CLOSE ENCOUNTERS III

While working at Cleveland State there was a student there who made what came to be known as "brain-ware", odd ovalled forms with a super thick application of Gustin's Shino. Once fired, the really thick glaze would curdle and crawl to resemble what is in effect, a human brain and the maker was thrilled with the pieces though Dick (Schneider) and I were certainly less so as when it didn't work, the crawled glaze ended up too much for the forms and dripped all over the shelves, thank goodness for kiln-wash. I suspect at this point if you waded through some droll story about my days back at CSU that this illustrated detail has something to do with the moment of nostalgia.

The illustrated detail is from a larger Oni-Shino vase form by Tsukigata Nahiko and like in many other close-up pictures, I think this really gives an insight in to his surfaces that a simple overall photo would lack. The surface is alive with all the elements that make Oni-Shino so potent, rich and complex; the thick Shino glaze has crawled, curdled a bit allowing the rich iron underneath to percolated up and into the crevices between the nodules of feldspar with the entire surface coated in a thin by unmistakable layer of natural ash from the intensity and ferocity of the wood firing each of these pots is subjected to. Beyond the obvious and mesmerizing complexity of the surface there is a jubilant exclamation of texture both visually and tactilely that heightens the impact of this work and makes the viewer all the richer for the close encounter. 

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Today wasn't particularly a busy day but on the agenda is getting four of this tray form made on this hump mold for hump-day. The illustration shows everything I use to make these forms from mold, fettling knife, credit card, rib, sponge and stamp; these are the tools of the trade for this task, nothing less and nothing more. I roll out the slab and then using a cardboard template cut out the clay to shape and then drape it over the mold and set about defining it to the mold using the sponge, rib and credit card. I usually let the clay stiffen up for about 30 to 45 minutes and then flip it over on to a board, define the edge and repeat the process. After making two trays, I place the mold near the furnace and let it dry for an hour and then I am usually good to go for another two pulls from the hump mold. I used to have two of these mold but I think with little thought you can imagine what happened to it. All in all not a bad use of a hump day and everyday with clay is a good day.

RABBIT IN A BOX

So here is what I do know, this is a Bizen kogo made by Matsumoto Tsutomu and that is where things get a bit fuzzy as I am not acquainted with this particular potter but I can easily spot a rabbit in a box. Though boxed and signed I am just in the dark about the maker though I can say that the kogo in the form of a rather idiosyncratic rabbit (usagi) is rather well fired with swaths of deep rich purple fire color and areas of peppered ash and charcoal yet luckily the top and bottom of the form weren't fused shut. Though it may not appear this way to everyone, I really like the boxy, stylized form of the kogo which conjures up memories of seiji okimono by Suzuki Osamu where the form is accentuated by the minimum of detail to tell it full story. Though this potter is unknown to me, I enjoy the dry, wistful humor presenting itself like a hint of sarcasm locked away in clay and if at the end of the day it says quite a bit more than just "kogo" is there really anything else that I need to know?

TIME WELL SPENT

This simple chawan was clearly made by a Fukui native relying on centuries of traditional Echizen pottery and firing, this bowl has an old soul, medieval in fact in appearance, technique and presence with a flavor, a hint of the modern infused in the clay and natural surface. The form is casual and has some sense of early mountain chawan making the chawan uneven and irregular with a surface that displays a cohesive landscape composed of a myriad of adjoining locals painted with ash and flame and the guiding hand of an experienced master, Nishiura Takeshi. I should have started off by saying that no single, static image can really convey the surface of this piece but will have to appease a viewers curiosity for the moment.     

Once placed in the kiln, the naked form was left to the will and whims of the path and ferocity of the kiln which layered varying ash, thicknesses and texture on the form where gravity also had no small part to play creating a surface that moved under the intense heat and in the right light continues to do so. As for the coloration, the palette runs from the colors of natural fired clay to rich wet purples, hues of grays, blues, white and greens making for what can at times be confused for the interior of a mine wall, deep beneath the earth's surface. Firing for five days at over 1300 Celsius, almost 2400 Fahrenheit and many more to cool, like a small time capsule of time well spent from soil one moment to traditional expression the next, well beyond being time well spent, in many respects this bowl is part of the lifeblood and heart of modern Echizen created by a potter dedicated to a tradition that is on the move with each and every firing.

FIRE AND ASH

A fellow collector from Europe sent me this picture of a classically simple but well fired Iga set of tokkuri and guinomi which I was rather pleased to see though handling them would be even better. This set was made by Fukushima Kazuhiro who's works I have been watching for several years now and on my first encounter I discovered that he had spent time learning under Koie Ryoji  and then worked for a short while in California. Admittedly I was originally surprised regarding the Koie connection as I did not see any of the influence that usually comes out in the clay, glazing and firing from such a strong and charismatic teacher but as you look long enough there are subtleties, like rhythm and posture not to mention his use of Oribe glaze as well. 

As for this set, as I mentioned they are both simple in design, straight forward throwing with age old forms perfect for the task at hand and Fukushima has allowed the firing process and choice of woods decorate his pieces where gem-like bidoro betrays the positioning of the pieces in the kiln creating a luminescent landscape of the interaction between fire and ash. As a final observation it is rather splendid to see the movement of the surfaces even in this semi-formal and static image, one can only image how animated the surfaces are in person.

THROWING IN THE NEW YEAR

There is certainly nothing earth-shattering about this teabowl which I threw off the hump but since Jan. and Feb. are very slow months for me and work is good work and throwing in the new year is a good way to start a Monday. In fact, I needed to throw a group of covered serving bowls and then lids which I throw off the hump and once the bodies were thrown I wedged up a good size cone of clay and threw the four matching lids. I knew there would be clay left over so I threw a pair of matching shallow "using" bowls and four teabowls including the one pictured here. As you can see it is thrown out of stoneware and is pretty generous in scale and I decided to address the exterior of the foot while it was still on the wheel and will tool the interior once it is stiffened up. The truth is that anytime I can sit and throw is a good day which is made a bit better when it includes covered pieces and a few teabowls as well.   

"Choose a job you love and you will, never have to work a day in your life." Confucius. I am reasonably sure he didn't factor in all the packing!

LAST POT OF 2021

Illustrated is the last pot that arrived here for 2021, it has been here for a short while and given the date and time, I sincerely doubt there will be another. This simple, almost quiet Bizen vase was made by Masamune Satoru in 2000 and is somewhat typical, classic even of how he works with clay from the form, marks, posture and applied lines. What perhaps distinguishes this particular animated pot from the rest of the pack is the firing which has ash moving in two distinct directs, vertically and horizontally while it was stationary and waiting its final fitting in the kiln. Initially the ash was swept by the form horizontally building up streaks moving from the pot facing the flames toward the rear as the firing went on ash began to build up on the face and finally began to melt and cascade down the piece from top to bottom. Obviously this is not a rare occurrence but it does trick the eye and add a dimension to the piece which otherwise would have been a nice pot of good character, strong form and a proper firing but let's face it, the ash moving in two directions brings more movement and articulation to vase that has benefited from the experience of the potter and the serendipity of the ash and flame. Several other features not to be overlooked are the strong, sturdy and practical lugs placed on opposing sides of the form, the lush ash build that helps define the mouth, a rather deceptive volume contained in the form, one of those rare pots that arrives and present the feeling of being much larger than the dimensions imply and lastly the great shell impressions left on the base of the pot where it was set to keep it from adhering to the shelf.  All in all when you add up all these enjoyable features it translates in to quite a nice package.

IDEAL ASTRAY

What could be less complicated and incredibly complicated at the same time than an Ido style chawan? Little else springs to mind where all the elements, lines, posture, curve and kodai all need to work in absolute harmony to create a flawless and near perfect form. Perhaps perfected in anonymity in Korea in the 16th century the potters of Japan especially down south have been fixed on the form idolized by both commoner and lord alike for the elegance and simplicity of form and presentation. In my mind, the Ido bowl is the absolute distillation of creating function with unmatched aesthetics where the beauty is that simplicity, grace, nobility and at its core utility.     

One modern Japanese potter that has spent a lifetime dedicated to an ideal and archetype is Tsujimura Shiro and this chawan is a classic example of stripping a utilitarian form to its barest necessities of wall, lip, pool and foot with some glaze thrown in for good measure and ease of use and with the ideal astray he crafts his own vision of modern Ido-wan. In this example Tsujimura has strayed slightly from the purest Ido ideal to create a triadic style wari-kodai where the glaze has curdled a bit creating a wonderful texture in more ways than one. Perhaps one of the more interesting features of this chawan is the combination of a static bowl shape with a lip and foot that are animated and in motion creating a visual like the bands of atmosphere circling some gas giant a light year away, this is where Tsujimura excels and with any luck will hit upon the perfection he seeks the next time he sits at the wheel.

RYU-KORO

Back a cycle (?) ago or so when I was resurrecting my old appliqué mold, the T'angish Dragon, I made a couple of other pots out of the sandy porcelain that I made up. One of the pots was a small covered jar and a slope sided koro with a pierced lid. Obviously this is the koro form with a set of four dragons guarding the four elemental directions and pierced with a total of eight holes to fulfill the duty of any good koro. The tapering form has a good amount of visual texture from the sand in the clay with just the right amount of variation within the glaze to keep the piece on its toes. The lid fits snug and should only allow the smoke to rise out via the pierced squares and the knob gently mimics the form of the pot tying, I hope, the pieces together. The pot was finished by tooling a somewhat tall pedestal foot that is a bit coarse due to the exposed inclusions and owes more than a bit to Kawai Kanjiro for being a major "influencer" on my work. These were fun to make and it makes it clear that I need to find the dozen or so other press molds I had or start thinking about buying some plaster and setting about making a new series of designs because there is more to imagine than dragons when making pieces of this style and technique.

SEASON'S GREETINGS

"Six turtle doves", well they are doves, not sure what kind but thought the timing was great and beyond coincidence. Just wanted to wish one and all our sincerest Season's Greetings and Happy New Year. Times have been trying but take a moment to embrace family, friends and pets as the year comes to a close and if I may suggest this is of course best done with a handmade cup or mug in hand!