MOBIUS LOOP

Reminding me a bit of a Mobius loop, this undulating form was captured in clay by Bizen master, Kakurezaki Ryuichi. Creating forms that are on the edge of what clay can do and their physical limitations due to gravity and other pertinent laws of physics, Kakurezaki captures strength, power, mobility and often times grace in his pots that few can duplicate. This elegant and looping chawan appears to be in perpetual motion and is blanketed in a soft, velvety surface of ash that helps accentuate the bowl. Using decades of experience and his mastery of clay, Kakurezaki creates pots that combine elements of contemplation, poetry and nobility and fires them with the attention a painter brings to his canvas, I think this simple and lyrical chawan proves my point.

T&A III

Illustrated is a stoneware tsubo glazed in my temmoku and ash (t&a not to be confused with t&a, thrown & altered) over a heavily paddled surface. Now I would be remiss if I didn't state the obvious, these tsubo are influenced by the "big three", Hamada Shoji, Bernard Leach and Warren MacKenzie but there is another influence equal to the others and that is from Bill Klock. When I first stepped in to Bill's studio/ classroom there was always a constant discussion about ash and "dobi" glazes as well as pots in every free space with stamped or paddled decoration. Though Bill was influenced by Leach, Hamada and Cardew who he would visit on down time at the Leach Pottery, I was most influenced by how he handled the clay, forcefully paddled or stamped the pots and just how he went about glazing each piece. To this day at each and every step along the process I am thinking of what I can only think to call the "big four" as each of these potters has made it into my thought process of making and glazing while hopefully making pots that come across as distinctly my own.

"What the world calls originality is only an unaccustomed method of tickling it." George Bernard Shaw

FINELY BLENDED

I made this video in haste and it is a bit shaky but I think it conveys the volume and presence of the bowl. Made by Mino potter, Kato Toyohisa (b. 1962) the surface is a complex mixture of texture and color from chocolaty browns, iron reds, steely grey-blues, Murasaki purple, tans and orange and deep, snowdrift white much of it speckled with fine white particles like fine snow or pure white sand. The form is robust and large in the hand and is classic for the potter  a blend of the Momoyama archetype and modern reinterpratation of the Mino chawan at which Kato is rather adept. Though based in the past, this is a thoroughly modern bowl that uses 20th century liberties to create a novel approach to the glazing of a Shino chawan by combining thickness, color and textures that if only described would seem to contradict and clash with each other but in actuality the blend works quite well. The richness of the various uses of Shino make this a rather stunning bowl visually and tactilely and lets face it, few potters take such risks in glazing and end up with a chawan that suceeds on a number of different levels, I hope the video shows that to full effect.

I'M SEEING SPOTS

Looking as much like a chawan as possible this yuteki-temmoku guinomi is by master of iron glazes, Kimura Morikazu. The rich, densely spotted surface engulfs the form and as with many really good guinomi, without a scale reference, the form could easily pass for a chawan, the trick is all in the proportions at which Morikazu obviously excells.  What is particularly interesting or curious depending on your perspective is that the size of the spots seems to cluster in bands around the guinomi which you can easily see on the inside, from small to large to small to larger again. I thought this helped define the volume of the piece both inside and out and made for an added bonus to the overall yuteki appearance. I have seen a wide array of pottery from Kimura Morikazu and whether large or small, chawan or guinomi, I am rarely disappointed and love finding the little details, points of distinction within the pottery that separates his work from the rest of the field.

WHISKEY CUP OR WHAT NOT

It is rare that I am not looking to make some odds and ends or what nots to help fill the nooks and crannies of the kiln and from time to time I make tea cups, small covered boxes, guinomi or whiskey cups. In a recent fire I made a small group of whiskey cup out of stoneware that were paddled and later glazed in my temmoku and ash glazes, the cup illustrated is the result. About half the size of a normal teabowl though generous enough, these are perfect for an ice cube and a healthy shot of perhaps Jim Beam Apple or a nice mix of Southern Comfort and ginger ale, what ever the use, perfect after a long day of potting or any other profession. I like the way the glaze pulls and highlights the relief and creates dramatic pools in the recesses, the combination of these two glazes proves to be somewhat unpredictable and it is for that reason that I like to use it and the fact that it nicely matches the color of a number of spirits doesn't hurt either.

TANI-SAN IV

Perhaps just on the large size this classic Shigaraki guinomi is by the veteran potter; Tani Seiuemon. simple in execution the tapering form fits the hand well and best yet, it has a gracious interior to fill. The face of the guinomi is blanketed in an even coat of glass which tapers off and gives way to rich hi-iro across the rear with a thin coat of ash around the mouth at the rear asking the user to take a closer look at the interior. Tani-san, best known for his simple wan-gata chawan and numerous uzuku-maru forms was a traditional potter and was even conservative in his approach to making and firing but his pots possess a comforting and welcoming atmosphere the calls out. Not every potter is driven to change or challenge a tradition but how many can make pots day in and day out over a lifetime that bring a bit of happiness and joy in the using?

INK WASH II

Illustrated is a rich and fluid ink water color by Ningen Kokuho, Tomimoto Kenkichi. Most likely rendered during the 1940's, this design shows the vivid and casual designs he was well known for earlier on in his career as well as a bit of inspiration from William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement. The form is classic Tomimoto and was used through out his career but these well conceived but more naturalistic designs gave way to his more detail oriented and constructed design for which he is best known for today. I really admire his early works which included slip trailed, carved, raku and simple sometsuke pottery and shows his pathway to the complex iro-e style of enamel painting that he was made Ningen Kokuho for. What is clearly seen in the ink wash is Tomimoto's impressive use of space and color and whether it is paper or porcelain, his mastery of materials, technique and design stand out among the best of the artist-potters of the 20th century.

You can see a previous blog post which shows another ink wash by clicking on the link provided;
http://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2012/11/its-wash.html
 

ITS STILL LIFE

Every now and again I get an inquiry that at first makes me scratch my head as to how to proceed and when I was first asked to make Its Still Life cups and saucers I did just that. It was going to be a lot of effort painting smaller versions of my still life designs on a cup and saucer and to be honest it sounded like a losing proposition in terms of time and reward. I will say that I was willing to make the pots because the customer is always right and I thought it would be nice to have the cups and saucers to accompany the dinnerware that they already had. After looking at the varying designs and thinking about it for a short time the obvious finally became obvious, instead of painting still life decoration on each I would make the cups and saucers look like they do in the actual painted designs. The illustration is an example of the cup decoration that I decided to go with, they are literally the three dimensional representation of the cups/saucer designs that I paint on the pots. It may seem like I took the easy way out of the laborious process of painting full still life designs but in the end this novel approach to the cups and saucers go far better with the dinnerware than I could have ever expected.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS? (BRIDGE FOR SALE)

Apocryphal (  ə-ˈpä-krə-fəl); in simple terms something that is well known but not true, a fuller definition would be, of doubtful authenticity, spurious, dubious, mythical.

I saw a chawan recently that was being represented as a Momoyama period treasure and it was unused, what are the odds? Now I am certainly not saying that just because the bowl appears unused and nearly pristine on the interior (even though there are other characteristics that don't seem right for the period) that it is questionable in its age "guesstimation" but seriously, what are the odds that a bowl made over 400 years ago was not ever used as to leave some traces of the use in the crackle of the feldspar glaze inside? Not to come across as a cynic, which I am by the way but I would think my chances of winning the next $1.5 Billion lottery are far better than this really being plausible. When dealing with the authentication process experts are in agreement, it is far easier to discount an object as fake than prove its (veracity or validity) to 100% certainty. Though I am no expert on Momoyama ceramics I have been very fortunate to handle some rather famous Momoyama pots (thanks to MC and MA and a private Japanese collector) and there is a rather similar quality to these pots beyond the robust and simple qualities of these pots, none possess that over worked, contrived and self-conscious appearance that the later copies all seem to exhibit even if ever so minutely. I guess it is just easy to say a pot is Momoyama or by Hamada Shoji, back it up with a ambiguous return policy and see what happens, after all you pay your money and you take your chances. Personally I'll side with the time proven adage; CAVEAT EMPTOR.

RIGHT ON TRACK

Illustrated is a picture that I found on the web of an Ko-Iga style vase by Kojima Kenji. It is obvious this piece dates early in Kojima's career but the strength of form and his mastery of firing is clearly seen in here. The bamboo form is casual in its making creating an imposing presence with a strong ridge defining the piece, the confident marks made along the pot articulate the surface and break the tension just a bit. The majority of the vase form is cloaked in a rich green ash that appears wet and in motion while there is a triangular patch where charcoal has painted a portion of the base creating a wonderful juxtaposition to the rest of the surface. Though this pot has strong ties to feudal archetypes than his more contemporary vessels it is clear that he was right on track to creating robust and honest pottery that reflects a dedication to Ko-Iga and the personal vision of a pioneer.

"To make beautiful Igayaki, one shouldn't fuss too much with the shapes but stay conscious of showing off the beautiful green color." From an interview between Hiroshi Den and Kojima Kenji, translated by Peter Ujlaki.