P&E

Illustrated is a temmoku and medieval green vase that started out life as a somewhat thick walled cylinder and then was vigorously paddled and then expanded to its current form and the flange mouth thrown in as the last detail of the pot. I have finished forms and then paddled them afterward but have found that the finished product has two distinct looks once finished and fired. The paddled and expanded pot is or would seem to be far more controllable in terms of the finished piece and paddling the form once completely thrown tends to alter it in ways that are sometimes a bit unexpected. I like both methods and continue to use the technique of paddling before and after but in this case wanting the flange style mouth to come out quite perfectly without any irregularities was best achieved by throwing the cylinder, paddling and expanding the form to the finished ideal. In the end if I never mentioned the who, what where and when, I doubt anyone would be any the wiser, or would they?

AS LONG AS I AM AT IT

Every now and again I get a group of Japanese exhibition catalogue, either ones I have bought from a particular book dealer in Tokyo or those that a friend and book collector sends my way while he is in Japan. Most of these come by sea mail and can take some time to get here and in one of these groups from some time back I received two Yamato Yasuo exhibition catalogues and I figured as long as I am at it, I may just as well share another wild and fissured dai-kannyu Hagi chawan. Obviously differing from the other illustrations, this chawan has a more classic, formal shape, painted in a variety of softer, earthy hues with mostly smaller fissures under a milky white glaze that makes for a rather somber and lonely feeling, like snow covered ice beginning to crack under the (unwanted) attention of the sun. However you see this or interpret the horizontal narrative there is a poetic and lyrical quality to this chawan that pulls in the viewer and is likely not to lessen its grip for some time to come.

"In winter with warm tears I'll melt the snow, And keep eternal spring-time on thy face." Shakespeare (Titus Andronicus)

THE WAY

Illustrated is a detail shot of a large Iga henko form by Kojima Kenji, a piece that was both exhibited and illustrated in a catalogue from November of 2017. Besides showing off the wonderful effects created during the firing, the simple and expertly crafted neck and mouth define the pot, add purpose to the form and show the way both in and the way out. There is a classic quality to the way the opening was formed that also creates a sense of mystery of volume, purpose and emptiness, I find these characteristics quite attractive in a pot adding layers of depth to the obvious qualities that immediately meet the eye. It is quite possible to get trapped in endless speculation regarding the vast, empty space being defined by the physical constraints of the pot and this added dimension imbues greater significance to the clay skeleton.

Aside from all of the contemplative characteristics, the neck and mouth of this pot seem to be a classic element of Kojima Kenji's work being seen on a number of his organic and geometric forms. The mouth is just perfect in execution and without fail fits the form to a T, neither too big, nor too small with just the right amount of depression around the mouth to fill to the brim with ash and create a rather stunning visual and metaphoric statement. I honestly think it will take some time to find a better use of geometry that is in play here, as Kojima has managed to wrest poetry out of geometry while defying both the ferocity of fire and unyielding laws of gravity. Well done!

AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT

Now and again I get an inquiry for somewhat specific pieces of pottery that take just a bit extra to get the job done. I was recently asked if I had a vase like one that they had seen but in a different glaze and as luck would have it, I actually had a vase almost identical and in medieval green instead of the saffron yellow glaze and as you can see it is a simple waisted 10" vase with hakeme slip decoration under the glaze. I cleaned the piece up as the shelves can get a bit dusty and sent out a photo a few hours later but the customer was just not sure if it would work for them. In their reply they asked if I could put flowers in the vase and since I have a few artificial ones on hand I made up a quick display and sent them this composite photo. It must have done the trick and I packed up and shipped out the vase minus the flowers. I remember thinking it was a really good thing they didn't want a photo of a plate or tray with a cheese danish on it or it may have disappeared long before the pictures were taken.

"Luck is where opportunity meets preparation."  Seneca

DAIJOUBU DESU

I reached out to Kohyama Yasuhisa a short while back wanting to make sure everything was fine on his end and received an email back the next morning. All was fine and Sensei was getting ready, making work toward a firing possibly this month for a show in July. It was comforting to know that things were just daijoubu there and he was still cutting clay as it were. I have a lot of extremely fond memories of my time in Asanomiya from picking large stones out of clay to being lucky enough to help stoke the kiln during the firing of the anagama and it still seems like just the other day.

I took this photo of Kohyama Yasuhisa while he was loading his anagama for the firing I was there for. I had been involved in wood firings before this but this was a very careful and methodical process of getting the exact right pieces in the exact right places with gaps and spaces so well thought out that you may have sworn he was following a plan some engineer had come up with based on the exact volume and dimensions of the kiln interior, the selected group of pots to fire and the type and amount of each wood to be used. I know that I use the terms happenstance and serendipity when describing wood firing and they certainly do have their place but there is a science born of experience and intuition that ultimately gets the job done and Kohyama is that calculator.

IRON UNDER GLASS

Thrown and then manipulated and even pinched, this buffware chawan was made by perhaps my favorite Fudo painter, Sato Katsuhiko. As I mentioned the bowl is made of a off white, buff stoneware and then calligraphy was brushed around the surface using a rusty iron wash which has areas of semi-translucent to opaque qualities that brings the eye round and round the bowl. Before firing the teabowl was glazed in a thin clear glaze that accentuates both the clay and decoration which makes for a rather appealing overall presentation like iron floating under a thin layer of glass.  Living and working in Nara Prefecture, Sato Katsuhiko began learning pottery making under Tsujimura Shiro in 1974 and over the years he has created a wide array of works and styles from Bizen style wood fired pots to painted overglaze enamel pottery, sometsuke ware and many others including this shoga style chawan. Though I don't exactly consider Sato a great potter it is rather clear that he gets his message across in the works that he throws himself as is the case with this chawan, for some of the other heavy lifting he has had more accomplished potters step in and create pots that where clay act as his canvas for ideas that flow out of two dimensions and sometimes in to three. I know I have used the Clint Eastwood quote before but it is true that "a man has to know his limitations" and in this case, it is possible that Sato Katsuhiko may have exceeded them.

A LITTLE CHEESE, A LITTLE BREAD, A LITTLE WINE......

I am sure, despite where you live or what religion you practice, most people have seen or heard this Bible quote; "Man shall not live by bread alone."  (Matthew 4:4) In recent times it has become rather clear that as we try to sequester ourselves at home that the things that we actually run out of the quickest are fresh vegetables and bread of one form or another. As these stocks are gobbled up we find ourselves needing to make a quick trek out for basic staples to the grocery store and bakery. I recently remarked in an email exchange with a former student that potteries and bakeries are my two favorite places to go, both remind me of home and usually are extremely comforting so the bakery is a must stop.

On our trip out we finished at our local bakery, The White Rose Bakery (Little Falls) and picked up a baguette, a loaf of rye bread, several hard rolls and two cinnamon fritters. the fritters were fresh, warm, just out of the oven with the frosting yet to fully harden as you see in the photo. Once home they were placed in this medium sized and faceted bowl to wait out their short life span, a nice desert to the garlic shrimp pasta which was accompanied by a third of the baguette doubling as garlic bread. It may be true that you can't live on bread alone but it is a commodity in most households that many are dependent on and we are thankful for all those continuing there essential jobs of providing comfort in the way of tasty carbs.

IN THE MOMENT

Given all the noise and bells and whistles everywhere you go or look, coming home to your selected environment, your personal space it is rewarding and comforting to be greeted by simple yet profound objects. This simple, timeless chawan resonates with tradition, antiquity and existing in the moment, all features that I enjoy in a pot or any other object for that matter. Made by Nishibata Daibi (1976-2010), son of the master veteran Tamba potter Nishibata Tadashi, this simple wood fired hakeme chawan is surely based on earlier archetypes infused with hints of modern personality in form, surface and firing. There is a sense of grace and movement that is both real and implied with the motion and application of the thick, crackled hakeme slip and the soft and subtle rolling of the lip which are concretely anchored in the sturdy kodai which is further enhanced with a boldly cut notched foot adding more depth to the bowl. Though simple at first glance I am reminded of the quip that life is quite simple but we insist on making it complicated and despite of all of the complicated, complex thoughts that go into the creation of a good chawan it is quite evident that this gone long before his time talent was quite well versed in keeping it quite simple, at least in appearance.

SATSUMA GEM

This gem-like Satsuma chaire was a real chore to photograph so in the end, I decided to take this informal portrait complete with hotspots and the reflection of the tatami display. Made by Saigo Takafumi (b.1947), a direct descendant of Saigo Takamori (check your wiki), this potter has dedicated his life to the pursuit of various Satsuma style glazed ware including this shinsha red chaire painted with evocative and visually pleasing swaths of blue to purple about the form. The surface of this fat, round form is punctuated with shimmery crystal of a wide array of colors which is in turn complimented by the broad, flat lid and fine Satsuma clay base. Though best known for his take on traditional pottery of the Kagoshima region, this chaire with its Chinese influenced form and red glaze is brought home with the rich and diffuse use of the black glaze splashed across the face like some classic Zen ink stroke and made distinctly Satsuma and even more so a work by Saigo Takafumi.

SILHOUETTE(S) II

As a quick follow up to a recent post, here is the silhouette XOXO covered pot out of the glaze kiln and ready for whatever its next step may be. I decided to go ahead and throw a handful more pieces to fill the kiln, get everything to bisque and then glazed and fired the work. In the end I thought having the work completed made the pieces a bit safer than in varying stages of green or bisque ware as I was moving things around while working on other ideas and projects. Though it may not seem so at first glance, this covered piece was designed for use though I am hoping it will looks just fine sitting on a table or shelf as well and I think the silhouettes bring just a hint of mystery, the unknown to the piece allowing the viewer to fill in the blanks for themselves. I had fun making these larger, oversize silhouette knobs and especially with the other designs that I came up with the connection between imagery and decoration is quite crystal clear. More to come.