OBJECT

This photo is one of the many that I took during my stay in Japan back in the early 90s. When I first arrived at the home and studio of Kohyama Yasuhisa he was busy selecting and then packing pieces for his upcoming exhibition that was being held in The Netherlands though this piece was not one of them if I remember correctly as this one was for a Takashimiya exhibit. This large and evocative vase form, object was in the formal greeting room at Kohyama's home with traditional alcove and tatami mat floors with this piece and another in the corner filled with fresh cut flowers (I have the picture of that as well somewhere). I was immediately taken by this elemental and even archaic quality of this vessel which had a dazzling but thin coat of green ash melted across the surface causing it to sparkle and luminesce  as you moved around it. Though a bit hard to see in the photo there is incised fine line decoration on the surface on the front and back shields of the vase that just make it look like something from the long distant past now covered in a thin coating of ice. My stay at Kohyama's was a grand experience and being around pots like this certainly made the stay all the richer.

TOO MUCH SALT

Every time I turn around all I hear is that there is too much salt in our diets but as I look at this en-yu, salt fired chawan it is clear that there is just the right amount on this surface. Made by Kyoto potter, Iwabuchi Shigeya this chawan has nearly the ideal surface among his works with plenty of texture, salt and a wonderful blush that adds a degree of distinction to the piece. The throwing has created a sense of movement, of natural rhythm to the bowl which is seated comfortably on a  bamboo node style foot that adds that sense of lift that beckons to be picked up and used.  I enjoy my encounters with Iwabuchi's work, they are imbued with practicality balanced with beauty, they are one and all stewards of the broad Kyoto aesthetic where how one looks and how one performs are the top priorities.

MOSTLY SQUARE

Illustrated is a pair of mostly square terra cotta teabowls that were thrown and altered and then decorated with X and Os a few weeks back. This is the finished product where as you can see, they are mostly square with the belly of each plane being just slightly convex which adds to the volume of each bowl. Each side of the bowl is dominated by a large X or O in black and white making for a simple but bold design. There are several decorative devices that keep showing up in my work, perhaps because they are primal and/ or elemental in nature like the X & O, the rain pattern, spirals, the verses and the "landscapeman", each has a place on various forms across temperature ranges, choice of clay and surfaces. 

As for these particular bowls, I like altering the thrown form and using a design device that I have some comfort with makes the process just go that much smoother. As an obvious side note, there are times that I decide to just wing it, go with the very first, or last thing that enters my mind and in 98.99% of the time I feel like I have wasted the clay, chemicals, energy and time it took to make the piece and process it along. This is not to say that trying new things and testing isn't a good thing but rather best to test designs and decoration first on paper and then on things that are much less labor intensive to make, think flat square slabs.

WHILE I WAS THERE

During my time in Japan working at Kohyama Yasuhisa's studio in the early 90s I figured while I was there and had a day to spare (Kohyama was at a wedding) that I would make a trek in to Kyoto, stopping at a number of galleries, antique places and a few book stores. At one bookstore I found this book which was published in 1991 and in it was a contemporary set by Kohyama Yasuhisa, a kamo-tokkuri and guinomi and since I was leafing through the it the other day, I took a quick snap and decided to post it.

This is a classic example of one of Kohyama's highly animated and lively tokkuri with a rich array of ash effects creating three distinct zones of color and texture on the face of the pot accompanied by a simple guinomi with an inviting posture and spirited form. One aspect of this photo captures the wonderful shadowed area at the base of each piece, in many respects it almost appears like the pots are hovering, detached from the surface they are resting on. Despite the simplicity of these two pieces both tokkuri and guinomi show a well defined use of the details making for a rather unique and conscious pot based on years of experience, trial and error and a unique understanding of the Shigaraki tradition, its materials and firing to created objects formed and even sliced from the earth.

DNA

The box that accompanies this chawan is simply marked, SHINO CHAWAN which in truth is a faithful description that leaves out some of the details that one can clearly see with just a simple glance. Thrown out of a fine clay this bowl has that classic Shino sense to it, part Momoyama and part modern in its DNA but it is also clearly recognizable as a chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko. Though I see those influences, including a dash of Arakawa Toyozo in the shape, posture and lip, I also clearly see that this is a near textbook "plain" Shino chawan by Tsukigata. 

Making wonderful use of the marriage of shape and surface this chawan was carefully manipulated to create a more dramatic effect and just the right amount of movement that brings a pot to life. I find this chawan pleasing to the eye and hand with a soft, blushed color that in some respects reminds me of a winter trying to hang on while the spring is in a hurry to take over. It is hard not to enjoy the narratives that Tsukigata paints on the surface of his pots substituting clay, glaze and fire for oils and canvas, either way, it paints a rich portrait that brings more depth of meaning to such a simple teabowl.

BLUE BOWL

There are a number of forms, surfaces and ideas that I revisit from time to time, sometimes I am asked to revisit them and other times something triggers it. For a number of years I made these lobed Persian blue and gold luster bowls for various holiday sales and just recently I ran in to a photo of one and decided to make a couple. The execution is simple enough, thrown out of terra cotta the lip is both cut and then pulled to create the lobes and once done the bowls are covered in a black slip and then the white is added. The bowls are then bisqued, glazed and fired after which I apply the gold luster and fire them one last time, far more effort than difficulty. As you may be able to see the inside of the bowl is a deep, dark, rich surface where in the very bottom pools a small spiral of Persian blue because of the thickness adding just enough to add a simple touch to the interior. I only made a couple of these bowls and in truth rarely make that many, the time investment is certainly more than most pieces and the gold luster just keeps getting more and more expensive while the bowl prices do not. I had the urge and made the bowls, now I'll just move along.

WARMING UP

I am not sure when I took this photo but it has been hanging around long enough. This classical, Chinese influenced and cool blue koro was made by Suzuki Sansei and just seems to be warming up for either its intended function or just to be admired. The wonderful, double refractive celadon pools in the channels of the top and bottom of the koro body and breaks as if on cue on the shoulder creating a wide array of points of interest that also act to animate and define the form. In many respects there isn't a ton going on here in terms of form and glazing but due to the special nature of the glaze, the piece just comes to life and it is clear that any bell and whistles added to the pot would have been for naught. Though I am a huge fan of Suzuki Sansei's more opaque seihakuji glaze I am sure I can find my way to accepting this glaze and all that goes along with it as well.

TAMBA FUTAMONO

This is certainly an older and not great photo of a rather nice Tamba box that I got to take a look at quite a while back. This is my one and only photo of this covered box form by Nishibata Tadashi though it is only about 70 miles away and is in need of being revisited. Made in the late 1990s this box is of classic form, decoration and styling of a number of pieces that he made that at varying times evoke just smallest recollection of the paintings of some abstract expressionists. The robust hexagonal form just exudes power and the wonderfully puffed up top just conveys volume and a certain amount of dramatic tension that both bold intension and subtle details turn the ordinary in to the exceptional. I am also quite amazed at what would in description seem to imply a heavy form is in point of fact, strong yet light in terms of its visual presence, no easy feat to achieve. Though in many respects in stark contrast to much of Nishibata Tadashi's traditional pottery this piece easily fits within his body of work and his keen attention to the future of modern Tamba.

A "B" FOR EFFORT

This pair of dark Oribe ewers came out of a firing about two months ago and are a result of perhaps too much spare time on my hands. Though I have made somewhat larger versions of this basic form, I decided to throw the pieces parts and see what this would look like and how it may perform on a smaller scale; it's not exactly rocket science but I wanted to keep the proportions about the same as the larger pieces. After the pieces were assembled, both from a single cylinder, I applied and combed a thick slip around the forms to articulate it somewhat. As for the glazing they were both glazed in an Oribe and then had a layer of a black wash that I use added to the spouts, top of the pots and around the base the alter the way the overall surface would fire. 

Both survived and didn't stick to the protective shelf pieces they were fired on (!) and once cool I gave them both the pour test. In truth, I think I would give them a solid B for their performance as due to the small aperture where the spout meets the body of the ewer, the air exchange is a bit restricted leading to some "glugging" to occur unless the pour was held just right and done slowly. I would love to say they both got an A+ but they do function, fit well in the hand and look okay in the process. What's next, maybe triangular of square ewers, I guess it depends on the day and the music!

CLASSIC TAMBA

A while back I had a number of intermittent opportunities to takes some photos while still getting work done in the studio and around the yard and house. I had this particular Tamba mizusashi on the shelves and as luck would have the timing of both the sun and my spare moment produced one half of this photo collage and in the interest of full disclosure, I am also showing a more traditional picture to give a comprehensive idea of form and surface . As the titles implies this is a rather classic mizusashi by one of the pioneers of the modern Tamba tradition, Nishibata (or Nishihata if you prefer) Sueharu which is as simple as it gets in form, lid and firing. despite the simple execution this exemplary firing has produced a bold, animated and rather exciting surface focusing on the vertical gravity of the running ash. The rich, medieval narrative painted by fire in ash makes for a rather elemental, even primal pot, a pot that caters to function but doesn't lack in the eye appeal either in either light source. In some respects by studying this pot and surface it is abundantly clear where Nishibata Tadashi and his son Daibi, now deceased , have learned a lesson or two from Sueharu, like father, like son (and grandson).