SIMPLY RADISHING

Now I know a bad pun can be considered a sign of a short attention span (or worse) though Alfred Hitchcock considered them "the highest form of literature" but since we were talking about radishes, I just couldn't help myself and let the jeering commence. I found this illustration on the internet quite some time ago and though I am not a huge fan of radishes as food, I found that this ink painting by Kitaoji Rosanjin captured the essence and even spirit of the ubiquitous root vegetable. If you look at it from Rosanjin's point of view as artist, arbiter and gourmand, the scroll painting makes perfect sense as natural as sparse lines and color can be. If you had asked me a hand full of years ago what I thought about the humble radish I doubt I would have much to say but after encountering Momoyama pottery, Kato Tokuro and Rosanjin all linked by this little veggie, I dare say there is certainly more here than meets the eye.

PREDICTABILITY

Based on where you study and with whom, it is still not easy to predict how a potter will work or where his evolution take him, even when your master was Mashiko legend, Hamada Shoji. Such is evidently the case when looking at the Shigaraki influenced, wood fired pottery of Hashimoto Makoto where a good portion of his work is more like Sueki ware than modern Mashiko-yaki. Taking its cue from perhaps some tea house surroundings or a Japanese garden, this stacked stone mizusashi has an ancient and weathered appearance with hints of the mysterious regarding its true nature. Fired in a wood fired kiln the surface of the pot has areas of ash deposits with a tell tale signs of charcoal induced reduction greys across much of the pot where the two lids, one ceramic and one roiro black urushi create very different looks for the tea piece. I must confess this is one of the more intriguing and enigmatic pieces that I have handled in quite some time and a testament to just how far one can follow their own voice even if their teacher was Hamada Shoji.

You can see more of this distinct mizusashi over at my Trocadero marketplace;
http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1338581/item1338581store.html

RAPHANUS SATIVUS II

Over the years I have seen a number of wonderful Ki-Seto pots with various decoration of which the simple incised and accented radish design has always sparked my imagination. Considering I don't have a decent dry style Ki-Seto glaze I decided to make due and blend the design with the Oribe tradition to create moderate using pieces including this large sake cup. While still wet the mouth of the cup was lobed to compliment the natural theme of the piece and then the Momoyama influenced design was incised into the bottom of the cup. I used my rich lepidolite based Oribe glaze for the piece and I think that for the first and only of the production run, the results are not to bad. At nearly five inches across it will certainly make most aficionados pleased with the volume within and the design cloaked in the clarity of their favorite sake.

NEITHER FIRST NOR LAST

 

Illustrated is a rather unique tetsuyu (temmoku style) form that I would call anything but ordinary. Thrown out of a buff, sandy, plastic clay and then painstakingly manipulated to this involved form, the corners of the first tier shoulder had small appendages attached to add visual cues to the pot. The surface is glazed over in a rich and deep blackish iron glaze over which a rusty accent was applied for great contrast creating wonderful streaks running down the sides aided by the intense heat of the kiln and no doubt helped just a bit by gravity. Made by Mino veteran and tetsuyu specialist, Manten Totatsu (b.1940) he has dedicated a large portion of his life to working with iron glazes and manipulating them to his will and purpose which can also be seen in a long line of the awards he has received from varying organizations for his body of work. I have seen quite a few pieces by Manten Totatsu from guinomi/tokkuri, serving pieces, large hachi, vases and chawan but I have never seen a piece of this form before but based on the skill of execution and exceptional way the glaze works on the form, I suspect this wasn't the first pot of this type and certainly not the last.

 

"Tetsuyu develops variations depending on tiny changes in the kiln firing, temperature and in the shading of the glaze. Using an ordinary shape, by completely eliminating the surface works and by changing the glazes, I have worked to search for contrasting blacks and browns and to develop power and volume." A quote from Manten Totatsu on his study and research into iron rich glazes.

 

 

 

IF

If you like Shigaraki pottery and if you like guinomi and if you like sake, how can you not be satiated by this little gem? Like Old English style Slipware is no longer just relegated to the confines of England, this Shigaraki guinomi was made in Niigata by Tsuji Seimei deshi, Kon Chiharu showing off some of the best his firings have to offer. Though thrown, this little pot has the appearance of being hacked out of a block of clay with angles and jagged lines high lighting the surface and breaking clear of the molten ash that covered this piece. I will admit I am not a huge sake drinker preferring western spirits, it would be hard to pass on especially served in a guinomi as appealing as this one.

"There can't be good living where there isn't good drinking."  Benjamin Franklin

SHAMAN

Based on an ongoing flirtation with my "landscapeman" designs, I recently threw a series of medium size v-bowls and once tooled black slipped and carved them with a variety of designs, this one being my shaman motif. Intended to look like two shaman animating the surface, each engaged in delving deeply into the meaning of life, to divine the hidden truths of the universe or just possibly deciding what to have for dinner. What ever the case, the design articulates the space between black slip and exposed red terra cotta to make for a lively design. In case it isn't obvious this style is partially influenced by German block prints created prior to the 1930s though the decoration and designs do not necessarily bare any resemblance to that work. Hopefully, perfectly blended and assimilated, these designs and motifs come from years of watching old movies and reading lots of science fiction to create imagery from my own vocabulary which hopefully will remain a work in progress.

FAIT ACCOMPLI

Last week I showed a square plate being made on a hump mold and thought to show one just recently slip trailed. This particular piece is larger than the one shown and I have attached lugs to the rear so that the tray can hang on the wall. After the form was pulled off the mold and fine tuned I first coat the surface with black slip and after about an hour I go back in and slip trail the design, in this case a pair of fish. As I have probably mentioned I came by the slip trailing kind of naturally working with Bill Klock way back when as he was influenced by Bernard Leach whom he studied with and by Michael Cardew who he took every opportunity to visit while at the Leach pottery. I have tried to impart a casual look to my slip trailing and this is aided by the simple fact that you only have one shot at the decorating part of the process, if you screw up, it shows, its just a done deal.

Moving in to the weekend, here is a novel cover of one of my favorite tunes of the 1990s;

I WONDER

Every year on July 20th I take a moment to remember a remarkable potter who though he left behind a rich and diverse body of work, I wonder how much better his pots would be today. I was lucky to have known Furutani Michio and visited his home and studio on a number of occassions always leaving with a great feeling and a nice pot or two. I put together this short slideshow video out of a group of old photos and hope it still gives a sense of the strength and feudal spirit of this simple pot that stands empty with a window in to all things that is the Shigaraki of Furutani-san.

COVER SHOT

I am not sure if you are familiar with the Japanese publication, magazine called "THE MINGEI" but it is an informative and educational view into the folk art of Japan all packed in to around 80 or so pages. I have a number of issues of the publication and from time to time I am able to get a few more and recently this copy showed up. I was immediately struck by this wonderful Kawai Kanjiro press molded covered box. Glazed in stark white and iron brown the rich design flows about the surface demanding your full attention while sparking the sub-conscious into a series of association, some you are probably unaware that you possess. The beauty of this design is how it is many things to many people but likely to Kawai, it was a simple design to fill space and articulate the form, to my eye it is just like Rorschach evolved into three dimension. This pot is a fitting cover shot for a magazine the remains true to the ideals of the people's art.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX II

I recently received a pot from Japan that I was a bit apprehensive to receive both as the pictures didn't necessarily tell the whole story and I was considering how it would arrive packed. From the moment the package arrived I could tell there was something different about the packing, the box was reinforced with bent pieces of cardboard effectively creating another box just inside the box and the wood box was packed with bubble wrap and crushed newspaper securing it within. Once the interior package was taken out and the bubble wrap removed I opened the wood box to the sight illustrated. As snug as a bug in a rug, a well packed piece is a thing of beauty and this pot was thoroughly secure inside without any movement and truthfully, the pot was as thoughtfully protected as I have ever seen. Now I realize this is not a picture of some wonderful or engaging piece but great packing is almost as much a thing of beauty and an art as is a truly great pot bringing to mind, "anything worth doing is worth doing well".

"Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." Hunter S. Thompson