MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Admit it, when you think of Suzuki Goro, Ki-Seto, Oribe, Seto-Guro and Shino spring to mind; however, his diversity  and experimentation is broad and quite accomplished. One of the staples of Suzuki's works as far back as the 1970's has been his Shigaraki influenced pots in every shape and size. Back in the 1970's and 1980's a good number of his pots were Shigaraki style while currently they seem to be a much smaller percentage of his output. His Shigaraki pieces have the same dynamic sensibility to them as much earlier Momoyama and Edo works and the clay is handled in a brusque and masculine manner that creates their bold, almost bushi-like nature. Add to Suzuki-san's bold handling of the clay, firings that accentuate and animate his pottery and you can not help but have a winning combination.

Illustrated is a very medieval inspired Shigaraki tsubo by Suzuki Goro. This tsubo has a very austere, weathered appearance and a powerful stance and presence. Striped of the superfluous, Suzuki has decided to let the bare essentials convey his message; the simple lines, lugs, decoration and ash bring the pot to life like a resurrected medieval pot, recently unearthed and still ready for any purpose or challenge.

AME-YU

I have mentioned that a number of my current glazes are based on turning my trimming scraps into glazes, but I am not sure I mentioned how and when it came about. At the tail end of living in PA, I ran a bisque which included a pot that had been too close to the wheel while I was throwing terra cotta. I didn't notice the splatters on the piece and when it came out of the bisque, the terra cotta had fused to the pot, so I decided to glaze fire it anyway. Out of the glaze, it had turned into an almost Albany Slip like surface, so the die was cast; that is what set me on testing the terra cotta as a glaze. After a number (a big number) of tests with several additions to the base, I first came up with a rather nice, deep, rich amber glaze that reminded me of an Ohi ame-yu glaze and the name stuck. With more testing, I was able to make the medieval green, ao, tetsu-yu and temmoku all from the base with minor alterations and a certain percentage of the base calcined to solve the crawling problems.

The next step was to start to develop a vocabulary for the use of the glazes and the ame-yu was the first in line. White and black slips showed through the translucent glaze as well as copper and cobalt overglaze decoration were the first logic steps. I am not sure how I got there, but I made these Mediterranean styled pots and I thought, what makes more sense than to glaze them in a Japanese influenced Ohi Ame-yu glaze. Illustrated is a 12" tall jug with braided coil lugs and a copper rain pattern over the body of the pot. This piece was recently sent to me in an attempt to make a mate for it. The owner wants the pair to stand on opposite sides of a mantle. Though this is not my favorite thing to do, it sure beats trying to recreate a lid for a pot and after all, a challenge is a challenge.

UPDATE

Whether a pot is conservative, abstract, cutting edge or obtuse, its basis and roots stem from some historical archetype. I remember an art history professor of mine being fond of saying; "everything comes from somewhere".  Case in point, a while back on my blog, I posted up a very fine Iga vase by Kojima Kenji, now some months later, I find it actually has two distinct origins. The first is that it was exhibited at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in 2004 and is illustrated in the catalogue. The second reference for this vase is the original early Edo era vase that the Kojima vase owes a certain amount of its inspiration to, the Katachi (the essence of design?). Though not intended as an exact copy of the early Edo Iga vase, the characteristics, bearing and posture of the original, can be seen in the modern piece. The one thing that can be said about Kojima-san, beyond his pottery and firing skills, is his in depth study of historical Ko-Iga and Iga pottery. Through his study he has been able to understand the clay, forms, kilns, firing and wood choices for firing much better, all leading to him being at the top of his game. (The left illustration comes from the Kojima Kenji Mitsukoshi Exhibition catalogue 2004 and the right one from JAPANESE POTTERY (1971) by Soame Jenyns.)

"The core of his oeuvre is steeped in the ages-old tradition of Iga and Shigaraki ware - tsubo and kame, tea ceremony and sake pieces, and most of all vases - but the range of the forms and different looks he achieves within those traditions, invigorates the spirit." An excerpt from an essay in the Mitsukoshi exhibit catalogue written by Peter Ujlaki.

CU DIVERSITY

Illustrated is a close-up of the interior of an Oribe Mizusashi by Kakurezaki Ryuichi apprentice; Ishii Takahiro. The interior, truly highlights the rich diversity that a copper glaze, in this case an Oribe, is capable of. Though only one glaze, as the glaze matured and pooled into the bottom of the interior, it has gone from a rich, translucent grassy green to  an opaque boundary of blue-green  with black spots being formed by the build up of  high concentrations of copper forming black metallic crystals. The opaque blue-green has also created an effect reminiscent of pine-needles floating about the surface. In terms of any Oribe glaze, I don't think you could have asked for more diversity and testament to the possibilities of using copper.

For anyone interested in learning more about the elements, I would suggest watching this short video.

O-SARA

In discussing Oribe, many times I think of it as the glazed distant brethren of Iga and Shigaraki ware. In Iga/Shigaraki, though the pot may have a wide array of natural glaze effects from the firing, the clay and basics of the form  are on full display. Oribe has the same distinct quality about it, it has a similar richness and a propensity to run yet the clay underneath the glaze is there to see and enjoy. Each mark of the potter is crisply frozen and safely protected by the barrier of the glaze. Hayashi Shotaro is yet another wonderful Mino potter who creates unique, bold and inspired Oribe pottery. Over the years, first under the tutelage of his brother Hayashi Kotaro, Shotaro has developed a broad vocabulary or forms and clay textures which make full use of the various glazes he uses, especially his Oribe. The direct and aggressive manner in which Hayashi dealt with the clay of this Oribe o-sara is laid bare, except for a layer of his rich glaze that pools and accentuates every mark, depression and the textures that has created this highly gestural piece. This is both modern Oribe and Hayashi Shotaro at its best.

A CUP OF GLAZE

One of the real drawbacks of using the every depleting lepidolite Oribe glaze is that size does matter. The bulk of the work is relegated to teabowls, flat plates and medium size vases, bottles and mizusashi, all basically smaller pieces. The illustrated bottle is the exception to the rule, at nearly 14" tall, it posed its own unique challenges to glaze without making up a large amount of glaze, which was just not going to happen. The plus side of the glaze I use, is that poured or brushed, the surface tends to blend into itself in a rather homogeneous coating making it possible to glaze a large vase using little more than a cup of glaze. This vase, just under 14" in height has glaze built up a bit around the incised decoration and at the base of the depressed neck to create a darker contrast and adds a dimension to the surface that a solid and totally even glaze coat would not. The various areas of darker and richer glaze helps articulate the form and details and makes for a much more interesting surface. In all honesty, I was rather startled what could be accomplished with just a single cup of glaze.

ACCUMULATION

What may have been a perfunctory tokkuri in hands of most potters, has been transformed into a lyrical celebration and an excuse to have some sake. This tokkuri by Okabe Mineo is part of a body of work that pushed his pottery beyond mere craft and took full advantage of the qualities of clay, glaze and firing. The beauty and energy of his work comes from the spirited irregularity that has a great deal to say and is accompanied by the marks of the potter, incised in a direct and unconscious manner. Even in this simple piece, his attention to how the clay was handled is evident through the transparent Oribe glaze. In essence, like a long practicing Zen monk whose Zen calligraphy took just 5 minutes to execute, but a lifetime to perfect, Okabe understood the built in physical and mental memory that created his pieces, one after the other over the course of his lifetime, an accumulation of experiences. In the end, for potters like Okabe Mineo, and there are few, it is the subtle things that transform the good, to the great in such an honest and persuasive manner.

"What meaning do instinct or accident have in achieving form? Without a concrete and accurate understanding of materials underlying technique, no development is possible." A quote by Okabe Mineo from the catalogue; OKABE MINEO; A Retrospective.

VARIETY

As if I haven't covered a number of reasons why I am fascinated by Oribe pottery and the process, the least of which is the variety of styles that have developed around the classical E-Oribe style. Having sprung from the influence of Furuta Oribe (1544-1615) in the Momoyama era, Oribe actually was originally based on the thick feldspathic glaze which became thinner and more transparent over time. Though the sense of direct and unadorned styles of pottery held sway during the life of Sen (no) Rikyu (1522-1591), after his death, Furuta espoused and popularized the spontaneous, refreshing and sometimes "bizarre" decoration of Oribe which become a lasting part of cha(no)yu. Stemming from what Tsuji Nobuo refers to as, the "playfulness in Japanese art", the styles of Oribe developed through experimentation and adaptation of techniques and ideas that were not based entirely in the craft of pottery; many of these designs came from "foreign" cloth patterns as well as stenciled paper designs. This willingness to play with the surfaces and glazes gave rise to a wide variety of types within the overall category of Oribe. The following are the major groups of Oribe that have flourished since the 17th century;

E-Oribe; Oribe with patterning painted in iron underglaze pigments

Ao-Oribe; various hues of green glaze

Kuro-Oribe; very dark green to black glaze, sometimes accompanied with areas of clear glaze and underglaze decoration

Narumi-Oribe; Oribe green glaze and clear over a red slip usually with painted underglaze decoration

Aka-Oribe; red Oribe

E-Oribe; "picture" Oribe

Iga-Oribe; Oribe ware made in the fashion of Iga-yaki

There are a number of modern potters who embody the playful and spirited nature that originated nearly four centuries ago with Oribe; potters like Hayashi Shotaro, Suzuki Goro, Takauchi Shugo, Higashida Shigemasa and of course, Yamada Kazu. Though born into a traditional Tokoname pottery family (his father Yamada Kenkichi and his uncle Ningen Kokuho, Yamada Jozan III) Yamada Kazu (b.1954) saw and greatly admired the works of Kato Tokuro and decided to follow the pathway of the Mino tradition. Creating tea wares in Shino, Seto-Guro, Oribe and Shigaraki ware, among others, his works have a fresh and dynamic quality to them which seem to have a Momoyama ideal that Oribe was founded on. Illustrated is a Kuro-Oribe chawan by Yamada Kazu with a rich black glaze with a wonderfully moist appearance bordered up against a transparent glaze with spontaneous, Zen-like splashes of black to articulate the area. The throwing marks, around the bowl add a great sense of gesture and perpetual motion to the bowl which follows in the footsteps of generation after generation of Oribe potters.

THE GLAZE IS ALWAYS GREENER

I am constantly at play and experimenting with both iron and copper in my glazes. Though I use other oxides, carbonates and colorants, I keep coming back to these two as the diversity and surfaces that are possible are nearly endless including copper blues and iron yellows. Using copper, I am invariably influenced and drawn into the realm of the varying Oribe glazes; though I have over 20 Oribe glaze formulas, the old standard with lepidolite is by far my favorite. Now in always exceedingly short supply and most presumably on the official extinction list, lepidolite creates an Oribe of a wonderful quality with depth, richness and an iridescent sheen that brings the surface to life. I am at constant odds as to when to use the lepidolite Oribe, but certain pieces just speak up louder than others. I wonder what I will do, when I run out of lepdolite and there is none left to find?

Illustrated is a medium size hachi plate with an all over impressed design that I call TOBU and no, I am not referring to the Tobu Department chain in Japan, nor is it a Japanese word at all. The design originally sprung up while I was listening to the music of Cream, specifically, The Tales Of Brave Ulysses (TOBU); the imagery of the song, the allusions to the waves, distant beaches and the boiling sea made me think about creating an overall wave/sea pattern. The top, in the picture was actually on the area close to the shelf while the opposite side was resting on posts to elevate the piece and have the glaze run and pool as it did. The glaze is always greener with lepidolite.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS PART DEUX

Illustrated is the Sakakura Shinbei XII chawan that I mentioned in the previous post. What always strikes me at first glance is that it exudes a comforting warmth and earthiness, it is like it converses the truth of what it is to be Hagi. The bowl to foot ratio and height speak of practiced perfection and a thorough understanding of the needs and use in chanoyu creating an ideal form for the eye and hand. There is a remarkable luminosity to the piece, created by the quality reddish daido clay cloaked in a thin slip with the translucent glaze over creating a tremendous depth to the surface and  painting it's comforting afterglow. I find it very interesting that three of his chawan are in the Museum of Modern Art, when I look at his work, I see the quiet and timeless nature of a chawan that is at home in the 17th century as it is a museum's showcase today.

(Used with the kind permission of a private collector)