HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

"No sacrifice short of individual liberty, individual self-respect, and individual enterprise is too great a price to pay for permanent peace."  Clark H. Minor

UNEXPECTED

Over the years, I have collected up whatever catalogues on modern Japanese pottery, that I can find that is of interest to me. In that time, I have also developed some relationship with book dealers and collectors who from time to time send catalogues/books my way. About three weeks ago, a friend mentioned he had a group of misc. catalogues on Japanese pots and wanted to know if I wanted them, at cost, I emailed back and told him to send them.  So after about a week via media mail the catalogue arrived and I was very pleased to get them, several on potters I have nothing on and a few on potters who are among my favorites.

So here is where things get a more interesting. Yesterday while looking through the best catalogue of the lot, which I had done several times prior, the sunlight was just right to make me notice, the front picture page was actually signed by the potter. The first time I saw the signature, I assumed it was printed on the page as is somewhat common.  But in this light, I could see the variables in the strokes and the thick to thin where the pen was lifted off the page. Now I know this sounds like much ado about nothing, but the catalogue I was flipping through is on my favorite potter, Arakawa Toyozo! To me, this is what it must be for a baseball fan to have a Mickey Mantle autograph on a baseball program. The catalogue is from Showa 54, 1979 and is a wonderful cross section of the variety of works that Arakawa had made. I realize this doesn't add any value to the catalogue, but it sure makes it a bit more meaningful. Now if only I can find that signature on a wood box, with a nice little pot inside it!

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

"We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe." Johann von Goethe (1749-1832) What else can one say?

Illustrated is a woodblock print of the "god of lightening", Raijin by Sasajima Kihei (1906-1993).

SAFFRON NERIAGE PROGRESS

A while back I threw several chawan and covered jars in stoneware neriage to see how things progressed beyond  relatively small pieces. I got everything bisque and glazed and finally fired last Friday.  Other than a few small pinholes, the results look good, the larger covered jars, water jars, came out rather nice with a good degree of variation on the exterior surface. Where the iron rich clay is, there is some nice dark, purple brown droozy effects which helps break up the surface. The interior had a thicker coating of the iron yellow saffron poured in and I am pleased with the results as the surface all runs down to create a thick pool of  glaze in the bottom. I have always admired the neriage works of Kawai Kanjiro student, Ueda Tsuneji and can not deny the irresistible influence of his pottery in this work surface-wise.

The chawan illustrated was dipped quickly in the saffron glaze and the pattern turned out close to what I was after. The original intention for the neriage pattern was continuous undulating ribbons running around the body of the bowl. Though the pattern came out quite well, there are areas where the top or bottom of the loop is open. I guess only continued practice will make perfect, but who would want that anyway?

NO ORDINARY ENSO

I was sent this illustration of a large square box lid by Kumano Kuroemon. I am reminded, each time I see one of his decorated boxes, that the boxes are as much a work of art as are the pots, I am also reminded, that these are no ordinary Enso, done in a perfunctory manner to hype the package and contents. The Enso of Kumano are metaphors for the process by which the pots are made in a spontaneous act, born of the wheel, through the speed and dynamic tension of the Bear of Echizen. The motion of the Enso is mimicked in the pot or vice versa and the real expression of the calligraphy is meant to echo the contents hidden away inside the tomobaku. The Enso of Kumano might also be a reminder of the contemplative side of a process that is both brutal and chaotic yet born from the simplicity of an singular ideal.

"When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself."  Shunryu Suzuki  (1904-1971)

ALL IN GOOD TIME

Illustrated is a phenomenal Bizen chawan by legendary chadogu specialist, Kaneshige Sozan (1909-1995). This bowl is a perfect chawan; beautiful landscape, simple utilitarian lip, definitive front and back, fine mikomi and perfect Bizen kodai, in essence, it rarely gets better than this. Kaneshige Sozan was the younger brother of Ningen Kokuho, Kaneshige Toyo and spent a great deal of his life as a pottery nomad, maybe even as an eccentric, wandering from kiln to kiln and working with various other pottery masters including Ishiguro Munemaro. Sozan's works were eclectic and it wasn't until later in life that his genius at traditional Bizen pottery became apparent. Many ceramic scholars and critics consider the chadogu of Kaneshige Sozan to be among the best made of the 20th century and by looking at this chawan with its magnificent cascading ash, it is easy to see why. Though he could have been seen in the shadow of his older brother, it is exceedingly obvious, that Kaneshige Sozan cast his own shadow over the pottery and potters of Bizen.

"All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare."  Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677)

VERSATILITY

As I continue to work with glazes based on Oribe, I am occasionally asked, what it is about this glaze that I find so interesting. After having thought about it for a long while, I came to the conclusion that Oribe is the most versatile glaze I work with. Beyond the versatility of the broad base of glazes I call Oribe, there is an undeniable playfulness to the style as well, just think about the modern works of Suzuki Goro and Takauchi Shugo. This glaze can be stoic and solemn or whimsical and playful. The first thing about Oribe, is that it is no single glaze, rather there are hundreds of varieties, differing glaze bases, percentages of copper, tempering agents in the form of iron and an nearly endless way in which it can be used. From my perspective, the wide range that it can be used within helps limit the limitations you can face with other techniques.

I concluded that there are certain limitations for surfaces and forms for wood firing, salt firing, copper reds, etc, but Oribe has far fewer of those restrictions and when the pot is good, the Oribe  just shines and allows the viewer to see beneath the surface of the glaze so that how the pot was made and the clay are apparent. Many glazes hide the clay, subtle gestures and marks, but the glass of Oribe, usually keeps the mark of the potter visible as another element of communication. Now when I am asked, why do I like and use Oribe, the response is, how many answers do you want?

Illustrated is a tebori carved slab plate glazed in one of my Oribe glazes. The style of work is called VERTIGO for obvious reasons and when used any excess moisture  collects in the furrows, keeping the food from become over saturated and crisp. These are especially good for sushi, yakitori, gyoza and negamaki.

INCOMING IV

After a series of recent emails and a long phone call, I have another stellar group of chawan on the way to sell for a collector. The collector is in the midst of building a house and realized that the best pieces would have to go to help mitigate the money flowing out. There is a reason houses are called money pits! The current plan is that the pots should reach me by the end of next week and then I will get them photographed and posted up on  my Trocadero website;

http://www.trocadero.com/albedo3studio/catalog.html

Please keep your eye on my website for this great group of modern chawan.

The group includes a Hayashi Shotaro Shino chawan with underglaze accents of iron decoration. This is the finest Hayashi chawan I have ever seen, is big and pristine and exhibited and is accompanied with a portfolio sheet of this exact chawan. Next up is a very modern dancing fire, Enbu-Shino chawan by Yamada Kazu. It is extremely striking and part of his most recent works. There is also several chawan by legendary eccentric, Tsukigata Nahiko. All in all, a great group of chawan by extraordinary potters working in the modern Shino/Mino tradition..

Illustrated is  a Shino chawan by modern day master Mino potter, Hayashi Shotaro. Not only is the form and glaze quality exceptional, but the fluid and spontaneous vertical iron decoration gives this pot an extreme sense of upward motion. I am always reluctant to say this as it seems to be over used, but this truly is a masterpiece chawan.

STUDIO VARIA

In the last firing I made the decision to explore the double gourd form, which I hadn't thrown in quite some time. The pieces included a group of bottle/vases and a number of tokkuri/bottles as well. They were glazed in temmoku and tetsu-yu, temmoku and haiyu or an alkaline clear and the saffron yellow iron glazes. Overall I am rather pleased with how they came out. I ended up glazing the tokkuri from top to bottom and then fired them on wads for the effect. Once out of the glaze, I ground off the wads and the feet of the tokkuri now show "scars" where each were ground off. I quite like the look and it adds an additional visual element to the base of each pot.

I have also been pursuing various pattern development for the stoneware neriage that I have been working with which is loosely based on suminagashi inspired design. Unless you devote yourself to neriage full time, I am guessing there is no exact science to getting patterns to develop that way you see them in your head, rather, much of the pattern is like visual entropy. That being said, my main interest in the neriage is to produce large, bold contrasting pattern with very few layers. I am also trying to create diagonal loops and pattern that folds back on itself . I made up some more colored stoneware and then threw a group of teabowls yesterday, trimming them this morning. I am hoping to get them dried and into the next bisque and glaze fire. My intent at the moment is to glaze them in the saffron surface, though things are always subject to change, that is the plan. I will post a photo when they are finished. Though I am not dedicated to neriage full time, the variety certainly keeps things interesting.

"The most delightful pleasures cloy without variety." Publilius Syrus ( First Century B.C.)

THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW

Illustrated is a mizusashi based on a "bucket" or "pail" archetype that finds their origins in Shigaraki in the 17th and 18th century. Over 80% of the surface is covered in ash, part in an opaque ash and the rest in a sheer coat of glass with the lid gallery having a ring of thick, rich green bidoro running around the entire pot. The lid, is carved out of  blond cypress by the potter to finish off the piece and create a wonderful contrast between pot and lid.  To my eye, there is something very inviting about the simplicity of the piece and the rhythm captured in the clay.

Made by veteran potter Kon Chiharu (b. 1951), this is one of those quiet Shigaraki pots that is both  classic and timeless. Kon lives, works and teaches in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. He studied under the legendary Tsuji Seimei(1927-2008). Besides leaving behind a diverse and great body of work, Tsuji Seimei made Shigaraki pottery outside of the traditional center of that style of pottery, rather he lived and worked in Tokyo. Tsuji is one of the pioneers that made it quite acceptable to work within a tradition without the geographical ties seen previously.  After finishing his apprenticeship, Kon moved back to Niigata where he built his studio and anagama with the intention of pursuing the Shigaraki tradition in what is typically known as "snow-country". Besides making Shigaraki pottery, Kon also makes a wide variety of glazed wares of which I am particularly fond of his Oribe and Kohiki works. As I have pointed out in another post, though he doesn't work in Shigaraki proper, his works are the only evidence you need to see, Kon Chiharu is a modern day Shigaraki potter.

(Illustration used with the permission of a private collector)