FLIPPING THE SWITCH

I went into our back bedroom that now doubles as a library, reading room and sometimes storage area and flipped the light switch which turns on a small, 60watt clip-on light and this was the first thing I saw. I had this rather simple and exceptionally useful Bizen sake set by Isezaki Mitsuru here for a short time and the way it is light in certain respects reminds me of a candlelight alcove in some Edo period inn or home. The sparse light is just adequate to highlight the forms of this intentionally mismatched set in forms and firing but as a unit, it works so well and looks very inviting on a shelf or while in use. Over the years i have seen several sets by the potter which included two guinomi and one tokkuri, but this is the first set with three of the former and two of the later which all fit nice and snug in the signed box for all five pieces. Perhaps it is over used but; kampai!

(And for contrast, a similar composition but under far different circumstances.)

GO TELL THE SPARTANS

Over the years, I have created quite a few trailed and carved slipware that represents various classical history and stories, maxims, quotations, etc. stemming from a misspent youth watching movies, reading sci-fi, fantasy and history. Relying on classic slipwares from all the way back to ancient Greece and somewhat more recent age of Thomas Toft, the decorations and design are only limited by one's imagination and enthusiasm. Illustrated is a small bowl part of a series of carved slipware that illustrates individuals or moments in history; this particular one of a noble Spartan warrior on his way to Thermopylae. Simply executed and surrounded in a key-fret border the use of black slip and a rich terra cotta harkens back to the red or black figure pottery of ancient Greek art. Among the other images that I completed are figures and characters like Zeus, a Conquistador, a Landsknecht and several others. These were quite fun to create and with just a few details, I think it brings the images from history to life.

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by That here, obedient to their laws, we lie."  Simonides of Ceoas (556BC - 469BC)

IS THE PAST PROLOGUE?

It is really quite a remarkable thing to have a ceramic tradition(s) that runs back thousands of years and it is easy to see why select periods over that course of history become the focal points for modern potters/ ceramic artists as the past is prologue in the shaping of a modern identity. Like several ceramic tradition(s), that of Japan stems from Neolithic times to the present with the Jomon/Yayoi cultures and the medieval and Momoyama eras being poured over and revisited to inexhaustible possibilities, revitalized and reinvented by modern potters, not only in Japan but around the world. All you need do is look back on the early 20th century to see the Bizen, Shigaraki, Shino and many other traditions brought back from the verge of near extinctions by the likes of Arakawa, Rakusai III, Nakazato Muan, Kaneshige Toyo and their contemporaries to see how crucial the earlier medieval and Momoyama eras were and continue to be to Japanese ceramics.

Echizen like many other traditions had their own resurgence starting back at the turn of the 20th century with the aid of the Yamauchi family who did what they could to ensure the "ceramic industry" of the region would survive but in many respects it is the efforts and stewardship of Fujita Juroemon VIII (1922 - 2008) and those that he has taught and trained that has secured the future of this local, long standing tradition. One such potter who has inherited the Echizen tradition and mantle is Nishiura Takeshi. As you can see from this classic Echizen tokkuri it is based on a medieval styled archetype using iron rich indigenous clay, fired in a kiln and manner that goes back centuries to produce this surface that is easily distinguished among the other wood fired traditions of Japan.

You can see more if this Echizen tokkuri on Trocadero by following this link: https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1409227/CLASSIC-MODERN-ECHIZEN-TOKKURI-BY-NISHIURA-TAKASHI

A GOOD YEAR II

A while back I put up a post in regards to Kowari Tetsuya having a rather good year in 2018 and thought I should share another wonderful Oribe piece by him. This large and powerful sculptural object won the Prime Minister's Award at the Nikkouki Exhibition (2018) and though I haven't seen his competition, it is easy to see from this piece that it is truly a wondrous piece. The beautiful and evocative texture and vivid carving seem to come alive under Kowari's masterful touch and ethereal Oribe glaze/ glazing creating a tremendous sense of vertical movement across the surface. The more that I look at these photos, the more that I see; the piece just exudes a strength and emotion that with any luck brings the viewer along for a rather spirited journey into all the possibilities of Oribe.

GRAVITY AT WORK

Illustrated is a simple B&W slipware covered jar flanked by two cushion vase in the same technique and motif. The jar is exceedingly straight forward in its construction, just thrown and ready to decorate, the two cushion jars start as cylinders, pushed oval, a base applied, the top "crimped" shut and a thrown neck added. Both forms are pretty easy to make and on this particular day, I think I had made four of each with the vases taking the lion's share of time to complete. The pots are first given a coat of black slip and then the vertical lines are the marvel of gravity at work, I just squeeze the slip trailer and let the slip take its course with a few added details to complete the designs. All in all this technique makes for a pleasant decoration and how can I complain about letting gravity do all, well most of the work.

A NEAR PERFECT CHAWAN

Okay to be perfectly honest I need to qualify the title of this post, A NEAR PERFECT CHAWAN, what I really am saying is that this is nearly perfect in relation to what I really enjoy from a chawan, it is personal taste based on what I can get from this type of pot. I think I need to make another disclaimer, this is not a chawan, it is a guinomi but as I have looked at it and studied it, rolled it around in my hands and felt the texture of the surface and clay it is rather apparent to me that this is a guinomi that is actually a more like a miniature chawan. The form, lip, interior and kodai are exactly what I would want from a chawan by the potter, Haneishi Shuji (b.1962) or anyone else for that matter but instead of it being 13cm across it measures in at just about 7.5. As you can see in the photo, the form is casual and has a looseness to it having a sense of motion with a soft, undulating lip and a wet surface composed of a layer of ash with areas of running brown green bidoro and imprints from the shells on which it was fired. I have to admit that this haikaburi Kasama-yaki guinomi isn't exactly a perfect chawan but it certainly makes for a great gem of a guinomi that just begs to be taken for a thorough test drive.

( I should also mention that this is not my first encounter with the works of Haneishi Shuji, I have seen quite a few and handled perhaps a dozen. The last encounter was with a kinuta-hanaire that was very simple in form and had a subtle surface covered in a pale green natural glass coating. I am trying to get to handle it again so that I can take a group of photos to make a slideshow video of the vase and in turn I will make a short video slideshow of this guinomi in the future.)

STRIGIFORMES

When I first saw this vase, I couldn't help but conjure up memories of the original TWIN PEAKS TV show. For those of you that remember the show, you will recall the owl iconography that popped up during the short lived series. That aside, this tall and boldly decorated owl vase shows off some wonderful brushwork for which Suzuki Takuji is quite well known for whether it is under or over the glaze his use of a brush doesn't disappoint. In this case the dark black brushwork and decoration is under a soft, Persian blue style glaze that just adds to the decoration of the two distinct, yet different strigiformes that flank either side of the vase with medallions encircling each and linear designs on each side adding to the vertical feel of the full round body. At nearly 13" tall, this vase has a great presence and gives an insight as skill set of this creative potter. If you are so inclined, you can see more of this vase over on my Trocadero marketplace by following this link;

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1409229/PERSIAN-OWL-VASE-BY-SUZUKI-TAKUJI

FISHIN'

For quite some time now I have discovered that ink can be my friend when setting up various designs to carve, in this case a Fishin' design orchestrated around a molded square plate form. Using three parts water to one part ink to stretch it out, I can work out a design and figure out where various elements should go as you can see in this photo. It is not exactly the "measure twice, cut once" method but I can tell you once you have started to incise or carve a design, you are locked in to how and where the design goes. Quite a few of these designs are worked out in advance on scrap pieces of paper, many recycled from my wife's home office which allows me to fine tune the decoration as much as possible until it is time to render it on a  three dimensional form. Granted despite these efforts, not every design translates from paper to pot and some designs just don't work because they are not very good or interesting but I can tell you that far fewer pieces end up in the clay recycle than they used to before I decided that "if you take your time, you get a more harmonious outcome".

ECHO

I'll start out by saying that I intentionally altered the "brightness" of this photo so that you can see the details just a bit better and in doing so may have altered the actual color of this piece. I say may have because obviously this is not my photo nor have I seen this piece in hand but I think we are close enough to the actual visual values of the pot and seeing the piece a bit better is worth the risk in my opinion. This particular Touko-ao tsubo is a bit different than many that you see, it has a classic medieval Persian urn form with accented lobes to alter the pot just a bit and then has the wonderful dark indigo blue to black decoration that immediately brings Kato Kenji to mind. The opaque style glaze just gives the piece a sense of age, a classic surface that doesn't obscure the decoration or form but simply enhances it all the while dancing on the razor's edge between the old and the new. When the pot was glazed, Kato Kenji decided to allow the rich earthenware to speak up and act as a eloquent contributor to the overall presentation which is juxtaposed so well against the archaic Persian blue appearance. Though not a large pot in scale and despite its quiet and serene nature, this signature style tsubo has both the elegance and nobility that echoes across time from the ageless archetype to present day.

SOMETSUKE OBI

I suspect this is something you don't see every day, it is a traditional off white silk obi with a brushed design by none other than Tomimoto Kenkichi.  Painted in three distinct tones of blue imitating his brilliant sometsuke painting, this quaint and quiet scene is one of Tomimoto's classic designs and can be seen on a number of his pottery pieces from stoneware, slipware and porcelain in blue and white decoration.  Tomimoto was a rather diverse artist and is known for everything from printmaking to pottery with a number of kimono and obi that he designed and/or decorated being extant. I realize that this is not exactly pottery related other than in a circuitous manner but in Japanese arts each thing is related to another in both direct and subtle ways and it is quite easy to image Tomimoto decorating using this design on a piece of porcelain as easily as it is to imagine him decorating this somewhat unique obi.

"Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well." John W. Gardner