UN REGALO

“I don’t make pots as a blank canvas for decorating. I consider my glazes as clothing for the pots, you have to accept that clothing for what it is.” Warren MacKenzie

Illustrated is a large “simple” thrown stoneware bowl with temmoku and oatmeal trailed glazes by Warren MacKenzie. The pot is solid and the epitome of functional; it performs its given task well and tells its story while in use, at rest or on display. Warren is truly gifted in the art of understatement, yet the casual and lyrical decoration has a lot to say. The use of a lighter glaze, effortlessly trailed over the temmoku brings the piece to life and infuses it with movement. Truly a remarkable feat, for someone who doesn’t even think of his pots as a canvas.

KORE WA KIYOMIZU-YAKI DESU KA?

Though somewhat less than a dinner and a movie, maybe more like an M&M and a teaser, this short clip is an interesting portrayal of an early 17th century potter at work from the classic movie; MIYAMOTO MUSHASHI SHOWDOWN AT HANNYAZAKA. There were five movie serializations from 1961 to 1965 staring Kinnosuke Nakamura based on the novel by Yoshikawa Eiji (1935). In this series there is also a wonderful glimpse into the relationship between Musashi and Honami Koetsu, sword connoisseur, master potter and arbiter of taste. At one point in the series, Honami Koetsu is showing a commissioned Aka-Raku chawan to the steward of the Hosokawa daimyo, complete with its wood storage box. The devil is certainly in the details in great old films.

In this short scene a potter is at work on the outskirts of the Kiyomizu-dera, an area known for its pottery production to this day. Musashi is known to have taken every opportunity to study master artists and craftsman at work and is shown studying the potters movements, no doubt in an effort to make use of the potters art in his own art, the way of the sword. It is worth a watch as is the entire series of films.



“Study the way of all professions.” From the BOOK OF FIVE RINGS (GO RIN NO SHO) by Miyamoto Musashi

A PLANE IDEA

Starting in the early 90’s, we were fortunate to take a number of trips to Japan. One of the real eye opening experiences that came along with this was the lengthy plane rides that went with getting to and from. Departing from Cleveland or New York, you are able to see the country from a wonderful perspective giving new insights into the heartland as well as such incredible sights as the Grand Canyon and eventually Mount Fuji from 30,000 feet. One outcome of this travel was seeing the farmland of not only the US, but Japan from an entirely new vantage point. The sectioned and furrowed farmland, rivers and roadways painted a wonderful design that I translated into a wide ranging series of designs I refer to as Landscapemen.

I use the Landscapeman design primarily in the tebori carved ware, black and white slipware and the ishime-ji inlaid engobe pottery. The design has a myriad of uses as it is easy to adapt from form to form, from plate to jar and most pots in between. I have enjoyed using it and seeing the design morph as each style and pot are decorated in a somewhat spontaneous manner. The space, form, volume and curve all dictate how the design evolves on each pot. With each new pot, comes a different design. It surely keeps the process from becoming boring.

Illustrated is a mizusashi form; thrown in stoneware and decorated in a grey-black engobe and then has a white engobe inlaid in the incised decoration, the interior is glazed in a clear liner. The design was cut into the stoneware while still wet using a sharp knife made of bamboo. With each turn of the pot, the design changes and presents a different landscape that makes me anxious for my next plane ride!

AM I BLUE

Illustrated for another blue Monday, is a wonderful soft blue celadon koro, incense burner by master renaissance potter; Kishimoto Kennin. This kannyu-seiji-koro is thickly glazed with the ridges having been thinned down to show off iron highlights around the pot, breaking up the celadon surface. The koro measures just shy of 9” tall and was prominently featured in a book on Kishimoto Kennin’s Seiji works.

To round out this Monday, we have the great Hoagy Carmichael and Lauren Bacall duet from the excellent Humphrey Bogart classic; TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. Short, but sweet, enjoy.


(Illustration used with the permission of a collector.)

MULTIPLES II

I think back to stories from Warren Mackenzie, Bill Klock and Jeff Oestriech discussing the series, multiples of pots they were responsible for while at the Leach Pottery. I have heard this very same thing from a number of potters working with the likes of Hamada Shoji, Shimaoka Tatsuzo and many others. For some potteries, the multiples were the standard ware of the kiln, sometimes impressed with the masters’ seal, other times clearly defined as work of the kiln and not the master. For some potters, especially Hamada, Shimaoka and Kawai, there were a variety of molded pieces, henko, etc. made by the students or specialists which were then later decorated, marked or glazed by the master of the kiln.

I am unsure where I came by the illustrated picture, but it clearly shows Kawai Kanjiro surveying a large grouping of multiples in various stages of completion. To the left are a group of finished pots, most of which are molded forms with iron and clear glazes and various colored underglaze decoration. In the middle of the photo is a group of recently molded greenware pieces, ready to be bisque and then decorated and glazed. The group on the extreme right appears to be a group of bisque molded covered box forms ready to be decorated, glazed and then fired. I have always been fascinated by this photo as it shows Kawai’s multiples in each stage of completion and is one of the few photos of this type that I know of. I guess it is true; you can never have enough of a good thing!

IN PROCESS

I have just finished firing my third kiln load of terra cotta, with quite a number to go. So far, the loss rate and seconds have been minimal, which is always a relief. I fired off a number of medium sized plates (16 to 17 inches), oval bakers, covered serving bowls and misc in several different styles including; IT’s STILL LIFE, ABSTRAKT RESIST, TEBORI and Black & White slip trailed pieces. Making the transition from the high fire stuff to the low fire is a challenge and almost always starts with my making a series of molded tray forms. This is the bridge that gets my mind back to the terra cotta and the challenges it poses in terms of throwing and decorating. It is an entirely different mind set working with color and low fire technology than it is working with stoneware, ash glazes and more earthy surfaces. Now that all the pots are made, decorated, bisque and glazed, all that remains is firing them all.

Illustrated is a small group of my Abstrakt Resist work. The plate is about 17” in diameter and the two oval bakers are about 17” long each. All three are in a “spirali e tagli” design.

CONVERSATION

If every pot and potter has something to say, what does this Tsukigata Nahiko have to tell us? In most of Tsukigata’s Oni-Shino pottery, there is an aggressive battle played out between the glazes and the encompassing fury of the fire. These pots have a masculine, bushi like (samurai) nature dependant on the past, but essentially timeless. The shape of the chawan hovers, raised up on it well addressed kodai, inviting it to be handled and studied. The landscaped surface bares witness to the epic struggle of its fierce battle with the anagama like a badge of honor. I suspect, this chawan has a lot to say, conversant in a differing dialogue with each individual who views it.

As I study this bowl more, I am reminded of the Zen maxim;

SHIKITOKU SUREBA SANGAKU (NO) KOTO OWARU
(“If you grasp this, your study will be complete…………”)

It will be a while before my study is complete.

You can see more pictures of this chawan over on my marketplace website;

http://www.trocadero.com/albedo3studio/items/1102675/item1102675store.html#item

CERTAINLY NOT POTTERY RELATED

Seeing as how it has been a very long week of sanding, decorating, bisquing and glazing, not to mention I am in an odd mood, I have had this “spoken word” song running through my head for part of the day and thought I would try to pass it along;




It is a catchy tune, which, for me, goes back to the early 90’s and listening to Dr. Demento while we lived in Cleveland. This National Lampoon version is a satire (parody?) of Max Erhmann’s DESIDERATA (1927). Though the National Lampoon version is a great watch or listen, the Desiderata is worth a read for the stark comparison;

DESIDERATA
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

IRIDESCENCE

Though my photographic skills are somewhat lacking (!), every once and a while fate, lighting and timing conspire to get a picture of what I am after. Illustrated is a kushime wan-gata style teabowl with my ame and haiyu glazes over slip. As you can see in the picture, the surface is covered in a halo style iridescence that is subtle under most lighting and by handling the bowl just right, you can see the surface come to life. Being somewhat photographically challenged, it is difficult to convey the surfaces of many of my pots as they are a bit more complex than one would guess at first glace. Luckily, every once in a while a picture comes along that helps convey the depth of the glaze technique.

KEEPING ONES DISTANCE

“Do not make a new form and design from an old pattern, I was always told. Turquoise is one of the oldest colors used in ceramics. It was produced by applying hashokuzai to copper, and copper oxide can still be seen in this type of pottery in the ME (Middle Eastern) countries. We marvel at the new molding and design techniques we have created in the modern age, but often it turns out that similar techniques already existed in the past. Truly original creation is so hard in this age, which is dominated by imitation. This thought is uppermost in my mind as I try to create.”

The above quote is by Mino potter, Kato Kenji (1933-2008) who while working in the tradition of TORUKO-AO (Turkish Blue) clearly understood the necessity to find his own voice and vocabulary in an idiom that would be easy to imitate what had come before. Kato was well trained during his apprenticeship with two Ningen Kokuho; Tomimoto Kenkichi and Kondo Yuzo; his broad abilities are a reflection of both of his masters. Kato worked within the traditional Mino field producing wonderful Shino wares as well as iron rich glazes, iro-e overglaze enameled works and both transparent and opaque Persian blue glazes. By looking at his body of Toroku-ao work, you can see that he kept his distance from simply copying what had gone before. He constantly strove to add something to an age old tradition, making this work his own.

This paddled henko-tsubo is very typical of Kato Kenji’s opaque Toruko-ao works. It stands about 10” tall and has wonderful brushed decoration under his lush and vellum textured glaze. Despite having the appearance of a traditional raqqa style pot, the form and decoration speak of a pot born out of a foreign ideal but distinctly Japanese in execution. Together with Ningen Kokuho, Kato Takuo, Kato Kenji helped extend the Silk Road all the way to the doorstep of Gifu Prefecture out of the past and into the present day.