BASHO MIKOMI

I took a large group of photos of a Furutani Kazuya chawan some months back and put them in a folder and only recently really looked them over. As soon as I saw this particular picture, a detail of the mikomi, the pool and interior I was reminded of a favorite poem by Matsuo Basho that I think about from time to time while enjoying the moonlight piercing the trees throughout the Mohawk River Valley. This detail shot clearly shows the beautiful build up of natural ash inside the chawan creating a deep green pool with areas of fractured crust that tried building up on the liquid contents at the height of the firing. It is quite easy to see all of the rivers of ash moving into the lowest point of the chawan's interior painting a wonderful if unintentional pattern which is honestly made even more brilliant by the addition of the sun. As I am often reminded, this is only a solitary detail but even so, I can do with details like this singular or otherwise in all the wood fired pots that I get to see and handle.

Moonlight slanting

through the bamboo groove;

a cuckoo crying     (Basho)

NAME THAT TUNE

I have a friend that now and again sends me close-up or detail photos of pots he has either collected or recently handled, sort of a Name That Tune kind of things only in this case, who made the pot. I will be honest, I usually do fairly well, perhaps I get 90% or so right though when it comes to detail shots of the various wood fired traditions or things like sometsuke ware it can get a bit difficult. Prior to this photo I was sent a picture that showed the very top of an abstract mountain rendered in underglaze blue which was obviously  a student of Kondo Yuzo so I jumped right to Kondo Hiroshi except it was actually painted by Shinoda Gi'ichi and there were clues I ignored.

That brings me to this unusual detail shot which was actually quite easy as I had actually only recently seen this very piece made by Morino Kako, a master of glazes and father of Morino Taimei. The bottle has this rather unusual red, iron base glaze with areas of transparent green crazed glaze and where the two meet it creates these brilliant boundaries of black, gold and other iridescent effects which I can say I have only seen on Kako's pottery. In looking though several catalogues on Morino Kako, the majority of pieces glazed in this fashion were made later in life and some of the forms are quite playful in there geometry with this piece being a simple, small rectangular henko though punctuated with these brilliant, cosmic storms around the pot surface making for a much larger scale than the dimensions may necessarily imply.

JUST A JUG

I have probably mentioned on an occasion or two that I am very influenced by the pitchers and jugs of the late Bill Klock and having had the chance to handle quite a few of them, I hope I have learned a thing or two or even three. The biggest problem with Bill's pitchers and jugs is that for quite some time I was very intimidated by them and only on the rarest occasion did I throw any and truthfully they were just too close to his pieces. In order to move on I spent a fair amount of time learning about and searching out medieval and earlier pitchers in order to make my way clear of the shadow of Bill's pots and this particular form is one that I settled on and still make to this day. This temmoku, stamped jug isn't terribly large at about 12" tall but it has a strict, almost formal form that is broken up with the deeply impressed designs around the widest point of the belly and the exaggerated throwing rings around the neck. The temmoku also has broken nicely on either side of the handle creating a framework for the deep rich glaze in between either edge and all told just enough detail has been added to break up the surface and give the pot the right amount of eye appeal. This is just a jug, nothing more but there are lessons learned from Bill Klock, Warren MacKenzie and others in this pot but they are subtle and I would like to think the bigger picture is all about how I see and make pottery just outside the cast shadow.

COOL POOL

Visual depth and enticing clarity are clearly on display on this cool pool of comforting and alluring azure blue as created by Heki-yu specialist Kimura Yoshiro. Whenever I handle this piece, especially as the temperatures begin to climb I find myself moving from light source to light source trying to pull out every nuance and detail from the rich azure pool. Created as the glaze was made liquid by the heat of the firing allowing the contents to build up and fashion a mystifying gem as if created in the crucible of a dying sun or in this case a potter's kiln. I believe I have posted this guinomi in a previous blog post and hate to be redundant but this detail only recently captured while the piece was showing off in the sunlight made for a clear example of what it is about Kimura Yoshiro's works that is so intoxicating .Succinctly put there is a  dramatic merger of simplicity and seduction in this case in the form of a glaze which becomes all the more alluring the thicker it becomes. Though intended for a specific function I can never bring myself to obscure the pool with any contents, spirited or otherwise.

"Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; he watches from his mountain walls, and like a thunderbolt he falls."   From THE EAGLE by Alfred Lord Tennyson

BALANCING ACT

I have always been fascinated as much by what people have collected as how they have it displayed. In some cases the displays are almost clinical and sterile, some just have pots stacked everywhere (which I personally dislike) while others have their objects interspersed within the home to be lived with. Perhaps one of the most enduring images I have is from a visit with a potter while at Haystack, the display was arranged on a wonderful old and folky pie safe with a brilliant array of pots by Jeff Oestreich and Michael Simon, a display that continues to resonate to this day.

As soon as I saw this photo of a rather totemic balancing act I was reminded that not ever collector is a collector but rather people just living with "stuff" in an intimate and connected way, a structured and for some, a contemplative environment. In this case, a larger Michael Simon Persian box acts as a platform for a slightly smaller one with safe, rubber cushions added to the feet to protect the lid from any contact issues as well as adding a good degree of traction. I really like this Michael Simon totem that surely shows off the forms and decoration to great effect and since they are just adjacent to the window the light show must be truly inspired day in and day out.

Did I mention they are just off the countertop and well within reach of an adventurous and inquisitive cat?

PATCHES

Maybe a month or so ago I sent a heavily faceted teabowl to a customer out West, I had shown them three bowl and they picked the one they wanted. When the bowl arrived the customer was a bit unhappy with the piece because there was a patch of clay showing on the inside of the teabowl where I had torn through the clay while faceting the piece. In my defense I use patches to fix violently faceted pieces and the patches are applied and not totally blended in on the outside (or the inside for that matter) of the piece as to not try to hide it, it just becomes part of the process.

I offered the customer a refund but they choose one of the other two teabowls and I sent it to them and it arrived without incidence and I had them just keep the original bowl. The bowl that was chosen was also rather dramatically faceted but during the process there were no errant slices through the clay. Several weeks later an envelope came from the very same customer with a check for the patched bowl which was now up on a shelf and perhaps better understood and appreciated then when it arrived. Thanks!

Illustrated here is not the teabowl in question but is a recently "patched" teabowl where the patch is clearly hiding in plain sight. As you can see the facets are deep, violent and spontaneous which as one can imagine does lead to the occasional mishap which is easily repaired with a small piece of the recently faceted clay.

Its somewhat "golden brown" so enjoy it for what it is.

CUT & DRY

Direct, quick and uncomplicated are a few good adjectives that could describe this simple Oribe kogo made by Sawa Katsunori. Well schooled in the Shiaraki tradition which he studied with his father, Sawa Kiyotsugu and that of the various Mino traditions under the tutelage of Suzuki Goro, Katsunori moves between the styles quite often and at times blending the traditions like in this kogo that bares a style and crispness of a wood fired pot with the semi-transparency of his Oribe. As I pointed out this is neither a complicated or fussed over form which is to me the strong points of the piece, it is simplicity, antiquity and intuition blended that has created this thoughtful and utilitarian object.

YURIKO HACHI

Illustrated is a large yuriko style porcelain charger by Yoshida Takashi which was on display on the mantle for a while. Though I am a fan of sometsuke, I also like the stark drama portrayed in underglaze red with copper tone "bones" defining the decoration which is present on this charger but is a bit difficult to see because of the poor lighting. This large piece is also the beneficiary of a large and bold design which works well on the banded round form, like a circular window looking out into the garden where drifting clouds act as a backdrop for the garden foliage. As must be apparent, Yoshida Takashi has clearly mastered the art of porcelain and the specific technique of yuriko and sometsuke which are prone to caused unattractive crawling, was passed on to him by his master, Kondo Yuzo. In fact there is a great catalogue showcasing Kondo Yuzo and his many students of which Yoshida is included with five illustrations among which a very similar charger though in sometsuke is depicted. I have to admit that without fail, every encounter with the pottery of Yoshida Takashi's pottery leaves me with a calm and contemplative feeling whether it is a simple tokkuri and guinomi, a mizusashi or perhaps a large charger commanding the room with its pure white and underglaze red presence.

"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness."  Bill Blass

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;