long Oribe plates. I really like the effect where the glaze has run and pooled into the grooved recesses of the pieces. I have recently, well the past six months or so, been making these pseudo-sushi sets of plates with guinomi and tokkuri and this is the latest set measuring in at about 12" long and about 5" wide. Like previous slab plates, these were first thrown and after firming up a while, they were cut into sections and laid out to form slightly curved plates. The ends and sides are higher than the center making for a plate that holds both food and whatever sauce one may decide to use as a garnish. The Oribe glaze used on these pieces is one of my latest ones, sans lepidolite but using copper, iron and a touch of washed wood ash. These plates are glazed over their entirety and fired on wads which are later ground of leaving what I find to be, interesting and tell-tale signs as to how they were fired. I guess this is my attempt to make the bottoms as interesting as the top and at the very least, it adds both to the eye and the hand in the handling.