CHAWAN SCROLL

Illustrated is a close-up of a kakejiku by legendary potter, Arakawa Toyozo. The scroll depicts a Shino chawan with underglaze iron pigment decoration of a field or village. The prominent kanji on the scroll can read “field” or “village”. This scroll painting in monochrome ink tones is typical of a number of pieces Arakawa painted during his lifetime. Most of this style of painting illustrates historical chawan or other pottery pieces or pots that he made himself. Though this design most likely owes it origin to the Muramachi period (1333-1573) and the monochrome ink painters, Shubun and Sesshu, I am inclined to think this painting is of his own pottery and may have accompanied the chawan it depicts. In fact, this decoration is very much like the sugarcane motif of Hamada Shoji, it appears on a large number of Arakawa’s Shino chawan. I have always admired Arakawa’s paintings and calligraphy in this style, there is a wonderful blend of the lyrical and casual, much the same can be said for much of his pottery as well.


For another look at Arakawa as painter, please take a look at a previous, similar post; http://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2010/12/arakawa-as-painter.html

AND THE HOLY GRAIL................

Speaking in the colloquial sense, every die-hard collector has his eyes set apon a holy grail object of his collecting field. It doesn’t matter if you are collecting Pez dispensers or Impressionist paintings; collectors have a certain piece that is the ultimate for their collection. Though there can be several penultimate pieces, there can be only one holy grail and it sometimes the search is long and the expense is usually in the realm of sheer insanity. I believe it takes a certain amount of maturity to decide what is or isn’t that piece that will make a collection. From my perspective, what I would have classified as my ultimate 20 years ago, is just not what I would classify as my holy grail today. I had to see a lot of pottery in numerous private and public collections, as well as gallery visits and even trips to Japan, to hit on what was that one thing I held above all others. It should go without saying; this is a very personal and introspective journey.

My decision to write about this comes just days after the third collector in a row acquired their holy grail pot. At the beginning of the summer, a collector friend, who specializes in painted porcelains, happened on a museum quality Imaizumi Imaemon XIII large platter. It is what he was looking for over a decade and is so far above most of his pots that it has set a new standard. The second collector I know went all in on a magnificent Tsukigata Nahiko Oni-Shino chawan that has been published. Like the Imazumi platter, it has set a new standard for the collector and set the bar very high. Lastly, just this week a friend of mine completed some complex negotiations for his holy grail pot, a masterpiece and museum quality Oni-Hagi (Ogre-Hagi) O-buri chawan by Miwa Kyusetsu (now Jyusetsu) most likely made in the late 90’s or early 2000s. Like the previous two pots, it has set a new and nearly impossible standard, leading to questions about his collecting strategy. For some collectors, that I am pleased to know, it has been a good summer for pottery.

Bare in mind, I am a potter and living on a potter’s salary, for most of us, still reaching and searching for that holy grail, the constant hunt and narrow misses are only further compounded by the taunts of others who have secreted away "our” pots. For this, it is necessary to fortify body and spirit and what better way than taking a moment to watch this instructional video;

LASTING IMPRESSIONS

During my decade in Cleveland and numerous trips to NYC and Boston, besides taking the time to look at pottery and Japanese art in the different museums, I would always take time to study the ancient Chinese bronzes. The forms and patinas of the bronzes are fascinating and compelling, but to my eye, the intricate patterns about the surfaces articulate the pieces and bring them to life. The variety of repeat patterns and other designs take hold and create a dialogue between even the most casual viewer and the piece.

In time, I began to create pots so that I could impress articulated pattern around the forms. Carving impression stamps out of clay, the patterns were hit or miss, some worked, some did not. By working with this idea on and off over nearly 10 years, the right forms, impressed designs and glaze or glaze combinations began to make sense. In a way, it was like developing a “standard” to work with this style of pottery. The actual impressed designs were created to be reminiscent of the old Chinese bronzes, Persian design elements and Greek design and fretwork. Besides creating an overall design, it adds to the tactile experience as the design stamps have made a lasting impression on the pot and hopefully the viewer as well.

LABOR DAY

“Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.”     Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

TSUKIGATA NAHIKO ENSO

A friend of mine recently sent me a picture of his wonderful Tsukigata Nahiko enso tile. Besides being an astute collector, he is very keen on the work of Tsukigata and holds him in the highest regard among modern Mino tradition potters. The illustrated ceramic tile was fired in a wood kiln and it shows all of the characteristics of why Tsukigata is so highly regarded as a renaissance artist of the 20th century. This tile measures approximately 8” x 8” and is mounted in a wood frame that bares all the characteristics of having been made by a carpenter that specializes in tansu. This enso appears to have been created “in the moment”, a spontaneous extension of all of the artist’s experience and creativity. Though it is minimalist in its execution, it is infinite in its impact and statement.

Tsukigata created a number of these ceramic tiles, most of which showcased his very idiosyncratic calligraphy (shoga) style. Besides the enso (円相), there are examples with kanji for hana (flower), shin (heart), yume (dream), wa (peace) and others. There are also a number of his chawan that bare the same technique with bold kanji as decoration that date from about 1970 to 1990.

(Illustration used with the kind permission of a collector)

UTILITAS

As a potter, there is little more satisfying than knowing your pots are being used. Coming from a mostly functional background of three Leach students, my work is about use and accomodation. As I sketch out and throw or build new pots, my foremost thought is about the function and that they perform without any real problems. That means handles, knobs, lids and feet all make for a pot that is meant to be used and its purpose is fulfilled when it is being enjoyed for a variety of tasks.

Going all the way back to the beginning, I have always been captivated by various tea utensils and as such have made chawan, mizusashi, full tea sets and various other components. Though I have exceedingly little experience with chanoyu, I have done what I could to understand the function of each piece and have added my own nuances. Over time, I have had a lot of feedback from tea people (chajin) as to how pieces have preformed with subtle suggestions and input as to how to make varying objects. There are a number of my pieces that are being or have been used for chanoyu and kaiseki by the Urasenke and Omotesenke schools of tea ceremony. Seeing my pots in this setting being used, is about the greatest feeling I can imagine as a potter.

Illustrated is a close-up of the chaki of Urasenke tradition practioner, Todd Frey of York, PA. The mizusashi and matching shakutate are by me and are porcelain neriage with my Ao glaze. They are part of a set that includes a chawan, mizusashi, kensui, shakutate and futaoki. Todd has a wonderful authentic “tea house” in York and gives chanoyu demonstrations. You can learn more about him at;

http://www.gessha.com/

(Photo graciously provided by Todd Frey)

UNDER & OVER

Illustrated are two yunomi illustrating two different uses of “red” as the primary method of decoration. On the right is a porcelain yunomi by yuriko copper red and sometsuke underglaze specialist, Yoshida Takashi (student of both Kondo Yuzo and Tomimoto Kenkichi). The yunomi has a pleasant and appealing rounded form and has an underglaze red banded design of grapes, grape leaves and vines. It is a nice and casual use of the red and has just enough pure white showing to intensify the red. The yunomi on the right is an aka-e (no) kinrande decoration with a sometsuke banded line acting as a border at the lip of the cup. This cylindrical porcelain yunomi is by sometsuke and enamel specialist, Shofu Eiichi (who also studied with Tomimoto Kenkichi). Both made very good use of different approaches.

For a Monday afternoon could there be anything better than to sit around and enjoy a nice cup of tea out of a simple handmade yunomi?

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”      Albert Einstein

POTTERY TIP #302

PT #302; Always maintain a good field of vision when reaching into a container filled with sharp implements. (I am not sure if this is covered under the ‘never run with scissors’ rule or not.)


Better safe than sorry is the expression and I wished I had paid heed to that sage maxim. Yesterday while finishing up tooling of some pasta bowls, I leapt before I looked and grabbed for a trimming tool and when pulling back my hand, I had a fettling knife deep into the cuticle of my left thumb. I normally have my sharp tools pointing downward to avoid such problems but in a hurry to clean up the day before from finishing the oval serving pieces, I just scooped everything back into the contained for tools. Being that the knife is a bit old, rusty and covered with a concoction of terra cotta, stoneware and porcelain, I now have an infection in my thumb. This is certainly not the first, nor I doubt it will be the last, infection I will get from some errant injury to the digits, but it did keep me from throwing today. Luckily, I have the weekend, peroxide and neosporin to get things back in order and hopefully back to throwing on Monday.

Check back for more pottery tips as I manage to create chaos and mayhem out of clay.

THE RECALCITRANT POT

In an email exchange with a friend, I mentioned that I had started throwing terra cotta and unlike stoneware, it was getting the upper hand and certainly not just going along. He joked that I needed to show that recalcitrant pot who was boss. Since I am in the midst of an extended terra cotta cycle, it seems like every day is more challenging then it needs to be. I have been making pots for a variety of surfaces, including black & white slipware, carved tebori and abstrakt resist. I have made a number of forms from small bowls and molded trays to composite vases, covered jars, pasta bowls and plates and now am on to some throw & altered and constructed forms.

In order to mix things up, yesterday I threw a group of 4.5 lb cylinders, without bottoms and later pushed them oval. Today I set about giving them slab bottoms and handles, ending up with a series of oval serving pieces. I am intending to decorate these in abstract resist once they have dried. Trying to get them exactly as I wanted them, as they area bit larger at 17” long, they just seemed to flop around, kicking back and deciding on their final shapes, though I exerted what control that I could. In the end, these pots aren’t that defiant, but terra cotta is unforgiving and no where near the ease of working with stoneware. Tomorrow, once I have tooled some pasta bowls, I’ll set about making parts for a new composite covered jar idea that I have, as they say in Poker, I am going all in.

AROUND THE WHEEL

In high school, I remember watching the series, Meeting of the Minds*, a Steve Allen TV show on PBS (1977 -1981) which operated on the premise that you could bring three historical individuals together at a table to ask questions and debate issues. In my mind I have always wondered what it would be like to assemble Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji and Kitaoji Rosanjin at a table on; AROUND THE WHEEL. I have no doubt that it would be an exceptionally enlightening discussion and a great, if not limited audience TV show. In the meantime, the closest I can come today is carrying on a dialogue between each individual’s pot and myself as viewer. This will just have to do for the time being though I do have ideas for several other shows; Kato Tokuro, Arakawa Toyozo and Tsukigata Nahiko and for another Hon’ami Koetsu, Raku Chojiro and Ogata Kenzan. I think I could get at least 3 or 4 years worth of shows! Now all I have to do is sit back and wait for all of that TV production development money!

(Illustration, left to right; Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji and Kitaoji Rosanjin)

*  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_Minds