MODELING SESSION

It has been quite a while since I put up a post on this Tsukigata Nahiko Oni-Shino hisago hanaire and I was lucky enough to get a few minutes to photograph the piece recently and here is one of those photos from the modeling session. As you can see in this view, this vase has almost everything you would look for from Oni-Shino right down to a wonderful coat of natural ash from the wood firing. The mouth and shoulder have a nice crust of wet, brown ash which gives way to a cascade of green coating the pot exposing areas of pure white Shino and iron perculating up to the surface. Though this is not a particularly large pot, its presence and  traditional form make it a larger than life piece in person where all the components of form, glaze, ash and fire meld together to make what I consider quintessential Oni-Shino from the potter who pioneered this style and technique now a staple of the modern Mino tradition.

https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2021/09/bookends.html

END OF DAY III

I put off dealing with a group of eight small porcelain bowls until the very end of the day today. All eight were black slipped and two of the bowls were intended to not be carved so I went with this chattering technique where I use the very corner of the tool to create these marks. This technique isn't fool-proof and it causes the occasional skip in the design which personally I like, it breaks the routine and symmetry of the decoration and gives the surface a bit more pep. My current plan is to glaze them in the soda blue but things are fluid and always open to change depending on if I have enough glaze on hand, this approach is called the glaze lottery, using what I have enough of when it comes time to get things glazed and loaded, unless it is an order or commission. Since it is highly unlikely that I will win the $1B lottery, the chances are this will be my best odds for the day; a one in four chance of a suitable surface.

CHOREOGRAPHED

Though slightly reminescent of Tomimoto Kenkichi, this simple henko form with colorful floral decoration was made by Suzuki Kiyoshi (1903-1964). This vase clearly shows the influence of his master, Tomimoto with clear Kiyomizu (Kyoto) elements regarding the decoration and design elements making for a rather identifiable style typical, even traditional for the area with rich undeglaze blue, sometsuke brushwork ranging from soft blue to deep, almost black areas and hints of coral added as accents and later a rich red overglaze to punctuate the space and line the form along with the deep blue cobalt. Despite being over half a century old, this henko looks fresh, bright with decoration perfect for early summer and considering it was created and decorated to capture those exact sentiments it continues to preform just as intended. 

 Suzuki Kiyoshi studied with Tomimoto Kenkichi including at the Sennyu-ji and later with sculptor Yamamoto Kakuji before founding the Sekidosha with Kusube Yaichi, Kano Mitsuo and Asami Ryozo among others. Passing along the Kiyomizu, Kyoto aesthetic, both of Suzuki Kiyoshi's sons are potters; Suzuki Kenji and Takuji work in what I would still consider to be the fused Kiyomizu - Kyoto style making highly decorated and well considered pottery and design. If memory serves me, I remember seeing somewhere, perhaps the GENDAI TOUGEI SAKAIYE JITEN that Suzuki was born into a family who specialized in mold makering which would certainly help explain his prowess in making such well conceived and perfect henko forms. I have to think that looking at this well decorated henko, just how pleased Suzuki Kiyoshi must have been when he unloaded this kiln even if this was one among many, each pot unique but tied together in a well choreographed cycle or making, decorating, glazing and firing.

BOUNDARIES

I have to admit, trying to photograph this solitary and somber seiji chawan is likely beyond my skill level but I will let these photos try to tell the story of this bowl. Made by Uraguchi Masayuki this chawan has a less bright, darker tone where some of the crazing is highlighted with a distinct iron red acting like boundaries between fractures in the celadon glaze. Truly one of the outstanding features of this chawan and other pieces like it is that around the foot and in the interior's mikomi, the glaze takes on a very distinct and opaque quality that differs and stands out from the rest of the piece guiding the eyes to these distinct attractions without seeming incongruous to the overall aesthetic.  

Despite having studied the Chinese archetypes and learning from Miura Koheiji, this chawan and in fact much of his work shows a distinct dependence on the later works of Okabe Mineo from shape and surface. Though one could easily argue that Uraguchi and Okabe were simply feeding off the historical antecedents, to my eye there are subtleties that Uraguchi has "nicked' from Okabe Mineo and then absorbed into his own vocabulary to create a stand alone body of work. This work reflects an idiosyncratic voice built upon what had come before but is moving toward tomorrow. Employing a studied and innovative approach to making his works stand apart from many of his contemporaries while at the very same time standing shoulder to shoulder within a new aesthetic based on over a millennium of prior expression and a rather broad diversity from pottery to pottery and potter to potter.

STACKED

Just a quick post as my days are filled with loading and unloading the big kiln, cleaning and getting another group of pots bisque. Illustrated is a single group of eight terra cotta winterberry bowls with a number of other stacks and groups still green and others that are now bisque. I have finally carved out two areas to store glazed pots ready to be fired and will start glazing tomorrow as the backlog is getting a bit too overwelming. At any rate, though the anxiety is peaking a bit, it is always better to be busy than not.

AN IMPRESSION

If I am not mistaken my first exposure to the works of Kojima Kenji was back in 1992 or 1993, there were a few of his pots at a small gallery in Shigaraki, perhaps a dozen or so. If memory serves me as I have no photos, there were a couple of tokkuri, several guinomi, a small vase and two chawan and all were quite well fired but due to financial constraints and appointments with several other potters I left empty handed but an impression was made that continues to this day. After my intitial exposure and the advent of something called the internet, I began to see Kojima Kenji's works more frequently and over the last two decades he has become one of my absolute favorite wood fired potters where his pursuit of Ko-Iga and his exploration of form and surface has made his pottery stand out among many others in his field. 

  Illustrated is a rather fine, fairly recent Iga mizusashi by Kojima Kenji that is a perfect example of what I am talking about; a strong, sturdy form filled with purpose while keeping an eye on the aesthetics of Ko-Iga ware that he is rather passionate about. Perfect in scale, the mizusashi was thrown and then slightly manipulated to create a rather honest, rustic form where less is more with the exception of a few classic Iga (and Shigaraki) Xs added around the form as well as large lugs on opposing sides. The front of the pot is covered in a wonderful array of wood fired effects including where the form sat in a bed of charcoal during the firing to various glassy ash spread across the mouth, shoulder and patches of the exterior. The rear is all about tsuchi-agi and a hint of wetness caused by the flame and fly ash fuming the surface interupted by marks of the potter in the form of clearly visable Xs incised in to the clay. The interior floor of the mizusashi has a nice coat of ash that sparkles when the lid is removed to see the mysterious contents within and the foot is flat and smooth punctuated by a group of rich, emerald green bidoro droplets. I think it is rather clear what draws me to the work of Kojima kenji and this mizusashi is a rather classic piece that echoes through time back to the feudal Ko-Iga tradition that speaks to the soul in a rather distinct and resounding tone.    

More of this mizusashi can be seen over on my Trocadero marketplace;

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1483667/BOLD-KO-IGA-MIZUSASHI-BY-KOJIMA-KENJI

QUIRKY

Quirky /ˈkwərkē/ characterized by pecular or unexpected traits

In a little show and tell with a fellow collector a while back I showed him a rather modern Oribe vase by Tsukamoto Haruhiko and his first impression and comment was "what a quirky piece". A couple of days latter he emailed and said that after thinking about it he was very impressed with the playfulness of the form and his use of the glaze surface, he thought that quirky may be misunderstood as a negative comment. It has been quite some time since I had access to this vase but truthfully my first impression was rather similar, the vase is filled with movement, casual in its creation, playful in its demeanor and posture and rather idiosyncratic in its presentation, a perfect addition to the modern Oribe tradition. 

I honestly don't think quirky is a bad descriptor and think about it as you survey the form and its wonky mouth and oddly placed lugs near the base of the pot, how is it best to characterize this pot? The rather vivid throwing lines and puctuation of myriads of small feldspar inclusions bring a sense of both tension and motion into focus and the oribe glaze surface has an expert application of a well practiced water-colorist where shades and depth of color crystalize the evocative surface. I should mention though not exactly my vernacular I agreed with the collector as to his choice of words as it is rather clear that Tsukamoto Haruhiko's Oribe pots are rarely exactly what you are expecting to see as they are pulled from the box.

FINAL FRONTIER III

Whenever I run a bisque one of my big fears beyond pieces exploding (!) is the power going out. It happens here now and again with bad weather or extreme heat and inevitably if it is going to crap out there is a 97% chance that I will be running a kiln. Illustrated is a large terra cotta X&Os pasta bowl (or "supreme-size omni-bowl) fresh out of the bisque which took an additional few hours to fire due to a "power interuption" but to no ill effect. I have quite a few pots to fire over the next three weeks including tebori, slipware, sgrafito, snowberry, abstrakt resist and falling leaves in terra cotta and a group of stoneware and small batch white stoneware before any of them can be glazed. I guess since I am complaining about power outages I may as well interject that as I get these pieces bisque fired, there is a developing backlog of pots and I have learned my lesson about glazing and stacking pots in the past so now the big question is, where am I going to store these pieces in the meantime? I can make light all I want but there is no way around the fact that space truly is the final frontier.

WELL YES, I GUESS I DO

I wonder when it is with some many other pots that you have to admit that you may collect kogo? Is it four, perhaps a dozen or two, when does it become clear that besides having a problem in general that you collect yet another type of vessel that you didn't really think was on your radar? To be fair, on numerous trips to Japan, the number one gift or presento from Japanese potters was in fact a kogo and that really forms the core of this collection. Kogo from Furutani Michio, Honiwa Rakunyu, Ueda Naokata, Tani Seiuemon and others and that is only the pieces from Shigaraki potters, then on to Bizen, Mashiko, Gifu, Hagi among other destinations and the next thing you know after a number of trips you have two dozen or more kogo. Over the years with places like the ubiquitous auction site and a few Western dealers in Japan and now you have another healthy dozen and before you know it you have more kogo than any other type of pottery. Admittedly, this group of kogo takes up a rather small amount of space, perhaps as much as a medium tsubo, all tucked away in their nice little storage boxes with a couple on display at any given moment but still when asked, "do you collect kogo?", it still takes a moment to resonate, "well yes, I guess I do". 

Illustrated is a nice, idiosyncratic mentori kogo by Kohyama Yasuhisa that was a gift to my wife quite a few years back from the potter. Hand formed out of one small amount of Shigaraki clay, the basic form was arrived at prior to the piece being cut to shape and then cut in half, hollowed out and a lip added to secure the lid was formed. Fired somewhere in between pots at the back of the kiln, this kogo has a pleasant, inviting and toasty exterior which is just a shade lighter buff clay color on the interior and perfect for its function. As I said, I am not sure I would have considered myself a kogo collector but the truth is that I really love pots and this diminutive pot is just another form of expression though a bit smaller that what usually ends up coming my way.

IRON AND A BIT MORE

Back in June I put up a blog post on a rather rich and noble tetsu-yu chawan by Kimura Morinobu that happened to be illustrated in a retrospective book on his work over 50 years. Two months pass and another tetsu-yu chawan comes my way, this one not illustrated in a book but rather an exhibition catalogue from the 1990's. This chawan has both a somewhat similar yet different presence to it with a form just a bit more open and low and a surface of the palest green ash glaze surrounded by crystalized iron creating the illusion of some distant cosmic landscape where some star clustered nebula peers out from a backdrop of varying effects created in space. I should say that when I first saw the photo of this chawan in an exhibition catalogue, admittedly I thought it a bit flat, perhaps dull but with just the right amount of light the surface just springs to life composed of iron and a bit more. The real story of this chawan is that it clearly far exceeds one's expectations where decades of experience bring clay, glaze and fire to mingle together under the watchful hand and eye of the potter, Kimura Morinobu.