SHELFIE*

This is a quick “shelfie”* I took for the Japanese studio pottery group over on Face Book yesterday. In this picture there is a large Shigaraki tsubo by Kohyama Yasuhisa, carved wood Kannon figure, a large Warren MacKenzie stoneware charger and the small but wonderful little “feelie” by Rose Cabat. I am pretty sure most of these have been posted before but here they are in situ, a group that has been out on display for quite some time now. Though our collection is quite modest in size, we rarely have many pots out, rather, they are rotated from display to storage as it were over the year. I often think this keeps us from getting complacent with the pieces and their re-emergence is quite special though on that rare occasion a piece comes out of hibernation and fails to impress, time to go. This is our way of displaying pots which keeps the environment in constant flux, just the way we want it.  

(*Shelfie was not my idea, it came from a Face Book group on Japanese pottery)

IRON FOREST

I wonder if John Heywood included this Renaissance proverb in his anthology (1546) if he saw into the future, seeing this mounted tile ala his contemporary Nostradamus. The proverb I was referencing is “Can’t see the forest for the trees”, which may or may not apply to this large glazed landscape tile by Kimura Morinobu but is certainly easy to see where it could. Made of thick and heavy (!) stoneware, the slab is decorated using iron and ash to present both the forest and the trees in a semi-abstract manner, aptly entitled, “Mori” or Forest. Starting in the early 90s Kimura Morinobu began using this design quite a bit depicting both cat-tails and trees using a clear style ash glaze and deep, rich iron on all types of two- and three-dimensional pots where the cat-tails became a favorite on larger tsubo with a nuka style glaze. 

In the book, KIMURA MORINOBU; Sakutoh Go-Ju Nen 1951 to 2000, there is much larger forest tile decorated in a nearly exact approach as this framed one, the date is 1996 (Heisei 8) while this one is not illustrated it was exhibited at the Osaka Takashimaya Department Store sometime in the mid to late 1990s. All in all this is a rather nice presentation of another dimension of a potter who has dedicated a life to his pottery art and in this case conjures up an iron forest with nothing more than a paintbrush , a bit of clay and some toasty temperature.

EoD

Full disclosure, this was one of those end of day, what are you thinking pots, there is only one and more than likely there will only ever be one. I remember that it was later afternoon and I was trying to decide, make something spontaneously or just call it a day and this is what I ended up with, thrown out of stoneware in two parts, it was luted together after a few minutes under the watchful eye of the heat gun and then later tooled. Once bisque, I glazed it Oribe as the base and then sprayed it to give it the Kuro-Oribe treatment to this effect. I do realize to get good at this form, one off likely won’t get me there but the bigger question is, is this form something I wish to pursue?

THREE MOVES LATER

So this slipware cider jug has a short backstory that goes back over two decades, 2001 to be precise. One year we were gifted this Ray Finch Winchcombe cider jug by Dan Shutt, a very good friend and antique dealer as an anniversary gift. Dan new of my interest in Michael Cardew, Winchcombe and of course slipware so when he ran across it at Brimfield, the large flea market in Massachusetts he struck up a conversation with a dealer from England who brought a container of English antiques with him, this jug among them. After some clever negotiations, there were no other kind from Dan’s end, he acquired the jug complete with its original spout to boot. Fast forward nearly a year and on a trek up from Delaware to see us in CT he brought along the jug and gifted it to us where we have had it out and about ever since that first encounter. With Dan’s passing, every time I see the pot, just above eye level, I am reminded of Dan; his humor, tenacity, generosity and his humanity, is there any better way to enjoy a good pot?           

As for this Finch jug, the surface of this red clay had a coat of black to brown slip applied where it appears either or depending on the lighting together with a slip trailed decoration around the entire form. The whole pot is rather sturdy in its throwing with a thickly potted mouth and a strong and very functional handle also decorated with slashes of slip. This is clearly intended as a rugged and functional pot and clearly succeeded in that task though it still sits mighty pretty on a shelf, three moves later where it is looked at several times or more a day.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU II

I first salt fired quite a long while ago and have always had a soft spot for salt fired pots, in fact before I even made pots I was in love with the early salt and wood fired pottery for 19^th century America, many of which were around my in-laws home. Having a fondness for salt fired pieces, beyond the obvious Hamada pieces, I have been attracted to the simple pots based on Kyoto aesthetics of Iwabuchi Shigeya which as I have mentioned before may have been our very first internet purchase back in the very late 90s.    

Illustrated is a simple Haku-Enyu mizusashi with a thick crackle style slip over a buff stoneware now darkened to a toasty brown from the firing. On the face and back of this form, shaped like a rhombus, are flora designs, resisted in the slip application which now stand in perfect contrast to the pure white texture of the overall form though there are some areas of pink blushing and subtle gohonde style spotting. The mizusashi is finished off with a crisp, tapered lip in which a classic, custom roiro-urushi lid fits to complete the form both functionally and visually. When asked recently what I liked about the rather simple and older style piece, the truth is, just about everything.

LATE AFTERNOON

Some while back I put up a short video of one of my Oribe katakuchi in use with four Oribe mini-wan bourbon cups. Though not restricted to the use of bourbon, here are the same four cups just hanging about in the late afternoon sunlight to give a sense of the texture and surfaces of each piece. The combination of the sandy small batch clays, the gentle faceting opening up the surface of the pieces together with the multi-glazed, Kuro-Oribe style glaze makes for a rather interesting piece in the hand whether you are using it for sake, bourbon or any other litany of liquids.       

Though this Hamada Shoji quote may be apocryphal, I find it rather engaging, even playful; “Oribe is not a collection of forms, but a way of being”.

CAST A SHADOW

A while back I was rummaging throw some big, blue tuffy(s), looking for a tiny Japanese teapot and I came across this pot which immediately brought me back to Cleveland by way of Akron, Ohio. I cleared off a shelf and apparently decided to take a few photos at exactly the right time, using only natural light, this hand-built vase cast a shadow that is just a perfect companion for this Bob Yost pot. As I mentioned this vase was handbuilt in Bob’s rather unique, even quirky style where the posture and attitude become the central theme in a multipart play about vessels. The piece was glazed rather casually though I suspect by some experienced design in Dave Shaner’s red to yellow which seemed to be all the rage in the early 90s in the Ohio area though this application is near to perfection for the form. Perhaps the most engaging feature of finite details is the small lugs looking like some pre-historic appendages and adding movement and whimsy to the overall presentation. Without waxing nostalgic, I miss my decade long sojourn in Cleveland and it is these moments that give comfort and a constant reminder to the years spent there, enjoyed to the very fullest with lots of clay in all forms along the journey.

WONDERFUL MEMORIES

This is an old picture, converted from a 35mm slide to a digital image some while back, pictured are four jugs drying slowly having been made by Bill Klock sometime back in the 90s. Coming across this image reminded me this was the very last time I worked with Bill having moved to Cleveland and working at CSU and then my own studio in University Heights. I think I was in town for three weeks, one work cycle where we made lots of stoneware pots and then gas fired one group and wood fired the other. I don’t think I have a single pot left from my time there though I do have several of Bill’s. Though this was my last working trek in Plattsburgh, it was certainly not my last time visiting, every chance I would get I would make my way to Upstate NY and visit Bill, my dad and my wife’s family.  

As for the four jugs, I am not really sure of when Bill began making these forms though I suspect it was thoroughly cemented during his stay working at the Leach Pottery. These pieces have that classic English, Leach appearance complete with stamped decoration on a couple of them. I wish I had a photo or photos of these finished and though I may have somewhere I was just not able to lay my hands on any. At any rate, you can imagine them decked up in rich temmoku duds with some ash accents as well as his favorite celadon glaze, Whitings 1, 2, 3, 4 Celadon, maybe I am being nostalgic, but this brings back wonderful memories.

GROUP PHOTO

A while back I ended up throwing a couple dozen covered box forms and here is one group photo of four of them, some have been posted before. In this group all in one form of Oribe or another, the finials are all based on the Prometheus and Johnny Hart, B.C. inspired critter that I think makes for a functional and intriguing motif. All were thrown out of stoneware and despite that fact, each has its own unique surface treatment, on bare clay, over slip or slips and over the rugged fluting inspired by Maximillian armor. The fluted box has a simple tooled foot while the other three have either three or four feet which gives the pieces a bit of lift. As I mentioned, I went on a tear making a group of these forms with little thought as for decoration, glazing or purpose but since I enjoy making lidded pots, did I really need any real goal other than to throw and end up with a group of functional pieces that I suspect have as many uses as there are people who may end up using them?

IGA?

Iga, I do not think so but rather Canadian! What you are in fact looking at is a gift that came with a pot a short while back by Bruce Cochrane. This simple slab dish wood fired which securely rests on three long bar feet has a rather pleasant East meets West presentation good for just about anything from garlic shrimp to being just perfect for two large canoli. I believe Bruce choose this particular piece because he is aware of my interest in texture as well as the overall aesthetic, either way, it was appreciated and has been used a couple of times. 

This small plate also came with a thoughtful note; “….. It has a very interesting surface so I thought you may enjoy it. It is a porcelain clay with coarse silica chips. There is an ash glaze on top and it was fired on top of the bag wall in the woodkiln so there was quite a bit of flame contact. Maybe for sashimi? Enjoy!” What is not to enjoy, thoughtful gift, great surface and perfect for pastries?