GRAVITY

With the simple thud of an apple, Sir Issac Newton, informed the world of what potters had know since the earliest times. As you throw a pot, something, let’s call it gravity, acts on the pot and tries to bring it all crashing down. It is in essence, just one of the physical principles that can be easily observed while engaged in making pottery. Gravity is just a law we must all just give into, like it or not. Newton may have formulated the principle, but lets face it, even a prehistoric kid knew when he tossed a rock up into the air and it bonked him on the head on the way down, what goes up, must come down.

That being said, gravity isn’t so bad. Illustrated is a tall cylindrical Iga vase by Kishimoto Kennin. The vase was wood fired in an anagama over a long period of time, perhaps 5 to 7 days. During the course of the firing, ash built up heavily on the shoulder and in time, together with sufficient heat, the dam burst and the ash began to cascade down the pot in rivers of green glaze, wonderful bidoro. Though there are a great many times that a potter may dislike and even battle with the laws of physics and gravity itself, this is not one of those times. In time, I think I can even learn to like gravity……………….

IPTV; CARVING A TERRA COTTA BOWL

For your Friday viewing pleasure, here is a short video of my (Craig Bird) carving a small terra cotta bowl through applied black slip in my X & O pattern. This is the same bowl seen in a video I posted back on 5/20/2011 for your reference. Also illustrated is the finished bowl, glazed in a clear glaze. I call this carved style, tebori, which means, hand carved.

SOMETSUKE

Kondo Yuzo (1902-1985) was arguably one of the greatest sometsuke potters of the 20^th century and for his dedication to his art, he was made Juyo Mukei Bunkazai in 1985. I have always been captivated by the elegance and simplicity of most of his work and the stark white background plays perfect host for his bold and quick sometsuke blue brushwork.

Illustrated is a prepatory sketch for one on Kondo Yuzo’s small blue and white hachi plates and though the accompanying plate is less involved in design, you can easily see the fact that through his repeated painting of the persimmon, time and time again they appear nearly identical. Like Hamada Shoji who brushed his iconic “sugar cane” motif thousands of times, Kondo Yuzo has achieved the same repetitious spontaneity, characteristic among many of the great potters of 20^th century Japan.

UNDERSTATEMENT

“The art of tea Way consists simply of boiling water, preparing tea and drinking it.” Sen (No) Rikyu (1522-1591)

It may sound rather niave, but I have long been fascinated with Rikyu’s assessment of the tea ceremony. Not since Julius Ceaser’s commentary, “Vini, Vidi, Vici” has a statement been so simple and to the point though in the case of Rikyu, the actual accomplishment of tea is anything but simplicity. With all of the formality, aesthetics and the grace and posture involved in chanoyu, the art is the absolute definition of the “complexity of simplicity”. In the end, like a great chawan, the art is to make it look simple and uncontrived. It is this simple “Way” as Rikyu puts it,that can take a lifetime.

IPTV; TEABOWLS IN CAMBRIDGE

I am not sure how many of you may have seen this video produced by the Ceramics Program at Harvard of a recent demonstation of four potters making teabowls. The video highlights Suzuki Goro, Tsujimura Shiro, Richard Milgrim and Jeff Shapiro as they throw, tool and talk teabowls. It is certainly worth a watch!

ON THE VERGE

I really like to throw teabowls occasionally that push the boundries of my abilities and the laws of physics. I have long admired the altered and casual chawan by such notable greats as Tsujimura Shiro, Suzuki Goro and Kakurezaki Ryuichi to name just a few. Interestingly enough, if you look closely at their works, you can see a pattern emerge. Through their apprenticeship and later while working, they have developed a formulaic approach to creating chawan. This formula allows them the freedom to create a series of bowls in a naturalistic manner with subtle nuances that differentiate between the pieces. On closer examination, there is an evolving form and idea that has sprung from a similar idea. This is both taught and learned over years of working, it is the “potters’ evolution”.

For the most part, in the West it is all about trial and error. Since the bulk of my work is very functional and Western in its approach, it has taken longer to develop repeatable formulas for the altered teabowl. The illustrated bowl was basically beaten into submission, beaten to the verge of collapse. This bowl was thrown off the hump, giving me lots of room to maneuver around the form with my paddle. Once heavily paddled, the bowl was rethrown from the interior and and gentlely cupped from the base and pushed oval. Once leatherhard, the foot was addressed with a sharpened bamboo hera and the the excess clay all cut away leaving an oval foot. After the bisque, it was glazed in my temmoku and haiyu glaze giving it a Karatsu feel in appereance. It doesn’t show now, but there was a moment, when this piece was on the verge of collapse and being wedged for yet another try.

ON THE ROAD

My wife and I got on the road last Friday to go up and see Bill & Anna Klock. Admittedly, it had been way to long since I had been up, especially given its close proximity. When we got there, it was like stepping back in time to our last time wood firing together. The property, house and studio conjure up memories from those beginning days of making pottery. In an odd way, you can go home again.


Bill took me into the studio; we talked about pots, potters, glazing and materials. The materials were one of the reasons we went up. Bill is down-sizing his material reserves, keeping the essentials for the pottery he is currently making. We rummaged through the chemicals and I was able to pack 600 pounds or so in our car. There was the redart, G-200, Albany slip, Barnanrd slip, Michigan slip, Frits 3124 and 3110, rutile, ochre, nephaline synite, ultrox, wood ash and others. Though the materials were the premise for us to go up, honestly, it was just great to be up there and see Bill.

Anna put on a wonderful lunch, catering to my peculiar eating habits which ended in a great piece of her homemade orange cake and a typical cup of tea. Everything at Bill’s revolves around a good cup of tea, a habit transplanted from his days at the Leach pottery and his subsequent trips to England and St. Ives. In recent years, Bill was invited by the new owners of the Leach pottery to help stabilize and sort out the kilns and buildings.

After lunch, we toured Bill’s wood working studio, his other passion. Bill has large stockpiles of lumber from his property including wonderful slabs of oak and butternut. He is currently working on a modern set of chest of drawers that has an Arts & Crafts, Stickley feel to it. The house shows off other pieces he has made including a computer table, a writing desk, chairs and various cabinetry. Obviously, just something else to keep Bill busy.

It is obvious now, that I need to get up to Bill’s more often. It was an enjoyable day trip and refreshing to interact with the person I hold responsible for getting me into pottery and helping keep my work on track. Once the car was fully packed, we exchanged pots. I gave Bill a small covered jar in my medieval green glaze in rozome style and in return I got a small vase with brushed slip, broad powerful foot and opaque ash celadon. As a parting gift, I could not be any happier!

CURATORS

In a recent email exchange with a friend, he was extolling the pathos of “actual ownership” of objects which we commune with. “We are only temporary caretakers of our collections through history. With contemporary Japanese ceramics we may be the first or early in the list of curators of the pieces we ‘own’, but eventually they pass along like blowing clouds. It is a bit sad is some regards, but on the other hand is a form of immortality in an offhand way if we prove to be good caretakers. I can't help to think of the long line of "owners" of the great Momoyama pots we are lucky enough to be able to view today because over so many years individuals held a piece of baked ceramic in high enough regard to protect it for prosperity. (HW)” Over the years I have thought about our conservatorship, curatorial duties and responsibilities we have for these objects. We are entrusted to care for and restore these pots (and other objects) and pass them on in the condition we found them or better off than they arrived.

A short thought, years ago I was exceptionally fortunate to handle a very famous Momoyama period Shino mizusashi at the CMA. As I felt through the walls and lip, I could feel where the potter had attached coils to coil and throw the piece. I can feel the rhythm of the clay in its walls and how he added more clay to make the gallery for the lid. Through my senses, it was like I was transported back to see the potter create the pot. As I continued to handle the pot, I thought of the history that swirled around it, the owners, users, tea ceremonies that it was part of with famous and possibly infamous users. It is the proverbial, if only it could talk, the tales it could tell.

This mizusashi has outlasted countless owners, curators. The care and responsibility for this pot, and countless other objects, rest in the hands of the owner of the now; tomorrow, it will be introduced to someone new and begin a whole new dialogue and visual narrative. How it is that countless generations have seen fit to preserve and safeguard this pot is a testament to its presence, bearing and honesty despite the ever present reality that no single individual can “own” anything. In time even the pharaoh’s have given up their great collections and no one can totally possess an object, we are all just curators.

(Thanks H!)

DAIKOKU-SHISHI

I have previously mentioned that Tsukigata Nahiko was a prolific and wide ranging artist as well as being known for his patented Oni-Shino. Illustrated is one of his fun and animated bronzes made in a larger edition. This 6” tall bronze is of a jocular shishi (lion guardian) figure imitating Daikoku, god of earth, rice and wealth, identified with his mallet and sack of rice. The sculpture was seemingly quickly and boldly rendered and then cast in bronze and given a brilliant gold gilt finish. This bronze, like so much of his work is notable for the amount of sheer energy and enthusiasm captured in a static object. From pottery, painting, calligraphy and sculpture, Tsukigata Nahiko made excellent use of each medium.

IPTV; TOOL-TIME

For your Friday viewing pleasure, a short video of me tooling a small terra cotta v-bowl. I also have a short video of the same bowl being slipped and carved and will post that another time along with the finished, glazed piece.