INK CHAWAN

Illustrated is a poetic ink and wash rendition of a Rimpa influenced Shino chawan by Mino veteran, Wakao Toshisada. The simplicity of the form, outlined in ink with no superfluous details, houses the ink and wash flower that decorates the chawan. Knowing the work of Wakao, the image conjures to mind how the chawan would look in clay and three dimensions. Though there is little detail, bare bones if you will, everything needed to know this chawan is rendered in a few moments of lyrical brushwork.

MATSUKAWA

I really enjoy the challenges and use of iron in glazing. I have an iron red glaze that can be used thin, like a wash to temper the surfaces of a glaze, like the Oribe and when used thick, it creates cascading waterfalls of streaks that I liken to matsukawa, pine bark. I first saw this matsukawa style in the works of Tsukigata Nahiko and was very interested in the effects and set about to do my best to recreate the look. Over time and experimentation, I was able to get the iron to not only behave in a certain way, but also to travel in predetermined pathways based on textures applied to the wet clay or through the use of slips. Illustrated is a oval teabowl with a diagonal bark texture which channels the iron diagonally around the bowl adding to its sense of momentum. The variation in tones from the amber of the texture high points and the lip to the running olive, iron red and mustardy yellow add to the visual texture as well creating a rich matsukawa pattern that compliments the bowl both visually and texturally. From my perspective, the iron has done its job.

HAGAROMO

Illustrated is a close-up of the yuteki, oil spot style of Kimura Yoshihiro. This evocative surface calls to mind the play, HAGAROMO (The Feather Mantle). The luscious silver feathery trails reach down the tsubo like metallic tendrils enveloping the pot. Given the large size of the pot and the disastrous failure rate, the survival of this piece alone is a significant feat. Created by the son of master temmoku and yuteki specialist, Kimura Morikazu, Kimura Yoshihiro is the perfect inheritor of the dynasty pioneered and forged by the three Kimura brothers; Morikazu, Moriyasu and Morinobu.

You can see more pictures of this wonderful tsubo here;
http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1188146/item1188146store.html

YURIKO!

Illustrated is a close-up detail of underglaze yuriko copper red decoration on a very large tsubo by porcelain veteran, Yoshida Takashi. Born in Osaka in 1934, Yoshida had the great fortune to train with not one exceptional master, but three; Tomimoto Kenkichi, Kondo Yuzo and Fujimoto Yoshimichi, all three Ningen Kokuho for their porcelain works. The floral decoration stands out against the stark, pure white background and as you survey the decoration, the original brush strokes can be seen within the expanding halo of the copper red design. In areas that his brush first touched the bisque porcelain, faint green dots, punctuate the mostly red decoration. Once the pot was fully decorated, the piece was glazed over in a clear glaze, trapping the red and creating the lush and extravagant floral decoration. There is little room for error in this type of decoration which relies on spontaneity and speed to achieve its ultimate goal; yuriko!

IT'S MONDAY

It's Monday, a Monday after the completion of another cycle and a down day. The only studio work I did today was to clean up, put shelves, posts, pyrometer and gloves back in their spots and sweep the floor. It is a slow day, no orders on the books, no commissions and what to make next, is entirely up in the air at the moment. It's Monday and I think I will simply take satisfaction in that fact and another firing that came out well with no loses, no crawling, nothing stuck to the shelves, what more can you ask for?

Illustrated is a solemn, solitary print by Kiyoshi Saito (1907-1997) entitled; NARA. This print reminds me of a quote that a friend was oft times heard to say; "All know the way, few walk it."   (Bodhidharma)

A PINCH OF THIS, A PINCH OF THAT

I have been testing variations to a few different formulas I use recently, my Oribe(s) included. For years I have used a small pinch of iron in the formula to temper the overall "green-ness" of the glaze and have decided to take it a step further. I recently made an overglaze composed of red iron oxide and frit made up extremely thin and then dipping the glazed Oribe (TPCu) pot into it. The addition of the wash over the Oribe has certainly tempered the green and created varying tones as well as softening the overall appearance. The bowl illustrated is a test bowl that I have been working out new textures on, the combination of the Oribe and the wash seem to accentuate the texture and create variation in the surface, especially in the recesses of the piece. In evaluating new glazes and surfaces it is rather important to keep good records, but I wonder how greatly "a pinch of this and a pinch of that" varies from potter to potter?

YOU KNOW ME?

Illustrated is a simple yunomi, eminently practical and thoroughly useful made by Tsukigata Nahiko. It is this type of direct and unfettered work that helps glimpse into the true nature of the potter. Though best known for his Oni-Shino and Oni-Iga works, Tsukigata was quite adept at a wide variety of styles which included Ki-Seto, Shigaraki, Hagi and Kohihi wares. This Hagi style yunomi is made in one of his classic forms he used for gunomi, yunomi and even chawan and the surface landscape is highly animated with varying shades of color, ishihaze and crackled slip about the piece. The tall foot accentuates the vertical nature of the form and it is easy to see the piece in hand and in use as it was intended. Though simple in form and execution, it seems to me that the simplest of things are usually bound up in a maze of complexity.

MONDAY BLUES IX

There is little I can say about this magnificent Persian influenced vase; from my perspective it is simply a masterwork by the late Ningen Kokuho, Kato Takuo. First thrown in a white clay and  painstakingly altered into a rectangular form, he accentuated areas around the piece with tool and spatula marks to further animate the pot. The upper tier has a number of hand modeled rams heads in various poses with accents of gold over the truly this inspired Toruko-ao glaze. The pot conveys an essential timelessness as if it had been made in 13th century Persia and survived intact to this very day. The white crackle "frosting" across the surface adds a sense of dynamic tension that creates a wondrous sense of the exotic and mysterious to yet another piece that is thoroughly out of place and out of time.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Admit it, when you think of Suzuki Goro, Ki-Seto, Oribe, Seto-Guro and Shino spring to mind; however, his diversity  and experimentation is broad and quite accomplished. One of the staples of Suzuki's works as far back as the 1970's has been his Shigaraki influenced pots in every shape and size. Back in the 1970's and 1980's a good number of his pots were Shigaraki style while currently they seem to be a much smaller percentage of his output. His Shigaraki pieces have the same dynamic sensibility to them as much earlier Momoyama and Edo works and the clay is handled in a brusque and masculine manner that creates their bold, almost bushi-like nature. Add to Suzuki-san's bold handling of the clay, firings that accentuate and animate his pottery and you can not help but have a winning combination.

Illustrated is a very medieval inspired Shigaraki tsubo by Suzuki Goro. This tsubo has a very austere, weathered appearance and a powerful stance and presence. Striped of the superfluous, Suzuki has decided to let the bare essentials convey his message; the simple lines, lugs, decoration and ash bring the pot to life like a resurrected medieval pot, recently unearthed and still ready for any purpose or challenge.

AME-YU

I have mentioned that a number of my current glazes are based on turning my trimming scraps into glazes, but I am not sure I mentioned how and when it came about. At the tail end of living in PA, I ran a bisque which included a pot that had been too close to the wheel while I was throwing terra cotta. I didn't notice the splatters on the piece and when it came out of the bisque, the terra cotta had fused to the pot, so I decided to glaze fire it anyway. Out of the glaze, it had turned into an almost Albany Slip like surface, so the die was cast; that is what set me on testing the terra cotta as a glaze. After a number (a big number) of tests with several additions to the base, I first came up with a rather nice, deep, rich amber glaze that reminded me of an Ohi ame-yu glaze and the name stuck. With more testing, I was able to make the medieval green, ao, tetsu-yu and temmoku all from the base with minor alterations and a certain percentage of the base calcined to solve the crawling problems.

The next step was to start to develop a vocabulary for the use of the glazes and the ame-yu was the first in line. White and black slips showed through the translucent glaze as well as copper and cobalt overglaze decoration were the first logic steps. I am not sure how I got there, but I made these Mediterranean styled pots and I thought, what makes more sense than to glaze them in a Japanese influenced Ohi Ame-yu glaze. Illustrated is a 12" tall jug with braided coil lugs and a copper rain pattern over the body of the pot. This piece was recently sent to me in an attempt to make a mate for it. The owner wants the pair to stand on opposite sides of a mantle. Though this is not my favorite thing to do, it sure beats trying to recreate a lid for a pot and after all, a challenge is a challenge.