RED FISH

Illustrated is a large, porcelain charger decorated using a clear glaze, black and red overglaze enamel and a small amount of sgraffito to help detail the highly animated fish. Though best known for his aspara like sprites in various stages of undress, Hasegawa Sojin (b.1935) is well known for a large vocabulary of designs that he used through out his career with a number of detailed study drawings, paintings and scroll show up now and again. This particular design is often seen  and the layout is carefully constructed for use on plates and bowls of various sizes in such a way as to create a well articulated and animated space that is both inviting and refreshing to the viewer. As an heir to the Ko-Kutani and Kutani based traditions, Hasegawa has spent his career dedicated to making iro-e style porcelains that come from a new style that was put forth by several post-war potters like Tokuda Yasokichi I and Kitade Tojiro who I suspect has strongly influenced his works. Though this platter has very traditional elements in the decoration and form it is easy to see that it stands as a more modern creation in the bold portrayal of the subject matter and crisp, fresh and energetic nature establishing that distinctive edge that Hasegawa Sojin is so well known and admired for.

SUNSET

A while back I was watching a Japanese jidaigeki film from the 1950s and in one of the scenes was this distinctive painted backdrop of a cloud streaked sunset sky. I found this visual very intriguing and decided at that moment to set about trying to capture its essence as a backdrop on pottery and this is where the pursuit has taken me. Marrying together some elements of t'su d'zu, slipware and galena glazed potteries, this teabowl has the background of layered slips that come through with thick black additions painted over and carved through to the clay. The thick black slip has bled a little together with the banded surface background helping to add some motion to the bowl. As may be apparent, the whole surface created on greenware was done rather quickly without any chance to go back and fuss with it as was the carving of the flower heads and leaves. I find that the more time I take the more stiff and contrived the piece will look and though this is not exactly the epitome of Zen spontaneity, it is about as close as I can get while still working with a preconceived notion in my head.

MEMORIAL

Mindy and I made our way from central NY through Vermont to Burlington yesterday to attend the Unitarian memorial service of Bill Klock. It was a fairly large gathering of family and friends with his wife Anna and three sons, Ian, Eric and Bill Jr. together with their families. It was great to hear various remembrances of Bill from family and friends that helped paint a fuller picture of my remembrance of him as teacher, mentor, optimist and friend. It was easy to see why so many were in attendance to celebrate Bill as he made friends easily enough though discerningly and kept those around him for a lifetime. Mindy and I knew Bill for nearly thirty years but we learned even more about him and his willingness to share, engage, support and defend the land and property he held dearly at Klock Hollow. Though I will miss Bill and his "Hello, Craig Bird" every time we met or spoke there was a great comfort in knowing how many people he touched and now carry him with them moving forward with their lives. Thanks again Bill.

Illustrated is a Shino mishima teapot made by Bill Klock soon after arriving home from sabbatical in South Korea studying the mishima and Onggi traditions. I have always thought the Korean influenced mishima on an English teapot under an American Shino glaze summed up Bill and how he thought about pottery and its making.

DIVIDED ATTENTION

Known for his Iga and Kuro and Aka-Raku pottery, this particular chawan is right on target for the veteran potter, Konishi Heinai II. Though taking many of his cues from his two masters, Konishi Heinai I and Kawakita Handeishi, this classic Raku inspired chawan is all about a potter who has divided his attention between two of the most classical and feudal traditions out there, both Iga-yaki and Raku yet neither has suffered from any lack of thorough mastery. The shape has an nobility and elegance to it as it seems to thrust off the foot and taper seductively inviting one to hold and admire the form in hand. The rich iron to black-brown surface has a serene texture to it that is punctuated by a well placed tong mark where the bowl was plucked out of the fire to cool quickly to lock in the color and atmosphere of the glaze and to this end, Konishi has quite earnestly succeeded.

HAKU-ENYU CHAWAN

Broad yet inviting, this snowy white haku-enyu chawan was made by Iwabuchi Shigeya at the height of his pottery making career. Thrown and covered in a thich, crackle slip, sometimes combed, wax resisted or otherwise decorated, this surface was left undisturbed making it a perfect candidate for the wood fueled salt firing that the pot was subjected to. The landscape of the pot is certainly activated by all of the cracking and crackling and held taut by the richly blushed lip that encircles the chawan. The occasional gohonde spot and the dark, iron rich spots punctuate the form where the bowl was held while dipping the piece in slip adding to the simple appearance of this classic Twentieth Century Kyoto chawan.

And just because it is Wednesday;

TOP OPTIONS

It is certainly a simple enough idea but since I first started making pots with two lids, mostly with varying knobs, I have been surprised at how often an order comes in and the two-lid option is asked for. In theory and practice there is usually very little difference in the two lids but I have also been aware what a different look can be achieved by just the difference in the knob and in the case of this pot the thrown in knob  and the to be attached ring knob will finish each respective lid. In other examples the lids can vary quite a bit more with the creation of a concave lid and a convex lid for the same pot or for cap lids a pair with and without a knob. As I said it is a simple enough concept but there is something pleasing about altering the conversation you are having with a pot and this may be the easiest way to do so.

EXOTIC CAMOUFLAGE II

Barely two weeks after I posted up a chawan by Sasaki Yuzuru this mizusashi showed up and though difficult as heck to photograph it is the same technique as the former. I am not sure how to classify such occurences; coincidence, happenstance or serendipity but this does seem to happen with some regularity and the logicical side says, someone saw the original post and decided it was a good time to conitue on the path of downsizing. This particular lobed yuteki mizusashi appears to be mostly dark with hints of yellow peeking out but with every turn the yellow shows up through its dusted and spotted surface of dark iridescent spots giving it a real three dimensional appearance and looking just as much like exotic camouflage as the chawan. I will admit this is not exactly a great photograph but it is as good as I could get and hopefully lets the viewer glimpse in to how the pot appears in person as it is nothing short of amazing. Like the previous piece there is truly no doubt who made this mizusashi and the skill and sensitivty it takes to pull off such a noble pot.

REVISITED TEXTURE

At this point it may come as no surprise that I like texture and using it to help articulate and animate a pot. This particular revisited texture seen as  both greenware and "green ware", is something that I first tried my hand at way back at Cleveland State. I really like the sense of geological layering that it resembles and it truly has its own unique feel in the hand, every layer, crack and separations speaks to the hand as well as the eye. In this particular case I used the iron based stoneware that I have been making up in small batches and glazed it in one of my Oribe variants to allow the clay to speak through the glaze without any interruptions. As you can see the interior is as smooth as ever and unimpeded from the intent of the bowl but the exterior is as great a contrast as I can remember in recent memory.

ORIBE MENTORI

I received this large and  imposing Oribe mizusashi by long time Mino potter, Hayashi Shotaro on Saturday, a collector friend has been downsizing for a number of years and thought this was next in line. Thrown out of a fine Mino clay, much of the surface was aggressively and confidentally cut, even ripped away to create a surface of wonderful flat planes and rough areas of faceted clay which was then glaze in Hayashi's rich Oribe glaze. The surface shows a profound array of tonal variations with areas of deep greens and thinner areas showing almost to the buff of the clay. The lid is thrown and also cut away to create a well matched surface and angular and purposeful knob and sits wonderfully in the deep set recess which also plays host to several deep green drips that are suspended defying both gravity and time. I took a group of photos and built a slideshow video of this piece and hopefully captured the strength and power of the mizusashi which still bares its exhibition sticker on the bottom of the pot.

You can see more of this oribe mizusashi over on my Trocadero marketplace page;
https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1363355/LARGE-SCULPTURAL-ORIBE-MIZUSASHI-BY-HAYASHI-SHOTARO

SATINY SMOOTH

This is an old picture, perhaps from 10 years ago, it recently surfaced as I was looking for another pot on a disc with pottery files. It is funny how there are certain things I remember about pots I have handled and in this case the satiny, smooth texture of the glaze juxtaposed against the slightly coarse clay still stands out in my mind. Though Ningen Kokuho for Seto-Guro, Kato Kozo is also well known for his various Shino and Ki-seto glazes as well as for his rather distinctive tetsu-yu that feels wonderful to the touch and has a very subtle array of effects and sub-textures about the surface. The rich, full form and evocative landscape gives one the impression of cradling a large succulent or at the very least a big ripe persimmon making the chawan that much easier to interact with. Over time I have seen a number of Kato Kozo's tetsu-yu pots from chawan to tsubo and yet this particular piece always springs to mind and makes me think of Japan in the late fall when the persimmons are ripe and ready to pick.