IRON ON IRON

Illustrated is a sleek thrown and altered oval baker form with lugs at each end and lobed in the center, front and back. Glazed in iron on iron, the decoration creates a sense of quadrants that coincides with the lobes and ends of the piece. I like making these pieces going all the way back to the early 90s after seeing both Ron Meyers and Jeff Oestriech create ovaled pieces, the former, casual, immediate and direct and the later exacting, well thought out and precise. Taking from both schools of creation, there is always room for both in one's vocabulary, this one being tighter and more structural, the details are added to accentuate the form and highlight its mode of manufacture. Truth be told, after all the wheel throwing I have done it is great to break the routine and take a thrown cylinder and cut, paste, fold and mutilate. Just another aspect of making pots.

"The less routine the more life."  Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888)

TORUKO-AO HACHI

Illustrated is a wonderful Persian blue shallow bowl (Toruko-ao hachi) on a pedestal foot by Ningen Kokuho; Kato Takuo. The rim is decorated with flowers and birds while the center depicts a noble Persian prince astride an Arabian stallion, the black underglaze has a slight blue hue to it as it peers through the rich glaze. I have seen a large number of Kato Takuo's toruko-ao pots and each one has a sense of ageless nobility to them and though heavily decorated, each one has an appropriateness showing no signs of an heavy handiness. Kato new exactly how much design/decoration a pot could handle and what was needed to depict his intent and never wasted a single brush stroke. For Kato Takuo, like so many other potters, big things are still made up of all the minute details.

PERFECTION REVISITED

Perfection is a tricky thing unless you are speaking about scientific or mathematical perfection. What I have come to think is that perfection is an amalgam of a myriad of mistakes or imperfections that one way or another tricks the senses into perceiving the perfect. If you have ever used an instrument to measure a thrown pot which appears perfectly round, you will be amazed that it is anything but. Years ago, my wife and I knew a guy who cast specific parts for the US Air Force emergency response equipment. These cast pieces had to be perfect; they were weighed to within 1/1000 of a gram, tested with a durometer for exact hardness, measured with varying calipers to measure within 1/10,000 of an inch and finally x-rayed to be sure there were no voids, casting flaws, etc. For such items and certainly other scientific objects and calculations, perfect has to be absolutely perfect.

My latest conundrum is at what point does a perfect pot have to be perfect, specifically porcelains celadon pieces? There is a purity and simplicity, even a brutal honesty to these pots; to some sterile and boring, to others breath taking, inviting and serene, that is the foundation of these works. Despite your viewpoint, there is a resolute perspective that these pots should be as perfect as is possible.

In my blog I have covered wood fired pieces as being perfect if they are in the same condition the potter unloaded them from the kiln or placed them in a signed box, scars and all, but for porcelain, especially celadons, a whole different set of rules applies*. Beyond the obvious of good form, symmetry and visual balance there is perfection without being cold, boring or lifeless. If you think of potters like Kawase Shinobu, Meada Akihiro and Fukami Sueharu, can you imagine a piece with pinholes, a blemish or two, glazed voids, glaze drips or overlaps, areas of crawled glaze? While these "faults" work well with the way a potter like Kato Tsubusa works, the truth is, these pieces are held to a higher standard of perfection because of their simple surfaces, any imperfection is glaringly obvious and seems magnified tenfold. With opaque celadons, I personally find no room for any imperfections but with transparent and translucent glazes ever so minor blemishes don't necessarily doom a piece; think of the small pinholes and iron spots in the various seiji surfaces of Shimizu U'ichi and even Okabe Mineo. Over time, the one thing that I have discovered is that "perfection" is ultimately defined by and relative to what the pot is, varying wildly from style to style and what is acceptable with Iga-yaki is no where palatable with painted Imari porcelains.

Illustrated is an Ouji mizusashi by Hokkaido potter, Ono Kotaro. His pots are hand thrown and hand carved to utter perfection and his fit and finish of his pottery is exceptional. As a potter (and collector) the mind reels as I imagine how he is able to maintain such exacting curves and create such a perfect surface. Years of patient training, experience and muscle memory all combine to present hand made perfection.

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."  Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944)

(*Restrictions, exceptions and exclusion may apply.)

 

 

 

INLAY

A fairly rare and interesting vase arrived here today by a master of inlay, Kondo Yutaka. Using the elemental  but contrasting colors of black and white, Yutaka has created a vivid and highly animated vase with his textbook decoration, textured black surface and vivid white inlay created by stamping and the use of a rouletting tool. Kondo Yutaka (1932-85) was the son of Ningen Kokuho Kondo Yuzo and studied with his father as well as Tomimoto Kenkichi and Fujimoto Yoshimichi (Nodo) both Living National Treasures as well. On a trip to Korea and China, Yutaka who was drawn to black and white was heavily influenced by the Korean ware known as punch'ong and rapidly developed a unique style based on the historic archetype. This vase is a classic example of this inlay work and is a highly developed example of a synthesis of function and aesthetics at which he excelled. There is a tremendous amount communicated in only black and white with such a simple and well executed idea.

BLUE MONDAY XXII

Measuring in at about six inches tall this small vellum blue jug was inspired by looking around at Fifties design, including the early work of Lucie Rie and Hans Coper. Designed for use from frig to table, this small pitcher is excellent for milk, cream, gravy or even maple syrup and was made to be functional. The pot was thrown out of porcelain with a sharp lip to help cut the flow of liquid when pouring and then had slip applied and carved through with a sharp stylus. In hand the dark band of slip around the jug and at the lip has blue hue where the cobalt in the slip was accentuated by the glaze. I only made a few of these created mostly for fun but the vellum glaze is proving to be rather versatile across a wide array of forms and can be used thick or thin for varying surfaces.

 

RINGKNOPF

Illustrated is a simple, straight forward iron yellow kushime covered jar with a type of knob I have used off and on for quite some time. This ring knob is made by pulling a length of clay, the same way you would pull a handle making sure to keep the pulled coil round. When I am pulling it I make sure the center part is just a bit thinner than the ends will be which allows for a good amount of clay to attach to the lid. I let it set up for a bit before bending it in half and cutting to size. Once attached, I use the end of a paintbrush to create a discernable circle within the knob and this helps create the impression of a ring set on the lid. There is nothing to fancy or complicated about the process or end result, but it is the details that get the job done.

"I have put my heart and soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process." Vincent Van Gogh

OUTSIDE THE BOX

For Kako Katsumi, thinking outside the box or rather on top of the box would seem second nature. Illustrated is a Jomon influenced covered box, futamono by Kako with alternating areas of carved pattern and ash glazed panels and interior. The lid is of simple, yet well carved wood with a rich pattern atop which is affixed an ash glazed knob. The rustic knob ties in well with the surface and curved decoration of the box all the while serving as a perfect addition to a rather decorative and functional pot. Though the use of a ceramic knob on wood is not necessarily unusual, Kako Katsumi has made excellent use of this device which ties together the ceramic and wood components flawlessly, detail after detail ending in the creation of the whole.

良い、悪いと醜い

I'll start out by saying when it comes to choosing, making and addressing knobs for lids, I am not batting 100%, that being said, I have become aware that fewer get it right than those who get it wrong. With knobs as well as other pots, addressing knobs can seem a bit like; the good, the bad and the ugly; there is no hard and fast rules or science to getting varying pieces parts to work together and lidded pots, like teapots are a good example of that. A good knob should be an extension of the lid and of the pot, it should compliment the overall form as well as preforming a function. Some knobs are organic and seem to just "sprout" from the lid and form and others are intentionally made to look added to the form, yet still are tied in to the pot to create a cohesive presentation.

I began thinking about this the other day after a fellow collector asked me my opinion regarding a Shigaraki mizusashi. The pot was very nice and was exceptionally well fired and by a big name potter but the knob seemed like an after thought and seriously detracted from the overall presentation. If you imagine a somewhat irregularly and organic pot with a small section of pipe like knob sticking out of the lid you can get the picture. It seriously looked out of place on the pot and I wonder what the potter was thinking when he made the lid and knob? I know it is easy to play arm-chair quarterback after a pot is made and recognize my own short comings but the only way to get these details right is to study, look at lots of pots and make even more and always remember the devil is in the details and everything a potter does is the details.

Illustrated is a picture a friend sent me of a very fine Iga mizusashi with the potter who made it; Kojima Kenji. This pot is from a December 2014 exhibition of Kojima-san's pots and it is obvious that the knob is an organic extension of both lid and pot. The knob appears to fulfill its functional requirements while making a visual statement as well, all in all a well conceived and executed mizusashi with a great keshiki and color.

SKILL SET

Using a bunch of photos I had taken a while back, I put together a short slideshow of the opaque ash celadon vase made by Bill Klock that was previously posted on my blog. I thought the slideshow would give a fuller understanding of the pot and possible make it a bit clearer why I am fond of it. I have always admired the innate and casual approach Bill has in making pots and I think it shows well in his pottery and in this slideshow. This particular pot has a subtle sense of gesture and animation that is missed in a simple, singular image. What also shows up in the slideshow is Bill's ability to stop when the pot is finished and fore go any fussiness or over manipulating the piece, sadly a talent I do not come by naturally and must work on each and every day in the studio. This pot stands on our mantle next to other pots they were gifts or traded for from other potters, all which stand as a constant reminder of the varying skill sets individual potters bring to their pottery.

The original post for this vase can be found here;
http://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2011/05/on-road.html

VERTIGO

Having transferred more slides into digital images, I came across a large vertigo platter, about 22" x 20" that was made in the mid-90s at PSUC in Plattsburgh. I took some time and went back to work and fire with Bill Klock which got me out of Cleveland and into a comfortable and fresh environment for a couple of weeks. Based partly on Hitchcock and MC Escher I have made these pots for a long while now though I have no clue what ever happened to the large piece illustrated as greenware. The top piece is a smaller piece, roughly 11" x 10" and has four raised feet and is also capable of being hung on a wall. The depth of carving and right choices of glazing or firing, makes for a dynamic texture in a wide array of clays and glazes, temperatures and firing options, including reduction, salt and wood.