IN THE ROUND

Having had this Yamato Tsutomu Dai-Kannyu Hagi Chawan hanging around for a couple weeks, I decided to make a short video slideshow to paint a fuller picture of the piece presenting it as best I may in the round as it were. I think I first saw a chawan by Tsutomu's father, Yamato Yasuo back in 2004 or 2005 and just immediately fell in love with the surface and aesthetic. I love that the surfaces look like they are literally being pulled apart like some celestial breakdown of a planet or asteroid which gives telling glimpses in to the interior of the pot exposing slip and clay in an evocative and narrative of some distant primal expression. I think that the video also points out the richness of color and texture and where the pot is visually dissected from dark to light with a more classic Shiro-Hagi appears on the rear of the pot. In the end what I hope one takes away from the slideshow is it is clear this is not business as usual from Hagi but rather something new to father and son and likely something to build on in an already rich and diverse Hagi tradition. Enjoy the video.

You can see this chawan over onTrocadero ; 
https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1417067/TSUKI-KAGE-HAGI-DAI-KANNYU-CHAWAN-BY-YAMATO-TSUTOMU

CHOSEN

I know in the past I have mentioned an interest in the unpredictability of runny glazes in my work so it should come as no surprise that the same applies to pots that I collect and/or study. The movement and conversations created in a moving surface is pure excitement, it pleases the eye and the soul which is the most you can ask of a pot. The illustrated detail is from a Chosen-Karatsu chawan made by Fujinoki Dohei and the surface is alive with motion as the glaze cascades down the rounded contours of the bowl. As the tendrils of movement pick up varying tones of color and texture from the base glaze, a rich tapestry is woven between pot and viewer, a narrative steeped in a centuries old tradition that was made in the here and know; centuries of tradition, aesthetics and beauty all frozen in time as the elements coalesced to paint this Chosen-Karatsu waterfall. I wanted to present this detail before showing off the whole chawan as sometimes the tree is the first thing that should be realized before you take in the entire forest.

"Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail." Leonardo Da Vinci

TK No2 FACTUM

 

I finally fired a group of new Oribe test pieces including some small covered jars, a few serving pieces, teabowls and the kotsuzumi style koro that I had made. The results were pretty encouraging across the board with a nice array of effects on the various pots, each according to how they were glaze treated. The kotsuzumi style koro emerged without incident though I must admit until it was unloaded I just had this sense that it may be jinxed but I was anxious for no reason at all in the end. The koro came out pretty close to form as I had seen in my head and the surface has a wild, variegated surface with streaking resembling drizzling moss across nearly the entire surface with some areas of thick blue-green to white running down the pierced knob and around the central portion of the pot. The various sharp edges and lines around the pot as well as the pierced and impressed squares break up the surface and add more movement and detail to read. In the end I am both relieved and pleased to see this piece completed, what started as a quick thought while watching a Mizoguchi film made its way from a ball of clay to a complete idea in three dimensions, what is not to love about clay and second chances?

A DEEP POOL

There is no escaping the fact that we are all an accumulation of our experiences, a deep pool filled with all the bits and pieces we have ever encountered  which for artists and crafts people it often finds its way into their work. Each person ends up honing in on some aspect of the blended psychology of numerous moments to focus on imagery and form that at times may seem inexplicable to the outsiders; from baby heads to post apocalyptic industry and almost (?) everything in between. This leads me to the illustration of two meticulously crafted and well fired vases by Shigaraki Valley potter, Kengo Saeki (b.1969) who after apprenticing with Sawa Kiyostugu  set up his independent studio in 2003.

What is particularly unique about these two vases is that each is based on Japanese locks, just like a Western style padlock mostly seen in use in the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and early Showa eras. As it is rather easy to see, these forms, though perhaps a bit modified, lend themselves rather easily to the aesthetic and function of a flower vase with their exacting and crisp details softened ever so slightly by the natural ash built up that accentuates the surfaces. In the end, we get this small glimpse in to the mind of the maker and beyond the aesthetics of the object we are left to sit, contemplate and ponder, just exactly where the idea really comes from and what is the potter thinking or trying to communicate.

"The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises." Sigmund Freud

WARI-KODAI

Over the years I have concluded that I can easily run hot or cold on wari-kodai preferring a more "conservative" foot ring is more my comfort zone not to mention the aesthetic that I prefer. I have seen a number of chawan with excellent wari-kodai, especially the works of Tsujimura Shiro, Miwa Kyusetsu XI and Hayashi Shotaro but for me to be fully invested in this style, the execution, and proportions have to be just perfect and sync seamlessly with the bowl form. Illustrated is a chawan I recently handled by Enomoto Kyousuke and as you can see from the photo the proportions and relationship to the bowl are almost spot on and the way the kodai is cut and articulated bring some movement to an otherwise static pedestal.

Perhaps what I enjoy most is that Enomoto tooled or carved out a slight basin like depression at the center of the foot prior to cutting it which ends up having the bowl rest on the edges of each articulated quarter. I really liked this touch and it changes the posture of the bowl and when looking at the chawan seated on a shelf or other flat surface it allows for a less heavy feeling and is really quite noticeable when handling the bowl and resting it in the hand. I know I drone on about attention to details way to often but what would anything hand or machine made be if the whole was not an amalgam of considered details, like all the atoms in any particular molecule.

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." John Wooden

TRIANGLES AND 2/3rds

This triangles decorated teapot was from a class that I taught some while back, the goal was simple, throw a closed cylinder in under five pounds of terra cotta and then cut it apart to build a teapot. Using about four pounds of clay, I threw a mostly straight sided closed form with a slightly domed top and enough clay in the base to tool a shallow foot and once it had set up, I trimmed out an angled foot around the piece. Now comes the tricky part, I cut the closed form with the trimmed foot into three pieces, the center piece being about 25% of the total diameter and then reassembled the two end pieces together and cut the foot to accentuate the form. I rethrew an opening to accept a lid which I then threw to fit the teapot, threw and attached a spout and last but not least added a handled. When I came up with the idea I hadn't really worked out the decoration but I had some black and white slip with me so this is what I ended up with. After the class, I brought the pot home and glazed it up in a copper glaze that I had made up for some students and this was the finished product which I have sitting up on a shelf, usually collecting dust as a reminder of that exercise, did I mention it pours rather nicely?

I should mention that there was an incredible array of ideas that came from the group in the class, from machine age, architectural, highly organic to outright fantastical. I think it is a great way to keep on my toes by coming up with odd challenges including tough time limits and the worst that can happen is that you wedge it up or slake and reclaim the clay at the end of the day.

UPSIDE DOWN

A while back I put up a couple of different post in regards to a sculptural Bizen piece by Kaneshige Kosuke, son of the Ningen Kokuho, Kaneshige Toyo. I think it is fair to say that when thinking of Kosuke it is his sculptural body of work that initially springs to mind and as you flip through TOH #45 that is all that is illustrated in the book about this artist-potter. I think it is also safe to say that among sake enthusiasts and chadogu collectors that Kaneshige Kosuke has also create a wonderful array of guinomi, tokkuri, chawan, mizusashi, vases and quite frankly, everyday using pottery. Looking at his body of work and the pioneering aspects of his sculptural pieces I can see why these pieces have attacked  the lion's share among critics but his wheel thrown pottery stands out among a large field among the Bizen tradition and are quite easily at home in daily use, for the odd and rare ceremony or occasion or up on a shelf to help define and even influence one's environment.

Illustrated is a low Bizen chawan with a slightly wobbly posture and seductively undulating lip with a line creating the slope to the foot that echoes the movement of the mouth and creates a nice sense of movement. If you notice, there is a drip running up the bowl on the left which visually defies gravity but is actually the tell tale clue that this chawan was fired upside down. I think as you move away from thinking about Kaneshige Kosuke's Bizen sculpture, this is not a bad chawan to look at; classic lines, traditional yet modern form, nicely articulated surface and a lift off the foot and shadow line that are pleasing to the eye and the soul not to mention a wonderful sense of calm. It may not be a sculpture but following in his father's footsteps, but the way Kosuke uses clay and firing can be seen in pots just like this chawan combining a feudal tradition with concerns and aesthetics of a new millennium.

POURED B&W

I have been continuing to work on "faceting" surfaces using this jagged piece, almost a splinter of wood that has two sharp surfaces, one runs vertical and the other horizontal making for a neat chisel effect which you can see in the details of these photos. First thrown, the surface was then quickly faceted while still wet and then the whole bowl was pushed a bit oval. As the pot dried, I poured both white and black slip over the piece at four distinct point making for a random decoration and then once bisque, I glazed the teabowl in my saffron glaze with a hint of added iron here and there though I suspect it would have benefitted from just a bit more iron, but who wouldn't? I think the results are somewhat promising as I am trying to get more comfortable with the cut and tear method of faceting. The current results are just a bit unpredictable but in the end, it is this random quality that will keep me interested, keep each bowl a bit different and hopefully each cut as fresh as when it was made.

"When you allow yourself to be unpredictable, you step from the known into the unknown, where anything is possible*." Deepak Chopra

(*Anything being possible may not necessarily be the best thing conceivable on firing day, just saying.)

DAI-KANNYU HAGI

This piece is a rather unique and exotic dai-kannyu Hagi chawan made by Yamato Tsutomu, son of the Hagi legend, Yamato Yasuo. Made of classic Hagi clay with thick crackle slip put on the clay, an ash based glaze is then used to complete this rather modern Hagi chawan which follows admirably in the footsteps of his father and teacher. The use of this thick slip creates dramatic fissures and texture across the surface of the pot which has a high loss rate but when it works, this is the result, a primal, even elemental chawan. This chawan has a wonderful range of colors and feels great in the hand, truly a tactile experience while being visually engaging. This dai-kannyu style was pioneered by his father Yamato Yasuo and the potter, Yamato Tsutomu is an adept pupil and proponent mastering his ability to make this primal, elemental surface in to his own signature look.

Yamato Tsutomu is widely exhibited and published in Japan and even has several videos up on Youtube of him working. This particular chawan is also accompanied by an exhibition tag which I believe attests to what the potter thought of the pot. If you Google Yamato Tsutomu you can see his work in various international museums and some current prices including a rather pricy mizusashi at Gallery Japan. All in all this is a somewhat rare and classic example of the dai-kannyu Hagi style that both he and his father are so well known for.

You can see more of this chawan over at my Trocadero marketplace; https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/catalog/ 

 

YES, YOU KNOW ME

Simplicity, that is what strikes me most about this very utilitarian yunomi, perhaps one of a thousand or more. Thrown out of a coarse Shigaraki clay with all of the larger bits of debris removed prior to the throwing, the form is all about use and also easily identifiable as a yunomi by Furutani Michio. The clay, surface and textbook cut kodai all speak to a potters understanding of pottery and process that makes Furutani stand out as one of the legendary proponents of the Shigaraki and Iga traditions. There is rhythm, honesty, sincerity and strength in his work and I hope that this short video slideshow conveys that along with even more if you are in the right mood and frame of mind. Mencius said, "sincerity is the way to heaven" and perhaps that journey begins at the bottom of a teacup. Enjoy!

"Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony.In the middle of difficulty, find opportunity." Albert Einstein, I suspect he was talking directly to potters.