LESSON LEARNED II

I finally finished throwing what I need for the current cycle, mostly the pieces are geared toward Oribe and saffron glazes, with a few temmoku and iron or ash and a few pieces made to test the new richer Ao which I am pushing closer to gosu. Many of the pots are heavily textured as the transparent glazes allow the impressed and paddled textures to show through the surfaces. I went into this cycle with a clearer picture than normal as to how I wanted to proceed and used textures that I was well acquainted with and ones that would make the most of the various forms; the Iga paddle and the rippled water stamp took the forefront with a few others being sprinkled in here and there. Illustrated are two of the tall totem like column vases that I made by first paddling and stretching clay around a square piece of wood and then once fairly well defined, a base was added and the pieces were stamped. The taller of the two measured about 16" tall when first made and my intention is to glaze these in Oribe so that the texture is not only visible but accentuated by the surface. I have not made pieces like this before so this is as much a learning experience as anything else and will hold my final judgment until they and the three other pieces from the same series come out of the glaze firing. Hopefully this will have been a good lesson learned whatever the outcome.

"I am always ready to learn, but I do not always like being taught." Winston Churchill

BEST POTS

There is a tremendous sense of economy and calculated simplicity when it comes to the chawan of Hamada Shoji. I am always impressed by the totality of his experience and years of repetition that have distilled form and function to a point where simplicity and economy reign supreme. This chawan is noble in its austerity, a form where the superfluous has been abandoned, the decoration is as elemental as possible and the use of a single glaze that has a great variety in its surface are all of the trademarks that create a bowl where neither editing or adjustments are either needed or possible. Few potters can make such a chawan and Hamada excelled at the art of the rustic which is so clearly on display in this ame-yu chawan. As I ponder the phenomenal array of modern pottery, there are few who can take such a simple bowl and create so much out of so little, culminating in a conversation that cuts across time and culture so effortlessly as the chawan of Hamada Shoji.

"These are the best pots, if they can be done at the best times." Shoji Hamada (from the book SHOJI HAMADA by Susan Peterson),

CLAY IMPROV

I find that as I throw  teabowls, the majority of them are what I refer to as high sided bowls, that is to say, most are taller than they are wide. Over the years I have had this pointed out to me and so I decided that for the upcoming firing, I would make as many lower/wider bowls as of the taller variety. As I have been working on throwing teabowls in a looser and more altered state, most of this investment in time has been made on taller bowls with virtually none having gone in to lower/wider bowls so I find myself improvising as I go along and honestly, this is where interesting stuff can happen. Illustrated is one of the recent bowls that was thrown almost exactly as you see it, pulling the wall creates the uneven lip and undulating line and then once thrown, I push out here and pull out elsewhere to arrive at the shape that is then finished off with a hand cut foot. To finish the bowl, I apply thick slurry slip over the exterior and then comb it to create the texture; once bisque my plan is to glaze it in one of my new Oribe glazes and we will se how it turns our. I'll keep you posted.

"My whole life has been one big improvisation."  Clint Eastwood

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.,

SERIES

I mentioned the other day that I ended up hand building several henko style bottles and illustrated is another from that series. This bottle ended up about 2" taller and perhaps just a bit wider in depth and taper, as I mentioned previously, it seemed like a really good idea at the time though the glaze firing will be the final judge in this matter. I should probably mention that these pieces are not made in a conventional manner, using three slabs, two for the body and one for the bottom, the top section is folded and then paddled around a small piece of 2" x 4" as I go along to define the form, slow and steady wins the race. This way there are no real seams along any edges or the top, hopefully minimizing any cracking. I have not seen this technique done before, though I am sure it is out there, think John Gill meets full contact origami; it just seemed a natural fit for me and it has worked in previous attempts. As I have probably related previously, I have a real love/hate relationship with handbuilding; I the process but love it when they come out well.

"Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to the human existence."  William Blake,

KURINUKI

I've put together a rather short slideshow video of a kurinuki style Hagi chawan by Kaneta Masanao. Rather well known in the West, Masanao is a master of looking in to a block of clay and sculpting, carving and hacking out wonderful objects and vessels that add yet another dimension to the Hagi tradition. Each and every pot has a distinct character while being related in broad terms to other pots of the same technique, it is this uniqueness and quality that draws one into the world of Kaneta Masanao and hopefully this video will convey his expressive kurinuki technique.

琳派

As I look at this noble and elegant platter, I can not help but think of some of the later Rimpa masters of the Edo period. The imagery conjures up thoughts of Sakai Hoitsu and his pupil Suzuki Kiitsu as well as the late master of the style, Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942), all pursued the refinement of design with elements of stylization of which the sparse decoration on this plate so eloquently reflects. Wakao Toshisada is a master of this style, his Rimpa-esque pottery adds to the legacy of this tradition while as potter, painter and designer, his works show a truly inspired understanding of using two dimensional design to articulate a three dimensional form. The grand sweep of the iron running from upper to lower corner brings life to the piece while the use of two lone iris and leaves suggests a lush and contemplative Heian garden. Wakao understands the power of suggestion and it is seen in most of his works allowing the viewer to be moved, transported to differing times and places; this is the lure of his work which fits well in to the legacy that is Rimpa.

JUST 48 OUNCES (OR SO)

Every now and again and far beyond any reason, I seem to get this bug to do something way out in left field, usually something I have never done before and sometimes things I have no recollection of trying or am in possession of the necessary skill set. Though I dabble in hand building from time to time, this has been one of those weeks where I have certainly strayed from the beaten path that is throwing (with a possibility of altering). I have been building these larger, up to 18", totemic column vases with texture all over their surfaces and cutting small "citadel" style windows so that the top opening isn't the place where flowers would go and upset the center of gravity which is quite low. So far, it has been interesting making these pieces to see where they may go. Today however, I decided to make henko style bottles with a texture over their surfaces, honestly, I am not sure what I was thinking. Standing for hours, screwing up my back and a bit less than four pounds each, I don't think I was exactly sure what I was getting in to. Who knew that 48 ounces (or so) could require so much patience and be so demanding.

"Every why hath a wherefore." Shakespeare

ALL THE GLITTERS III

Over three decade of looking and handling Japanese pots, I have seen thousands of pieces by Hamada Shoji and probably handled at least two or three hundred. In that time I would like to think I have become rather familiar with his style but what always amazes me is that just as I think that, some anomaly shows up, something quite out of the ordinary. Sometimes the form is unusual, a one off so to speak, other times it is a decoration that I have never seen and at other times a combination of both. Recently a friend sent me a group of photos of a vase that fit just that description, unique form and casual and spontaneous decoration that I have never encountered in book, catalogue, magazine or in hand. I wonder just how those pieces come about, what was the motivation, the inspiration for those pieces. Then it dawns on me, they happened because they could, they happened as a test, a trial and experiment, a step toward something in his mind's eye that needs to be worked out, after all, every solid and repeated pot, started somewhere and with the first step to solidifying the idea.

The same can be said about the work of Tsukigata Nahiko, I have a pretty indepth understanding of his pots predating his Oni-Shino right up until 2006. I have seen quite a few pieces, handled quite a few as well and have literally well several thousand illustrations from books, catalogues and exhibition catalogues and photos and like with Hamada, I thought I had a full appreciation of what I could expect. Enter the curve ball, a friend recently sent me some pictures of a wood fired Shino mizusashi by Tsukigata Nahiko, the difference is that it is the glaze is varying hues of gold. This mizusashi, a typical form for the potter is named, KINSEN (Golden Spring) possibly a play on the term onsen or hot spring, the remarkable thing about the golden, crystalline coated surface is that it lets you see the pure form not obstructed by thick layers of iron, Shino and ash giving the viewer an unexpected treat. After studying the mizusashi for some time I lingered on the questions of whether or not this surface was accidental, intentional or just experimental and based on what I think is the chemistry of the glaze, I suspect it was both intentional and experimental. Having seen and made silver, bronze and gold toned glazes, I suspect that Tsukigata added manganese and copper in to a thin Shino glaze wash which he applied to the pot and then placed it further back in the kiln and wood fired the piece in a more or less neutral atmosphere resulting in this rather unique pot, even for Tsukigata Nahiko. The real lesson learned is that when dealing with accomplished potters, one always needs to expect the unexpected.

"If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail."   Heraclitus