UNEXPECTED

I must admit, things have a funny way of working out. Last week a collector I have known for a long time asked me if I could sell a few pieces for him to which I agreed and he sent them along. The package arrived today and one bowl in particular was rather unexpected, a really fine Shino chawan by Tamaoki Yasuo. I was not told what was coming other than two Shino chawan and a large pot by a British potter so the contents were a bit of a mystery but as I know this collector pretty well, I trusted the pots would not disappoint. The reason I find this a bit unexpected is that last week I had a friend send me a Tamaoki mizusashi photo which I put up on my blog last Friday, rather coincidental timing. I have put together a 4Vu montage of the Shino chawan which gives a nice panoramic view around the bowl and highlights why Tamaoki is so highly regarded. The truth is that not only is this a great looking Momoyama influenced bowl, it feels so wonderful in the hand.

To see more of this chawan, please have a look at it over on my Trocadero marketplace;

http://www.trocadero.com/albedo3studio/items/1302800/item1302800store.html 

SHINO PETALS

Looking like a six petaled blossom, this wonderfully thrown and altered pot bridges the past with the present as only a master is capable. Glazed in a rich Shino, the viscous glaze cracks along the indents that creates the lobes of the pot while adept handling allows fiery glimpses of the red iron to come to the surface adding not only depth but movement and even passion to the piece. Having learned the fundamentals of his craft by Kato Kobei V, Tamaoki Yasuo labored to marry past and present with his own unique voice that can be seen in this mizusashi. Though the pot appears to have a casual quality to it, that masks the studied and careful execution of a Shino master at work where various qualities are created through years of practice, repetition and dedication to a traditional pursuit. Kuroda Ryoji labeled Tamaoki Yasuo as one of the five great hopes of Mino and when I see work of this caliber, it is obvious how right he was.,

志野 風景

Illustrated is a Shino chawan with a rather adventurous appearance and quite the story to tell. At first glance the surface almost has a marbled look to it but after further study it is a rich interplay between layers of the feldspathic Shino glaze over a bold red iron slipped surface. The surface paints a landscape that calls to mind tall snow covered mountains or even glaciers melting their way to the foot of the bowl. The iron ring around the mouth frames in the landscape and creates a certain amount of tension between the top and bottom of the Momoyama influenced chawan calling to mind a bold keshiki and an even more dynamic adventure. Ever good chawan should evoke some memory of a time or place in one's life, tell a story (or two) or at the very least create a new experience that the viewer is not likely soon to forget. I think this powerful Aka-Shino chawan by Tamaoki Yasuo does just that and then some.

BRIGHT LIGHTS, DIFFERENT PICTURES

I am constantly amazed at how differently an object can look depending on the type of camera, light source and filters that may be used, though I think the biggest unintentional differences spring from variations due to various light sources. I know when photographing the pottery I make the is a tremendous difference from florescent, tungsten and natural sunlight and I always tell customers, take the pot out doors and look at it, that light brings out all kinds of variations that 'studio" shots can only hint at. The digital camera I use has adjustments for eight light sources as well as filters which i use to try to create an image that looks like a pot does when I am looking at it in ambient lighting. My intent whether photographing my work or a pot by another potter is to try to stay as true as possible to what a person can expect when looking at the piece in hand. That is the very best I can try for.

Illustrated is an exceptional Aka-Shino chawan by Tamaoki Yasuo. This chawan is a classic, Momoyama inspired bowl with a rich surface and painterly variations which paint a vivid landscape, this is the beauty that is Shino. The wonderful thing about glazes is that depending on how they are photographed or displayed, that can take on a multitude of appearance and the illustration shows how the piece looks in just two varying light sources. In the catalogue photo, the red is vibrant and dominating and in my photo, taken using tungsten bulbs with a tungsten correcting filter, the color is less intense and closer to what the bowl looks like in person, though in reality, the truth is it is somewhere in between the two. It is easy to get the bowl more red, just adjust the lighting, but best to have the bowl appear as it does, just the way the potter made it.

ROYAL RED

When I think of Aka-Shino, I think of rich, deep, even mysterious surfaces where the iron rich slip percolates up through the feldspar glaze. It is the really deep reds, royal reds that are so captivating, like the surface is alive with iron, where the transition between Aka-Shino and Murasaki Shino blurs. There have been a number of great potters who make Aka-Shino and no list would be complete without the original masters; Arakawa Toyozo and Kato Tokuro and his elegant Murasaki-Shino (Murasaki-Nioi). Though both are an exceptionally high bar of achievement, there are a handful of living potters who have also rightfully set the bar very high; Hayashi Shotaro, Suzuki Osamu, Yamada Kazu and Tamaoki Yasuo. Often considered one of "Mino's five great hopes", Tamaoki Yasuo (b.1941) is now one of the greats among the diverse Mino traditions creating Shino and Oribe works that are those exceptional blends of the old and the new, among which, his use of swirling and undulating resisted decoration is a welcome and adventurous addition to modern day Shino.

Dating from the early 1990's, this wonderful Aka-Shino bowl is an exceptional example of the work of Tamaoki Yasuo. The powerful form, tapering into the mouth with its undulating lip conjure up long past memories of the Momoyama era while firmly planted in more modern time. The rich red to orange tones are cloaked over in thicker running milky feldspar creating an evocative landscape that changes as the bowl is moved. It is the experienced hand of a master potter that bends happenstance into artlessness and beauty, for Tamaoki, this is a skill that appears to emanate naturally from his work.

"There is one art, no more, no less; to do all things with artlessness." A short "gruk" by Piet Hein (1905-1996)