I
recently made a series of terra cotta v-bowls and pasta bowls and realized I had
all these squarish spaces between where
the bowls would be stacked in the kiln. Realizing that the spaces were a bit
narrow for teabowls or soup bowls it made sense that I needed to make round
pegs to go in these square holes and settled on two groups of six mugs. This
illustrated group of mugs were first coated in black and then trailed in white
slip letting gravity do most of the work. The mugs are fairly generous in
their proportions being over 5" tall and each of the handles is finished
off with an applied thumb rest which I like to add which also matches the
applied button on the foot where I impress my pottery mark. Another feature
that you can't see in the picture is that at the base of each handle is
impressed a decorative stamp that just adds another feature to each mug and is
something I have just seemed to done going back to CSU and perhaps even back to
my early days working in Plattsburgh, I just can't remember at this point.
These mugs were fired this weekend and the kiln is quietly cooling as I type
this so I will post up a photo of the finished product(s) at some point in the
near future.
Perched
atop a lid, this enameled shishi stands guard, at the ready on this classically
designed Kutani koro. This fantastically designed koro with the main feature of
the shishi guardian is flanked by two stylized dragon handles while delicately
balanced on three tall pillar-like legs and the entire piece is expertly
overglazed in varying hues that the maker, Ningen Kokuho Tokuda Yasokichi III
became synonymous with. This tripod koro was made early in Tokuda's career and
is in fact signed with his earlier moniker, Masahiko and though a rather
traditional piece it clearly shows the promise of the saiyu techniques that he
is best known for. What is immediately evident despite the use of a classical
archetype is that this is still a rather modern pot and was made with exacting precision
with a lid that fits exceptionally well and despite the appendages it balance
well on the tall legs. Despite the fragile looking nature of the piece, it is
rather robust and sturdy and makes for an wonderfully functional koro though
this particular one has never been used. Despite being made early in Tokuda
Yasokichi's career, I suspect the original owners revered, even cherished this
piece a bit too much and I hope this short slideshow conveys the charm and
elegance of a koro perhaps just a bit too nice to use.
Illustrated
is a large, rather well weathered Raku teabowl by one of my favorite people ever; Bill
Klock. I was around when Bill threw this teabowl, when it was tooled and later
glazed and fired, it was late in '89. I am not exactly sure when, but at
some point Bill and a student (perhaps Dave Farrell) built a rather nice, somewhat large Raku kiln in
preparation for Paul Soldner coming to PSUC to give an extended workshop. As I
mention, the kiln was a good size, perhaps 14cft and used propane and
came to temperature rather easily, stayed hot while removing pots and was just
easy to use. Another two students and I used it quite often and I was able to
work out a number of accent glazes that could be used on top of various glazes
they were already using as well as being able to spray the surfaces using paper
and cardboard cutouts to create designs. I have absolutely
no examples or photos of these early Raku pots, all were given and traded away, I still have
several of Bill's from these firings of which this is one of them. Generous in
size and perched upon a classic Bill foot. This pot was glazed up in Soldner's
white and then green glaze I had made up was trailed over the surface, the
addition of the blue decoration was mine and in fact was simply added by
dipping my fingers in the glaze and touching them to the surface and you can
see my thumbprint to the extreme right. Pulled from the kiln, the teabowl was placed
in a barrel filled with shredded paper and sawdust for the post firing
reduction. This teabowl had been in a box since our move from Cleveland many
moons ago and I woke up one morning and just decided it was time to pull it out
and put it on a shelf where I could see it every day. Bill may be gone but in
some small part due to the handful of his puts that are about the house, I feel
like I carry on a quiet and thoughtful conversation. Despite Bill's
inclinations, I know that as we were doing Raku there was music playing in the
background as there were a group of students involved and a democracy rules. In all honesty I
can't say I remember what was on but it was most likely a Vermont FM radio station
playing all of the hits of 1989;
It
had been a while since I had thrown any porcelain teabowls so for the last
stoneware firing I ended up throwing a half dozen porcelain bowls for various
finishes. In the end I glazed up two in temmoku and ash, two in saffron iron
yellow and two in the Ao+ I have been working with. This teabowl, a wangata
influenced piece, well, Kawai Kanjiro influenced to put a fine point on it, has
kushime style slip decoration under the Ao+ and came out with a variety of
blue, gosu tones, especially on the front of the bowl and all around the foot
where the glaze has run down the slip channels creating a number of rather
pretty effects which stop just about the actual foot. Where I put in a tea pool
depression, the glaze has set up in such a way as to look like various orbits
culminating in a pale blue dot at the center which also makes for a rather
interesting effect. I really enjoy using my Oribe and Ao+ since both have a
tendency to run and pool, the end results are not at all predictable and in my
mind, there is no other way I would want it. There are a few more
pictures of this teabowl over at my Trocadero marketplace, check here if you
are so inclined;
Back
when I was a kid I distinctly remember seeing a "video" of one of the
planets that was actually a composite, video slideshow which showed the planet
spinning, frame by frame, 360°.As I was looking through a series of photos
that I took of a particular Tsukigata Nahiko Shino chawan, I realized that I
should have enough images to do exactly the same thing, spin the bowl in an
incremental frame by frame perspective and figured why not give it a whirl. The
chawan in question is one of the high footed and broad bowl forms with a rich
red pocked surface and areas of calligraphic style decoration where the iron
slip was resisted prior to glazing. Using existing photos, I tried to edit them
each to the same size and orientation and did the best I could with the photos
I had on hand so please bear in mind this test video was just made for fun. I
realize a good video may be better though I suspect it will give a certain
degree of insight as to what the bowl looks like in its entirety and how the
posture of the piece changes from second to second, enjoy.
It
has been warm here, I know, it's summer and it is warm just about everywhere
but the weather is more like a force
than anything else and the humidity doesn't help especially while I am trying
to get pots to dry. Enter this cool blue and refreshing piece by Ono Kotaro,
the undulating channels which are deeply carved radiate with coolness of the
seiji glaze which breaks to a thin white on the ridges. Like naturally sculpted
ice, the atmosphere of this semi-triangular kensui is highly intoxicating, even mesmerizing in
its simple elegance which I can only imagine is a wonderful addition to a
summer tea ceremony; would its cooling contemplation keep the viewers just a
bit cooler? On a side note, I am rather amazed at how few kensui
actually come my way. I suspect that most collectors gravitate to chawan, then
mizusashi, chaire, tsubo/ hanaire and useable pieces like guinomi, yunomi and
tokkuri before they think about the humble and essential kensui which probably
is as overlooked as futaoki. I can say having seen this Ono Kotaro kensui in
person, it would be very difficult to overlook this piece and even harder to
put it down!
It
is always nice to be busy or at the very least have enough to do to pass the
days by making pots or working in the studio. The last couple of weeks have
been busier than usual and I am not complaining; throwing larger v-bowls, covered serving
bowls, various utilitarian bowls and teabowls and covered jars for a variety of
surfaces in terra cotta. Part of what I am doing is making extras for a new
gallery that will be opening somewhat soon (more info later), I was approached
by the owner and asked if I would like to send some work and have been doing
what I can to get things processed and meet these various commitments.
Illustrated is a group of terra cotta "snowberry" bowls drying among
shelves filled with various other pots and as of tomorrow, I am going to have to
start pushing pots closer together as I tool and finish a group of smaller
functional bowls and teabowl. As more pots get made it becomes more and more
difficult to store and dry the pieces and then find room in the bisque and glaze
fire cleans, it should all get worked out as it boils down to time and simply working
for a living!
Illustrated
is the big blue tsubo that I showed a detail of last week that was made by
Kyoto potter, Furukawa Toshio. Though Furukawa Toshio was very well known for
his various celadon works, he exhibited quite a number of these yuri-hakkin-sai
style pots at various venues which is also the technique that his son, Furukawa
Takuro (b.1979) has become quite well known for. In this case, cut and incised
platinum with gold foil accents are used before the pot is glazed over in this
brilliant blue glaze. This tsubo is rather impressive in person at over
13" tall and 12" across its surface is electric and alive and
depending on the light source it has a variety of hues of color and flashes
reflected light every opportunity it gets. As I mentioned I had a large hachi
by Furukawa here over a year ago, created in the same technique and glaze and
only wish that I could have had both on display if only for a brief moment, I
think it would be quite a spectacle.
Illustrated
is a rather nice, generous yunomi byShino/ Oribe/ Seto-guro specialist, Higashida Shigemasa. Though an early piece
it has many of the classic tell tale signs of Higashida from the obvious Oribe
glaze to the incised and impressed decoration to the crumbly foot that many of
his mizusashi and vases have. This
yunomi really is my cup of tea as it holds quite a bit more than the typical
yunomi and the soft nature of the clay acts as a slight insulator to the heat
of the beverage and also acts to keep cold drinks colder for just a bit longer.
What I can tell you is that despite it being a rather straight forward, even
simple piece what table wouldn't benefit from a set of these yunomi and what
drink wouldn't taste just a bit better coming from such an inspired, handmade
cup?
A
while back I put up a blog post about an Oribe textured teabowl and recently
tried the same surface treatment on a bowl than glazed in temmoku with a thin,
really thin coat of ash glaze over it. The illustration is the results of the
trial which has a rather brooding and ominous appearance though being a bit
more slender than normal and with the very present texture the teabowl is
easily handled with one hand and functions well. Probably the only caveat is
that the texture at the lip clearly registers on the user and though it is not quite
weaponized, it definitely is noticeable and possibly a concern for some users.
Not that my opinion matters but I have long held the belief that once you move
away from the industrial manufacturer and the very conventional the user should
accommodate themselves to the pot and not the other way around. I realize this
is not strictly speaking the definition of function but let's be honest, given
the sheer number of potters and the way they throw, tool, put handles on pots,
make lips, not every pot is going to work for each and every users this is where
some degree of accommodation surely would come in handy. I should also mention
this effect looks a bit harsh in the photo but is less so in person, admittedly
the lightening is not exactly this teabowls best friend.
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