RINGS OF GRASS

Illustrated is another large terra cotta tebori carved platter with an inner and outer ring of the carved GRASSES pattern. I enjoy making plates from small luncheon plates to larger 24" wall pieces that are made so that they can hang on the wall as decoration or simple storage. For me making plates goes way back to diversifying what I was making early on at the suggestion of Dick Schneider at Cleveland State University. In the beginning all I wanted to make was teabowls as that was a primary interest and thanks to Dick I took up the challenge and decided there was a lot more to ceramics than making small bowls. 

Over the years I have made hundreds and hundreds of plates but love coming back to the black and white and carved black slip employed on terra cotta, perhaps it is the reminiscent comfort of those early days learning to make pots and trying just about whatever sprung to mind. The grasses pattern in particular has been a favorite to carve, the repeat and routine of removing slip to reveal the design exposes the richness of the red clay and once fired creates a great contrast between the clay and slip, the very simplest components of making pottery.

DEFINITIONS

I suspect it is rather easy to go down the rabbit hole of definitions but always ending up using terms like classic and traditional but when I first saw this pot, my brain immediately flipped through the dictionary and went directly to classic and traditional without a nano-second of hesitancy. This Shigaraki te-oke mizusashi was made by Takahashi Shunsai and there is a nearly identical piece in the catalogue; THE SHIGARAKI WARE; NAOKATA'S TEA WARE & SHUNSAI'S JARS on page 116, No. 138, both are very well fired though the catalogue entry has a slightly more distinctive firing pattern on the face of the mizusashi. What started centuries ago as an everyday wooden bucket and evoled into a ceramic object of use and ritual, this teoke mizusashi was created as an homage or copy of a traditional Japanese "hand bucket" were details of the pot are reproduced and marked in the clay from the twisted rope around the form, the wood slats and the all purpose, functional handle raising above the water receptical. The surface shows its direct placement in the kiln where ash and charcoal have painting the main part of the pot  while fly ash has landed and melted down various areas of the handle and supports adding more interest and variation to the humble form. As if the design, form and surface wasn't quite enough, the roiro, black lacquer lid (nuri-buta) is of the two part style, wari-buta* which is clearly custom made as they vary in size and each one fits specifically to one side of the pot due to the irregularities during the making and firing of the mizusashi. Ultimately my take away from seeing this mizusashi in person is that it is rather clear that near both (ceramic) dictionary entries for "Classic" and "traditional" there should be a picture of a pot exactly like this timeless Shigaraki mizusashi.

           

In addition to the photo of the mizusashi in question I snapped a quick picture out of the above mentioned catalogue to allow for easy comparison between the illustrated piece and the one that I was able to handle and study. As I mentioned there is a rather attractive design created by both fire and happenstance which I find quite compelling and has enriched the surface of the illustrated mizusashi quite a bit.   

 

( *On a side note, I graciously received some information regarding the mizusashi and lid from an advanced tea practioner in Australia who told me this style of lid, two part, no hinge, wari-buta, split lid is intended for winter tea ceremony as practiced by the Urasenke school. Further, the hinged style of wari-buta is intended for low, wide mizusashi known as hira-mizusashi.)

 

DRAMA NOT TRAGEDY

Over time I have spent a fair amount of time learning when and where I can and studying every pot that I could get my hands on and during all that time I think I have to admit my tastes are pretty eclectic though there are a few specifics that stand out and one of these is the mallet form. I am pretty sure my penchant for the kinuta is well documented in various other blog posts. As I think about the various interpretations of this simple form I always circle back to what I constantly consider the north star, the mallets of Arakawa Toyozo and how his handling of the anatomy of that pot has set a standard that spread throughout Mino and elsewhere. As you study the works of Arakawa students and their student' students it is easy to see many of the details, scale and proportions infused in these more modern works and those of Kato Kozo are no exception.        

Illustrated is as straight forward a Kato Kozo Ki-Seto kinuta form as one would hope to see, the proportions are spot on with an expanding taper from foot to shoulder and then from shoulder to mouth creating an engaging appearance that is not abrupt or in any way breaks the flow of the vertical movement. As can be seen even through the glaze there is just the right amount of articulation in the clay where the throwing marks on the neck create subtle visual furrows that are pleasing to the eye and create additional texture with the glaze and fired surface. As for the base of the pot, there is a good degree of well controlled spatula work created that moves up and down the form and established a faceted like quality to the pot. Having an experienced ideal, the simple but complex task of making these various decisions while the clay is still wet sets the canvas for what is yet to come, glazing and firing, both hopefully willing participants in the process when all goes well.       

At first glance the Ki-seto glaze appears to have been applied in a casual and hap-hazard manner but if so, that is guided by decades of making, glazing and firing and knowing what small action affects the outcome of the pot. Once glazed in varying thicknesses, the next choice is where should each and every pot be placed in the wood kiln and having watched a number of wood kilns of both glazed and unglazed pottery loaded for some potters this is where all the heavy lifting begins and ends. Each and every decision will have consequences and relying on years of firing and an intimate knowledge of the kiln, once having survived the firing a pot emerges and the surface is perfect, covered in areas of varying textures and glassy beads of ash that have burst through the surface to punctuate various areas in serendipitous jewels. The face ends up covered in a rich, crusty aburage style crust that adds layers of character and visual depth that in some respects allows its dark mantle to stand testament to the intensity of this final act of the process narrative, in this case a drama and not a tragedy. There is a lot that can be written about a good pot, a good mallet vase and what is a classic piece by a great potter and at some future date hopefully a slideshow will fill in this drama just a bit better than this static image and short description.

SQUARED UP, ASSEMBLED AND FIRED

A while back I posted up a greenware version of this thrown round, squared up and assembled stoneware vase and here is the finished piece. Glazed in my Kuro-Oribe glaze, I used a soft layer of iron over the form to keep from obscuring all of the marks and details around the piece from where I have left soft rasp marks, joints where the pieces and lugs where luted together, the pie crust impressions around the mouth and the subtle upturned areas that help define the base and foot area. As I mentioned previously, this was rather quickly thrown and built without any real desire to make a perfect geometric form, instead I did what I mostly do, I "eye-balled" the construction in the hopes that would add a sense of non-chalance to the vase. I have to admit that considering the bulk of my work is just thrown, these thrown, altered and assembled pieces are both a blessing and a curse as when things go well it feels like time well used but when things go wrong, they usually go very wrong. All in all I felt like this was time well spent and an investment into being thoroughly square.     

(I will admit this is not the best photograph but try as I might I just couldn't get the surface to "pop" and I am left with a bit of color and the overall form. Hopefully the sunlit detail will give a little more insight into the surface.)

HERE & THERE; KI-SETO EDITION

A while back I handled a rather nice, certainly exhibition quality Ki-Seto chawan by Hori Ichiro and even thought I had built a slideshow video of it I can't seem to locate it at the moment so I went with this picture for the time being. Though this is not the best quality picture, taken quite some time back, I set up this impromptu shot of the chawan in front of the exhibition catalogue that accompanied the bowl. The photo clearly shows the chawan in situ and in print but once again I am struck by the variation between the piece on the desk and in the catalogue. Though the print version is just a tiny bit out of focus, in certain respects they look like two chawan fired at either different times or in different locations in the kiln. 

Luckily I have handled the bowl and I can attest to the fact that it actually looks like both depending on how and where the teabowl is observed again a trick of the diversity of the light source(s). What I can tell you is that it is a rather classic example of Hori Ichiro's Ki-Seto work with a great texture and the waterfall of aburage styling across the face is just what I like as it blends back into the classic glaze texture. I am going to have to hunt around to see if I can find the original slideshow that I seem to remember making and if not, locate the photos and start again from scratch.

IRON TSUBO

Outfitted in mostly iron with hints of whitish feldspar showing through here and there, gravity plays a good role in the couture of this Oni-Shino ko-tsubo. Surrounded by droozy, running tendrils of mixed natural ash and iron this small iron tsubo was made by Tsukigata Nahiko and though clearly not a chaire, it is somewhat close to that scale at around six inches or so in height. As you can see in this photo this pot is covered, punctuated by speckles of iron rising to the surface adding to the visual texture of colors and effects colliding to create an ethereal sphere at home on a shelf or suspended in some distant and far off place. The form is simple, perhaps reminiscent of its larger cousins with just the right amount of movement accentuated by the throwing marks around the circumference of the pot with a distinct and determined foot and a mouth ringed in blend of ash and iron. I guess in the scheme of things this is a small, simple pot by Tsukigata Nahiko but the more you look the more there is to see and that is always my expectation of his work and the myriad of all things Oni-Shino.

EVERYONE'S FAVORITE POLYGON

While throwing either an order or a commission a few weeks back I took the time and made a square and a hexagonal teabowl to end my day on my own terms as what could be more exciting than creating a six sided polygon, everyone's favorite shape? Illustrated is the hexagonal bowl decorated in Narumi-Oribe style with rubbed iron panels with black decoration and sgraffito under a clear glaze with the remainder of the bowl glaze in Oribe. My goal was to get strong, accentuated lines between each plane of the hexagon and a good contrast between the clear and Oribe panels, I think I succeeded in my goal with that distinct contrast and absolutely no crawling from any surface incompatibility, for one of a series of one, this is about the best outcome I could have asked for.

KO-TSUBO III

Over the years I have seen a number of utsushimono of this particular form, perhaps the most notable by Tsujimura Shiro though this particular Iga ko-tsubo is by Imura Mitsuo. Small in stature and about the same dimensions tall as it is wide, this rough and tumble Iga ko-tsubo must have been fired in the perfect place in the kiln as the surface is a wonderful story of process and determination painting a rustic landscape that is what wood firing is all about. Beyond the wonderful shape and crisp delineation between body and shoulder it is the mouth that captivates ones attention all sharp, craggy and dog-eared resembling a mountain chain well off in the distance but able to fit in the palm of your hand. Though barely the size of a chawan, it is filled with character from its offset posture and vivid palette of ash coloration but it is the strength that you can't help noticing first and foremost that far exceeds its scale.

BAKED IN

I have written about the maker of this Shigaraki mizusashi, Ota Minoru on my blog before. I am intrigued by how he uses and works clay and how he interprets older forms with a unique and naïve style. As with this mizusashi, his pots have a casual, quirky and often wonky appearance made of clay with lots of feldspar which punctuates the pot like stars in the sky under the wood fired surfaces adding ash and hi-iro to the pot like a painter adding dabs and fields of color to his canvas. Beyond the feldspar and ash, this mizusashi is well articulated in marks from the potter both horizontally and vertically adding movement and dimension to the form, marks that are spontaneous and fierce like the fire that it had to survive. The posture and attitude of the piece exudes confidence and strength collected over years of working in clay and infusing it into each pot made. I have to admit, I have a fondness for pots that combine spontaneity, naiveté and honesty all in one package and this Ota mizusashi clearly has all those attributes and character all baked in.

PROTOTYPE REVISITED

Though it took some time to get this katakuchi prototype fired, illustrated is the final product. This thrown and altered piece was made a while back to show a customer who approved the design as soon as it was glaze fired and now the group of pieces are all made and bisque and waiting to be glazed and fired. As you can see this piece was glazed in a Kuro-Oribe style glaze that clearly shows the marks and texture on the clay surface from when the pot was thrown and altered where subtle faceted plans appear activating the pot along with the movement of the glaze. There are accents of rich blue-black on the spout and around the mouth of the form along with patches on the sides of this triangular pot. All in all the customer and I are happy with the results and now I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can get six pieces to match more or less with out any glaring inconsistencies out of the glaze firing.