HIRADOBASHI

Illustrated is a very fine hanaire by legendary potter, Okabe Mineo (1919-1990). Made sometime during the mid-1960's, this hanaire is quintessential Okabe Ko-Seto style work and shows his profound knowledge of clay and ash glaze(s) that his is so well known for. In this particular form, the heavily textured clay is not masked with a dark and sometimes opaque Oribe, allowing for the Ko-Seto ash to animate the marks and run down the pot, accentuating the vertical nature of the piece. The varying tones of the glaze pool within texture creating a myriad of colors and fluidity that captures the movement of the vase. This hanaire is among one of the finest of this style that I have seen.

Like Tsukigata Nakiho's investigation, experimentation and mastery of Shino and Iron, Okabe Mineo focused on the use of ash and iron in glazes from 1947 on. It could possibly be a connection to the tradition of Seto where he was born, but his focus on ash was a major part of his use of clay and development of form. Okabe used ash in all of his glazes from Shino, Oribe, Ki-Seto, Ko-Seto and added iron as a major constituent of glazes to create his unique celadons including his trademark yohen beishokuji. His wonderful body of glazes based on ash and iron where further altered and rendered unique to Okabe by his skillful mastery of firing the kiln. His glazes would transmute in the kiln atmosphere in a style known as yohen (kiln change). The is no doubt that among Okabe Mineo's diverse legacy will be the broad and idiosyncratic body of glazes that he has left behind for collector and potter to study and contemplate in wonderment.

(The illustration is used with the kind permission of a collector, a friend, whose keen eye and passion for modern Japanese ceramics has put together an impressive collection. Several of the pots seen on my blog are from his collection.)

AN ORIBE ENIGMA

I have resolved myself to the fact that there will always be those Japanese pots that will remain unidentified. Sometimes it is as simple as not being able to read the cursive script on the box or being unable to identify a personal mark or seal. Other times, the pot arrives without a box and/or a mark obscurred by a layer of glaze. The illustrated large o-sara oribe tray form is just such an example of the later, no box, covered mark. I first came in contact with this piece about 5 or 6 years ago, I was struck by the strong form and wonderful visual texture skillfully glazed in an Oribe glaze. The way in which the glaze is applied makes full use of the crumbly texture and the quality clay, the tsuchi-aji ( flavor of the earth), shows through here and there as intended by the potter.  The clay appears to be a mix of Mino mogusa and Shigaraki clays, with most of the feldspar picked out of the mix before use.

This o-sara is very skillfully manipulated, textured, glazed and fired, though the maker remains a mystery, an enigma. It has qualities of Tsujimura Shiro, though I am unaware of an Oribe pieces of this style made by him. It also reminds me of the textured tray forms of Takeuchi Shugo that he creates by rolling out slabs and beating them with broken tree limbs, I even see elements of early Suzuki Goro. I am just not sure who made this piece, though that in no way detracts from the quality of the pot and the timeless pressence that it pocesses.

"By nature's kindly disposition most questions which it is beyond a man's power to answer do not occur to him at all."     George Santayana (1863-1952)

NARUMI-ORIBE

Illustrated is a close-up of a Narumi-Oribe basket form by Mino legend, Hayashi Shotaro (b. 1947).  This pot is an early work of Shotaro and clearly shows the indelible touch and influence of his elder brother and teacher Hayashi Kotaro (1940-1981). Shotaro spent a seven year apprenticeship with his brother before striking out and establishing his own studio/kiln in 1974. This piece demonstrates the traditional ideals passed down from teacher to student and a continuity of style and design shared by brothers.

Oribe ware in general has a whimsical quality to it and this basket is no exception. This practical, yet entertaining form, is a bit unique to Shotaro, though if you look hard enough, I think you will find the shape somewhere in antiquity. The spontaneous and asymmetrical designs  animates and accentuates this form, making for a pleasant visual and functional experience. Though made early in his career, it is obvious that Hayashi Shotaro has a keen grasp of form and surface as passed on from the tradition and his brother's thoughtful and insightful instruction.

"It takes an endless amount of history to make even a little tradition." Henry James (1843-1916)

SHIN-AO

I moved to the next step in testing with my new Oribe style glaze. I tempered the glaze a bit by adding .5% iron oxide and made up enough to glaze a few teabowls. Realizing that this new green can be rather bright over slip, I decided to use that to my advantage. I had thrown and severely paddled a group of bowls and took one and then poured white slip over either end of the ovalled form. Once bisque, I poured the glaze over the pot to vary thickness and then fired it in the last kiln firing. The illustrated teabowl is what I ended up with. The green is rich and bright over the white slip and a more somber green over the stoneware clay body. I find it rather nice that the glaze breaks to an almost clear over the raised ridges of the paddled texture, giving me three distinct colors on the teabowl. I think the developement of this new Oribe (Shin-Ao) is on track and may be destined for a larger bucket of glaze!

You can see more pictures of this chawan here;

http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1129351/item1129351store.html

 "The combination of experience and experimentation will ultimately yield a personal sound."

                                                                                                                   Mark White (b. 1961)

WIND

Illustrated is another picture from our trip to see the collection of Alice and Halsey North.  This "object" made by veteran Shigaraki artist, Kohyama Yasuhisa is also the cover illustration for the catalogue of their collection by Joe Earle, entitled; CONTEMPORARY CLAY; JAPANESE CERAMICS FOR THE NEW CENTURY. Having had the opportunity to spend some time observing Kohyama work, it is fascinating to see the object take on mass as coil after coil are built up and the clay is studied for the point at which he will facet the clay. Like a skilled diamond cutter, he studies the form as it is being constructed and quickly and without  hesitation, he "cleaves" the form to leave the object as it was seen in his mind's eye.

This wonderful "object" is entitled, WIND (FUNE). In person, the sculptural pot is enlivened with a shimmering surface of thin green glass at the top of the form and fly ash overall. The monumental presence creates a sense of movement as if defiantly standing sentinel against the wind, the vessel is frozen in perpetual motion. Easily my favorite among the array of pieces in the North collection, the Kohyama soars between the established tradition and vanguard of modern yakishime pottery.

(Pictures taken and used with the kind permission of Alice and Halsey North)

AT THE BEGINNING

Illustrated is mizusashi made by Shigaraki pioneer, Kohyama Yasuhisa in 1973 (Showa 48). Every potter has a body of work that has a definite beginning, even ones who have gone beyond the strictest sense of function to work in the realm of "objects"*.  This particular subtly faceted mizusashi was made for a 1973 exhibit and is illustrated in the exhibition catalog. Having been the first potter to build an anagama in Shigaraki valley since the middle ages, Kohyama immediately began to focus in on Sueki style firing and showcasing the natural essence of the clay with colorful hi-iro effects. The form is thrown and manipulated to have a slight bend to the center and carved take on the ubiquitous bamboo form (take-gata) so popular in Japanese art.

Though made early on in his carrer, this pot shows many of the attributes Kohyama is so well known for. The pot allows the clay to speak with a flashed hi-iro and a dusting of ash on the rim and lid. The faceting, though very subtle, is a certain trademark of most of his works and the ability to create a form devoid of all but the essential elements is a feature that makes his works stand out from the crowd and invariable weather the storms of trend and time.

(* Objects are how Kohyama-san refers to his more sculptural works, from small to large)

ROUND & ROUND

Illustrated is an oval lugged basket form with an iron textured glaze on stoneware. The piece started out round, has a hollow lip, was pushed up to make an oval form and once leatherhard, the foot was tooled, carefully, and then notched to give it more interest. Last, I attached a handle to either side to give the pot more movement along the curved lip. Sometimes I become so blinded by the roundness of throwing, I need to be reminded that there is much more that can happen to a thrown pot, some with very little effort, yet changing the dynamic of the pot.

A TREK NORTH

Last weekend, my wife and I made a trek into NYC for a very specific reason, we were on our way to see the collection of Alice and Halsey North. For those unacquainted, the Norths are pioneering collectors and advocates for modern Japanese pottery. There is a wonderful catalogue of part of their collection by Joe Earle, entitled; CONTEMPORARY CLAY; JAPANESE CERAMICS FOR THE NEW CENTURY which gives a glimpse into the collection and its importance.

From the moment they open the door to their home, it is immediately apparent, the Norths, live with their pots. Directly adjacent to the door is a gridded shelf system that hangs on the wall like a kakejiku scroll painting, though this kakejiku is filled with dozens of small pots, many of which have larger versions about the apartment. As you walk about, it is obvious that the collection revolves around the Sodeisha movement and more sculptural pottery, though Hamada, Shimaoka, Warren MacKenzie, Randy Johnston and a number of the traditional potters are represented. The Sodeisha trio; Yagi Kazuo, Yamada Hikaru and Suzuki Osamu are represented as well as a number of other sculptural ceramists; Fukami Sueharu, Morino Taimei, Kondo Takahiro, Yaki Akira, Kohyama Yasuhisa and many others. The surfaces and traditions run the gamut from Iga and Shigaraki, Kohiki, Bizen, Mashiko, Seiji and surfaces characteristic of the new movement in Japanese ceramics.

As you take in the collection, the Norths point out their favorites and why many of the pieces speak to them. It is obvious, the pots and environment co-exist in an intimate and casual manner. The dialogue between viewer and clay is an ongoing exchange that animates the living space and creates a meaningful conversation among the pots as well.  As I mentioned the focus of the collection is more sculptural, but there are a number of functional pots intermingled throughout the home. Besides the MacKenzie, Shimaoka and Johnston pieces, there are pots by Tsujimura Shiro and sonYui, Otani Shiro, Kakurezaki Ryuichi, Mori Togaku, Kaneta Masanao and quite a few others. Actually, the blend of sculptural and function is well balanced and they share much more than material in common, they are the voice of Alice and Halsey Norths vision of pottery for the new century.

If taking in the North collection wasn't enough to make our weekend, the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) had a phenomenal exhibition of 20th century Chinese painter, FU BAOSHI (1904-1965). The large exhibit had works from early to late in his life and in a variety of styles Fu is well known for. A few of his large scale mountain scrolls and "The Mountain Spirit" were just ethereal and beyond words. For more than a thousand years, the Japanese had used Chinese art (and painting) as an inspiration, this exhibition clearly showed the indebtedness that Fu had for Japanese painters and paintings, particularly, Hashimoto Kansetsu, Takeuchi Seiho and Yokoyama Taikan. All in all a wonderful exhibit, a wonderful invitation from the Norths and a weekend that will linger in my memory for quite some time.

The top illustration is of a Japanese inspired alcove housing a bold weather beaten calligraphed plank by Tsujimura Shiro over a textured vase form by Sakiyama Takayuki (b.1958). The Sakiyama is a large, following piece which commands its space and echoes the environment of sea and sand of his home in seaside Izu peninsula.

(Picture taken and used with the kind permission of Alice and Halsey North)

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY

January and February are usually somewhat slow months for orders/commissions so I use the time to try out new ideas and do a fair amount of testing. In case it isn't crystal clear, I tend to do a fair amount of testing based on iron and copper glazes. Honestly, the potential for both is nearly infinite and the result are generally exactly what I am after. I recently tried altering an old soda based clear glaze I have by adding copper to it and didn't add a pinch of iron to temper the color. The initial results were quite good, giving me an Oribe style glaze, very similiar to the old lepidolite Oribe. I was rather pleased and moved onto the next phase of testing.

I threw a group of yunomi and white slipped them, using hakeme and kushime style decoration. Once bisque, I glazed up four of the yunomi and ended up firing them and various parts of the kiln. I guess I had forgotten a crucial part of this narrative, the original tests were not on white slip, but rather straight on  plain stoneware pods and rings. What came out of the kiln was a GREEN made brighter and greener because of the white slip. A simple overlooked issue, though now I know what to expect. I am thinking I will reduce the copper content and add .5% red iron to lessen the impact. It is not a bad green, but in person, it sure is green.

"What are facts but compromises? A fact merely marks the point where we have agreed to let investigation cease."   Bliss Carman  (1861-1929)

AN ORIBE FLYBY

I have always been fascinated by the methodical and thorough documentations carried out by NASA satellites and probes (though NASA's future is now in grave jeopardy from my perspective) as mankind pushes further and further out into space. As these probes, flyby, they take hundreds to thousands of images to accurately reflect the object in three dimension, topography and volume. The photographic documentation used by NASA has been an inspiration on my personal work ethic, regarding photographing pots that I am able to study and handle. I document these pots with a myriad of pictures, trying to capture all their details, their volume and space that they command as a three dimensional object. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it.

I am also always trying to expand my skill set and recently turned my attention to building video slide shows. This first video slide show documents a mentori Oribe chawan by Kowari Tetsuya. The chawan can be seen in a short article I wrote on Kowari-san here;

 http://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/search?q=kowari

Please bear in mind, this is my first attempt at this and I aimed at portraying the chawan, just like NASA portrays a tumbling asteroid. I hope this conveys the detail, attitude, volume and dimension of the piece.