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.

ANOTHER MALLET VASE

I was searching around on the web and came across this picture of a nice Shino mallet vase by Mizuno Takuzo, my original search didn't pan out despite searching for some time so in some ways this vase is a consolation prize of sorts. The form is certainly deliberate in nature with the type of inward taper moving toward the shoulder with the neck flaring out as it goes up giving the mallet just the right sense of proportions and geometry that appeals to me. Though there doesn't appear to be any iron slip applied, the Shino surface has blushed to pinks and orange flashes from top to bottom and coupled with the excellent texture makes for a rather visually engaging pot. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the shallow depression that moves from the shoulder to the neck which is highlighted by a spiraling texture that goes around the pot and is dusted with just a hint of wood ash especially in the depressions. I think if I was pressed I could come up with a reasonable explanation of what it is about the mallet form that interests me, but the short cut to the answer is simple, it appeals to me at a visceral level, I respond to the borrowed purpose and weathered aesthetic that is imparted on pots just exactly like this piece by Mizuno Takuzo. There is little more that I can ask or expect from a pot.

RULE OF THREE

Up until a couple months ago, I had never had any chaire by Mizuno Takuzo come my way and just recently, a collector sent me two more to help find a new home for. Do chaire follow the "rule of threes"? The first one that came my way was a rather nice Oni-Shino style chaire, the recent two are Aka-Shino and Seto-Guro and I can see why they were collected together as both exhibit very similar characteristics in their presentation. The Aka-Shino piece has a tall and graceful form with two tiny additions to the shoulder with a rich and thick glaze with dark accents around the shoulder and a thick and foamy trail down the face of the pot. The Seto-Guro chaire also has a tall and noble posture accented by a dark, rich and textured surface with mimi-tsuki style additions running down from the shoulder and in both examples there is just enough clay showing to create a nice contrast with the glazed surface. It has been a pleasure to have all three of these chaire in hand to study and for the future, I can only hope the "rule of threes" always applies when it comes to pottery.

A SIGNATURE POT

I have written about Mizuno Takuzo in several previous posts, his work is both visually engaging and functional in its execution, he has a precise sense of appropriateness in relationship to chadogu and its design. This wonderful Oni-Shino chaire is a classic example of his work and the possibilities that he sees within the tradition and the stereotyped vessels used for tea ceremony. The Momoyama influenced piece has an evocative, almost Rimpa style decoration in rich iron slip that once covered in several varying layers of Shino glaze creates a variety of atmospheres that conjure up thoughts of both misty moors and a myriad of tales of ancient Japan. What never disappoints about the work of Mizuno is the unique quality of his glaze with its thick, translucent nature and the fine cells and crawling that appear like a signature of an individual potter, there is a calming nature to his surfaces even when they present rich, complex and even turbulent visions.

You can see more of this chaire by following the provided link to my Trocadero marketplace;

http://www.trocadero.com/albedo3studio/items/1262488/item1262488store.html