YU-TSUBO

I recently received three exhibition catalogues from three distinct venues covering a two year period showcasing the Bizen pottery of Fujiwara Yu. The three catalogues all came from the same dealer here in the states and the majority of work revolves around Fujiwara Yu's tsubo with a few tea pieces and guinomi/tokkuri illustrated as well. What makes these three catalogues a bit unusual is that all three have shikishi size paintings in the frontispiece of each catalogue, two of the paintings are of pots and the other is only calligraphy. Illustrated is one of the paintings done in a rich, black ink on a vivid red background of a Bizen flower vase complete with flowers, classic neck and ubiquitous lugs. I suspect that all three of these catalogues came from the same original source, regulars at the exhibitions of Fujiwara Yu where at each event, he inked an addition to their catalogues as one would do for a regular patron. Now all I need to find out is where are all the pots that go along with the catalogues.

THROWN & CARVED

Given the time of year, I have spent more than my fair share of throwing time making serving bowls, both open and covered. I tend to throw two sizes of serving bowls, those of a manageable scale for two to four people and a larger version for about eight people of so, of course a lot depends on what goes in the bowl but this is one of the few things that I make where I don't hear, it could have been bigger or it could have been smaller. This particular bowl was made a month or so ago and was a gift on a recent excursion to see a nice collection of modern Japanese pottery part of a series of thrown and carved pieces later glazed in temmoku and medieval green. I enjoy throwing these bowls, moving, cantilevering the clay out over the foot creates a bit of tension in the form that goes well with the carved grasses pattern around the bowl. With every bowl I make I hope they find their way in to the daily lives where ever they end up and filled to the brim with the resident specialty is always the way I see them in my mind's eye.

LIGHTING FUNDAMENTALS

I know I have discussed the various lighting that I like to view pots in from the normal indoor, incandescent, tungsten bulbs, photo lighting, daylight and even direct sunlight. These lighting fundamentals each reveal various details and visions of a pot and allow the fullest, most immediate conversation that I can have with a piece though on many occasion the pots don't stick around long enough to cycle through all of the different phases of light. The way each type of light picks up on specific details, colors, clay quality and other features literally turns a spotlight on to each piece uncovering aspects that may easily be lost in one light source alone. The illustrated Kumano Kuroemon chawan has quite a bit to offer in each distinct light but in the direct sunlight the bowl just comes alive with a shimmering, sparkling appearance composed of feldspar and ash with crystals at the upper reaches of the surface creating a macrocosms within the confines of a teabowl. There is a richness and sincerity in this bowl painted by the expert guidance of Kumano in clay, glaze and fire and when you add a small portion of the sun, like magic, the chawan springs to life.

OUR CURRENT CONGRESS

It seems like this time of year the area's pardoned turkey all collect around our property. Known as a congress of turkey, we can have 40 to 50 turkey at a time with several male toms strutting around for all the ladies. I am not sure if these turkey know just how lucky they are that  we buy ours local and in a bag, hopefully no close relations of our new neighbors. I think to myself just how lucky they are with non-threatening neighbors and a recently harvested cornfield to plunder. I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and that we, like our gobbling congress have quite a bit to be thankful for!

C&A

I just put together this short video slideshow of a nice Hamada Shoji nuka and tetsu vase that came my way. I know everyone has their own reasons why they like Hamada's work but the characteristics that sticks out in my mind is that his pots are both casual and authentic. This nuka pot, like the bulk of Hamada's pottery is direct, there is nothing fussy or over thought about them, they appeal on both an intellectual and gestural level and like most great pottery fill an emotional need for objects that are created to fulfill unique roles in our daily lives even if a bit out of step with our modern times. I think that pots like those by Hamada tap in to some mysterious, deep seated sub-conscious where people needed pots, ceramics to live, function and even survive day to day and season to season. I hope this video helps impart the casual, authentic nature and various details to give a fuller account of a typical Hamada Shoji Mashiko pot.

CALM BLUE

I don't think that you can get much simpler than this cool blue chawan by Kimura Yoshiro. The color grades from dark to light as it rises up the pot, the lines of the form are direct, imbued with confidence and purpose and the slight wavering of the lip/ mouth breaks up any implied sterility the chawan may have suggested. At first glance there is a stillness and coolness to this chawan that would suggest being aloof or indifferent but to the contrary the calming blue and broken rhythm created by the lip beckon to the viewer, see me, touch me, use me and in this I see a sense of a well centered warmth that is far more inviting that the mere descriptive elements might suggest. I find the subtleties of form and color have been used so skillfully, a product of lots of work and experience to create such a simple bowl that has a depth and complexity that many chawan lack despite all of their attention and details. Kimura Yoshiro has succeeded in making a simple piece that illustrates just how complex simplicity really can be.

ANOTHER ROAD TRIP

Last Friday we made our way down to Middletown, CT to drop off pots for the upcoming annual holiday sale. I probably should just mention that this trip involves minimal effort, basically there and back again in a day trip verses the amount of packing materials, boxes, bubblewrap, tape, two days packing on my knees and UPS charges that add up quite quickly without  the  area bonuses of the excursion. The drive is quite nice with the tail end of autumn hanging on as you pass through the Berkshires and down to southern CT with a further trek from Middletown to Guilford for what adds to the reason we are in the area in the first place. In Guilford we start out getting a tasty cheeseburger and onion rings at Nick's, followed by grabbing up some pastries at Meriano's and then to a very nice wine store where the owner always has wonderful wines and suggestions for our Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Years dinner wines. I know I make mention of this trek every year but it just makes the drop off of pottery so much more special when involves stops at locales that used to be part of our daily lives when we lived in the area. I miss distinct aspects of Guilford, along with Williamsburg, York, Windham, Cleveland and Plattsburgh, more than just a general sense of nostalgia as each area had something to offer, wonderful experiences and opportunities and stuff that you just can't find anywhere else.

Illustrated is the show card and a temmoku and medieval green tray covered in meriano's pastries; cannoli, almond, chocolate and strawberry-cheese croissants.

"I don't like nostalgia unless it's mine." Lou Reed

MEMORY LANE

Recently I was involved in a discussion regarding the potters Hori Ichiro and Yamada Kazu revolving around how they worked and the wellspring of their inspiration. Quite naturally the conversation was steered toward the Enbu-Shino work of Yamada Kazu and the origins and technology of the glaze and it brought me back to a stellar chawan only recently made in that style that I had handled back in 2012. This Enbu-Shino chawan came from a collector that had decided to part with his collection so he sent it to me and I was able to handle it for several weeks as well as take quite a few photos of the piece from just about every conceivable angle. My initial take away from handling the chawan was the raw energy transferred from the fire, trapped in the surface and the tension created, over time that impression has lasted and I still have that same sense, I see a lyrical, almost abstract presence painted on the surface. From my perspective, this style is another in a long line of potters, especially in modern times, pushing the clay, glaze and firing to find where the limits really are and as a by-product of this experimentation often wondrous results unfold. No matter how you interpret Yamada's Enbu-Shino, it is certain to leave an impression and spark a conversation.

The following is a part of the description that I used when it was put up for sale on Trocadero; "Powerful, dramatic, enigmatic, there is a nearly unending number of descriptions that would still all fall short in describing this large Enbu-Shino chawan by Yamada Kazu. Enbu literally means "dancing fire" and it is that dancing fire that pushed the clay and glaze of this chawan to the very limit where the glaze turned to molten glass and began to flow like lava down the sides and into the interior of this pot. But pushing the limit is nothing new for Yamada Kazu who has broke new ground in his pursuit of Shino, Oribe, Ki-Seto, Seto-Guro and even Shigaraki pottery."

 

 

BATTLE ROYALE

Looking a bit like the trunk of a windswept pine this powerful Shigaraki vase was made by Hyogo Prefecture potter, Omae Satoru. This positively medieval looking hanaire is coated with a myriad of all natural glaze effects and colors from glassy ash to crusty charcoal with a ash drip suspended off the bottom like it is trapped in the wind a result of being fired on its side. The pot was thrown and then manipulated, gouged and to complete the form, thick, nascent lugs have been attached at the shoulder to complete the form. It is quite obvious from the surface that a brutal and ferocious battle, a battle royale if you would, has taken place between clay and fire all at the behest of a potter dedicated to creating works that provoke and challenge the viewer. Omae Satoru creates a variety of work from Shigaraki and Bizen to Karatsu ware and beyond having moved from Kobe to Shigaraki where he set up a studio before moving to Awajishi in Hyogo in 2010, possibly just another step on his potter's journey. What I can say about this battle scarred vase is that it speaks of a potter who is willing to push the limits of not only clay but the firing process and every potter who does so adds a page, perhaps even a chapter to what it is to wood fire.

(With any luck, I will put together a video slideshow of this pot in the future.)

PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS

I am still struggling with making this NOA, nuka oatmeal glaze work consistently as well as determining exactly how to use it. It is proving to be extremely temperature sensitive and demanding its own place in the kiln or it comes out way too stiff and rather unattractive. It has been quite a while since I have tried to use a glaze that was this set on an exact temperature and am beginning to wonder about its overall efficacy and reproducible results. In general I have a list of properties that a glaze should have in order for them to go into any scale of production, they are as follows;

>First and foremost suits my interests and works well with my forms and other glazes and washes, in other words, it plays well with others

>Easy to make

>Materials are readily available (except my lepidolite Oribe)

>Cost effective

>Not overly finicky in the glaze application

>Good glaze to body fit

> Slight variations in firing temperature with similar results

>Consistently repeatable results>Little to no crawling or pinholing

>Preferably a 90% success rate in firings

Obviously my list of glaze criteria is nothing but common sense requirements but I know I have fiddled and struggled with glazes in the past and probably will so in the future that are just never going to pan out as reliable surfaces. By coming up with a list it is much easier to just say, enough is enough and stop wasting time, money and energy to fight a fight that can not be won and know when and where to pick your battles. The jury is just not out yet on my NOA glaze quite yet.


Illustrated is a stoneware bottle with the nuka oatmeal glaze over black slip accents, top and bottom and iron and black glaze accents around the piece.