CURRENTLY IN USE

After my recent post  on my spare mug I received a quick email asking what I had made as the replacement mug which is currently in use? Illustrated is the somewhat largish terra cotta mug that I am using these days a replacement for the pile of shards that had been in use, it was first coated in a black slip and then had accents of a fine iron slip around the mouth and foot and a pour around the waist at which time I then attached the pulled and then rolled handle. It is comfortable to use and the terra cotta keeps the contents warm which of course is a plus. This was a one-off mug and in retrospect I wonder what I would have done if the handle just decided to fall off? I guess it is a good idea to have a spare on hand.

"There are two things a person should never be angry at; what they can help and what they cannot." Plato

MUKAGE

Posting the Ki-Seto chawan up the other day by Tsukigata Nahiko reminded me that I was sent a picture of a large scroll by the artist potter a few months back and decided to share it. What is immediately clear from this illustration is the sheer power and exuberance on display in these two challenging and contemplative characters; MU and KAGE which has been rendered in dense, thick jet black ink in what appears to be a rather spontaneous and explosive manner. I think it is safe to say that be it pottery, ink painting, oil painting or sculpting there is rarely anything timid about either the process or finished object or artwork. This bold calligraphy is mounted in a wonderfully complimentary scroll mounting which is typical of Tsukigata making aesthetic choices regarding everything from his painting's frames to the silk shifuku bags and boxes that accompany his pottery. Though I always consider Tsukigata Nahiko a pioneer who considered the big picture it is clear he thought and worked just outside the box and always contemplated the small details that make for an outstanding presentation.

Now that the weekends is here and you may be looking for something to watch, here is an insight into one of our most cherished childhood memories; 

EARLY ON

I found this photo floating around on the web though it originates with a Japanese dealer who I hope won't mind me posting it up on my blog. This chawan was made early on in the career of Oni-Shino pioneer, Tsukigata Nahiko and represents one of the two distinct styles he calls Ki-Seto. Simply put though not without some variations, Tsukigata's Ki-Seto is best represented by this drier and curdled style together with a wet, glassier surface many times with running ash or a crustier tamadare like effect that mimics an aburage texture. This particular chawan ticks off all the classic boxes from purposeful form to low and well dressed kodai and a rather nice kick to the base that makes for a tantalizing shadow line. Though this Tsukigata chawan was made back in the early 1970s it is easy to see the relationship between this work and his more characteristic Oni-Shino if you strip away all the glaze and study the bones or truth of the form.

A SPARE

After breaking the mug that I had used for a rather long time it occurred to me that it never hurts to have a spare. This tessha and ash glazed mug is the official mug-in-waiting to replace the current terra cotta mug that I am using. Thrown out of stoneware and fired elsewhere, this was the spare to a group of four mugs that I had made a while back. I found it sitting in the back corner of a shelf, hidden from view by a group of large plates that were stacked up and there it was forgotten. I will say I am in no hurry to break my current mug in use but should the unthinkable happen, I'll have a spare waiting somewhere on my shelves most likely collecting dust.

SHINSHA & HAKEME

While it may be easy to see at first glance this is not a Kawai Kanjiro chawan what is immediately apparent is that this was made by one of his students who studied the master and learned their own use of the varying techniques that were on display at the studio. This chawan was made by Mukunoki Eizo and despite being three decades old (or more) it is in pristine and unused condition which gives one the impression that it was just made yesterday.

Once the chawan was thrown and tooled, a sandy thick slip was applied over the clay creating waves of dramatic texture around the bowl which was intended to delight the eye and hands at the very same time. Perhaps one of the things I really appreciate about this chawan is the way the rounded bowl form sits on the pedestal foot, I like this kind of lift and all of the enjoyable space and shadow that it provides and with this it reminds me of some old wan-gata pot that was used, day in and day out made of clay or carved from some local tree. I hope this short video slideshow paints as authentic a picture of the movement, color, form and texture as the chawan conveys in person.

PICTURE PICTURE

I first saw a large covered jar like this one at an exhibition in Kyoto in the early 90s, it was right beside a Hara Kiyoshi tsubo with running horses on it and a stellar Shimizu U'ichi combed iron jar. There were perhaps a two dozen other pots exhibited but these three caught my attention more than the others though we did purchase a tiny hanging vase by Udagawa Hosei that was on display. Sometime later I encountered a larger version of the original jar, the one illustrated here in a small photo in a past issue of the Honoho Geijutsu and then again recently in a book that just arrived. I decided to take a picture of the picture to share this beauty which I have always been drawn to, it is a Kuro-Satsuma covered tsubo by Araki Mikijiro that is so swollen with volume that it appears to be at its bursting point. The precise horizontal line decoration just creates a vivid sense of verticality which is perfectly balanced against the horizontal expansion of this pot. Though I have seen quite a few of Araki's pots in pictures, I haven't seen that many in person, perhaps a half dozen but I can tell you I would love to see this covered jar up close and preferably at my home.

Here is a quick link to a previous post regarding Araki Mikijiro and a short slideshow video. 

https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2019/06/bowled-over.html 

MEMORIAL DAY 2020

I think this year there is a greater sense of honoring those who have sacrificed themselves for the preservation of "a more perfect union" and perhaps we can include those who have made great sacrifices toward keeping our citizens safe at great cost to their own safety. These are rather troubling times where our military and so many others are also acting as an essential boundary between an unseen invader and our neighbors across this country. All I can do is say thanks you for your service(s), your sacrifices and your compassionate patriotism.

"A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers and woods but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."  George William Curtis

FIRED UP

Despite the fact that the recent global events have blended one day in to the next, it would seem that this Sato Katsuhiko Fudo is all fired up for Friday and the impending weekend. This stern, even ominous Fudo image still has that sly sense of humor and light heartiness that most of Sato's paintings tend to be imbued with even when taking on the most serious and religious iconography available. I can not help but always feel just a bit more positive and lively when I am confronted with a painted image or calligraphy by the late Sato Katsuhiko and it is a bit of whimsy and playfulness that harkens back to some of the older literati painters like Tomioka Tessai and Fukuda Kodojin and the Zen paintings of Gibon Sengai among just a few. As I have mentioned before, despite presenting this angry red Fudo as just that there are tidbbits present and knowing the character of the artist to let you see a glimmer of fun in what is usually a very stoic and eminently serious immovable deity king.

NO NONSENSE

I had this teabowl with me, on the desk the other day, late at night looking it over and studying the form, surface and foot and when I turned it over, I decided to take this quick and impromptu photo. As you can see, this kodai is the absolute definition of no nonsense, the basic meat and potatoes executed in rather quick, crisp and clean cuts making for a purposeful and effective foot. Truthfully, the entire piece from mouth, form and foot are all rather simply thrown and conceived out of a rather pleasant, off white stoneware clay instead allowing the semi-exotic machinations of the "shark-skin Shino" to become the focus of the chawan. Robust in scale and nature this chawan by Kato Yoshiaki, a Tokoname potter is a tactile tour de force with every turn of the bowl bringing even more texture filling the senses and despite its simple, almost perfunctory form it is quite a visual handful imbued with purpose and sincerity. As you look at the kodai and its crisp cuts, the wider base fits the strength of the form and creates a definite stability that sets both user and viewer at ease. The sharp tool marks around the exterior and interior of the bowl remind me of some ancient, Neolithic designs, devices that everyone can easily relate to on a chawan that is as much about pleasing all of the senses as it is about bringing the mind along for a journey the is filled with function and ceremony.

BY WAY OF NH

I have had this covered jar up on the top shelf of my storage shelves since they were built all the way back in New Hampshire. To be honest, I didn't keep it because I thought it was some stellar example but rather to remind me of trying to be flexible and as adaptable as possible. Neither the clay or glazes were something that I had ever used before but I was invited to work with another potter and this pot and several others were the results. If I remember correctly, the stoneware clay body came from Sheffield Pottery in Western Massachusetts and the white glaze was a Val Cushing oxidation white glaze with the decoration being purely my own thing, I took the leap and just mixed up three different colors normally used with my majolica hoping they would work out okay. As you can see in the photos, the colors worked rather well over the frosty white glaze that has hints of titanium crystals and the cobalt speckling from the firing further adding to the surface. As I said, not my clay, not my glaze but I did my best working with unfamiliar materials and for just winging it I can't say I wasn't totally displeased that it didn't end up some horrendous mess. Now every time  my wife confronts me in the studio for not being very flexible or adaptable I just reach back and point to this covered jar which illustrates my point by way of New Hampshire.