ME, MYSELF AND I

I recently completed, packed and shipped out an order for a set of pots that arrived the other day to the client. I received an odd email upon receipt; nothing about condition, how it was received but rather, they were curious how many people I had working for me. At issue, the source of confusion, which is all my fault is the presence of two distinct marks, the small eclipsed moon for Albedo Studio and the CB I use to identify me as the maker. I assured them that other than Jun the ever helpful studio assistant cat, I had only three people working for me; me, myself and I. I further explained that I use both stamps without any real rhyme or reason, but tend to use the moon mark on smaller pots or pieces that I only want a small interruption in the surface which included the thrown style slab plates. The order consisted of 4 smaller thrown slab plates (11" x 5"), 4 larger ones (15" x 7"), 4 sauce bowls, four soup bowls, 8 guinomi and 4 tokkuri all glazed in the Oribe and intended as a sushi/ sashimi set. Once the issue of employment was all cleared up, the new owners related they were very pleased with the set and it was to be used that evening. I am glad I didn't tell them, I use two other stamps occasionally on the terra cotta pieces or they may have thought I had even more people working in my small studio, it might get a bit crowded as at times there is barely enough room for kilns, wheel, shelves and tables, let alone wet and drying pots or more people.

EARLY ON

At first glance, I wasn't sure what this chawan was; I thought I was looking at one of those early Showa period pieces that was made in imitation of the late Edo and Meiji period Oribe chawan. It had that crackaleur style whitish opaque glaze and shiny rich green. To my surprise, it turned out to be a chawan, a very early chawan by Suzuki Goro. Made in the early 1970s, this piece shows the free and loose style of throwing he is so well known for together with spontaneous brushwork and casual glazing. The foot, though just a bit stiff, has the glint of things to come in terms of Suzuki's handling of kodai today and all in all, it is a solid pot, early on in the career of one of the most popular potters in Japan today. I can only imagine it would feel great in the hand or look fine just hanging out.

AT THE DOOR

As I have mentioned before, I rarely know what will be coming my way with any advanced notice. Someone will call and say, do you think you could try to move this or that for me or sometimes, a package just arrives at the door. That was the case on Friday, while working in the studio, the UPS pulls up into the drive and the next thing you know, I am looking at a large box. I look to see who it is from and carry it upstairs to open it, though not before a quick phone call to the sender. That out of the way, I open the package to a neat Tani Seiemon Shigaraki cylinder vase and an Oribe bamboo form vase by Sato Kazuji. On Saturday I photographed the pieces and put them up on my Trocadero marketplace along with a mizusashi by Karatsu master potter, Tanaka Sajiro which arrived earlier in the week. It is rare to know what will be coming in, but usually, I know that something is on its way.

Illustrated is the E-Garatsu mizusashi by Tanaka Sajiro and it and the other pieces can be seen by going to my Trocadero website;

http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/catalog/query.php

SHINO TSUBO

Illustrated is a rich black ink calligraphy for the kanji, TSUBO by Ningen Kokuho for Shino pottery; Suzuki Osamu (b. 1934). Unlike those of Kato Tokuro, this tsubo is brushed in a more direct and literal manner in which the character is easily read and closer to the ideal than some I have seen. Though easily read, it is animated and expressive and glimpses the nature of the tsubo in a classical and purposeful manner. Over the years I have seen a thousand or more calligraphies by potters for the kanji, tsubo and it has become very clear that you can usually see a direct correlation between the potters ink and his clay, this shikishi is no exception.

ITS IS WEDNESDAY, AFTER ALL

This particular cycle is going rather slowly between getting some packages packed up and trying to plan out a full kiln load of orders and pieces that I have just decided to make to explore an idea. One piece of advice I was given many years ago is that to be productive, it helps to have a plan when you sit at the wheel. Without a plan, the wheel spins, the clay goes from lump to cylinder and then what; that seems to be the order of the day and it is Wednesday, after all. It is not that I could just make stuff that I have a muscle memory for, it is simply that I am working on ideas that need a certain amount of flexibility and looseness to them, tools I am not in the best possession of. I would rather take a little extra time and get things worked out within my general diabolical plan as in the end, I think I will be all the happier for it.

While struggling with the clay this week, there are a number of things that spring to mind like a mobius loop; from pots, music, books, TV and movies. This short routine by Abbott & Costello is one of them and relates to the average potter, probably more than anyone can know. Enjoy.

ITOMAKI HACHI

Illustrated is a group of three Shino hachi decorated with underglaze iron and vivid over glaze enamels imitating itomaki, thread spools. These classic plates were made and designed by the 20th century master, Kitaoji Rosanjin. The simple construction and form of the hachi is well articulated with the under and over glaze techniques and as always, Rosanjin had the pieces in use in mind, prior to making them. For Rosanjin, the raison d'etre for pottery was their performance and use for food, flower arrangement, etc. and these plates are no different. I have seen these plates in use for crispy tempura, vivid crimson maguro sashimi and various sushi over the years. They are as delightful in use as they are in the "waiting" state. Each plate is finished with a vivid red enamel "RO" square on the bottoms.

"The finest food is light and plain in flavor, just as the finest antiques are those of simple lines." Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959)

(Photo used with the kind permission of a private collector and exceptional chef.)

FIRST THINGS FIRST

I have been thinking about making a style of vase that I am rather fond of, it springs from Iga-yaki as well as those Mino-Iga pots. It has been quite some time since I have made this style of vase and I thought this form should work well with the newest version of my Oribe. The first few attempts didn't really work out as well as I was hoping and it took some thought as to why. Having what I thought was a better way to go about things, I set about doing first things first. I wedged up some clay and once centered, I first threw what would be the upper, neck/mouth portion of the vase and cut it off the hump; then with the remaining clay, I threw the base of the pot. Once thrown, I paddled the base to create a vivid texture and then attached the neck. Once together, I set about further distorting the body and the mouth, followed by the addition of two thick ring lugs. Illustrated is a pair of stoneware vases, about 12"  and 15" tall, both freshly cut off the wheel-head. I have a few more things to do to each once they stiffen up a bit, but I am nearly finished. I like doing as much of the work as possible while the pot is still wet and fresh, a technique I first saw during a demo by Ron Meyers. It forces a certain spontaneity and keeps the pieces from being over worked, lest things get well out of hand.

A PITCHER IS WORTH 1000 WORDS

At just under 20 inches tall, it is an imposing pitcher, yet in the hand, one can easily imagine it filled to the brim and still easy to use and pour. Glazed in shino and ash, it has a simple, understated warmth and comforting quality that comes from making lots of pots and even more pitchers. Trained at the Leach Pottery, Bill Klock made this pitcher based on his love for old medieval English pots and pots from the East. The pot was thrown with function, durability and aesthetics all in mind and the cylindrical body is finished with a hardy and sturdy spout and a well pulled and applied handle. In its austerity and simplicity, it is quiet and noble yet it is the type of pot, like a good book or a favorite coat, that has companionship and a long term relationship at its core.

Take a moment and enjoy watching a video of Bill pulling a handle and finishing off a jug made at Plattsburgh State University in the ceramic department back in 1992/93.

KARATSU-KODAI

To my eye, this is no ordinary kodai. Though simple, it has a studied complexity that harkens back to Ko-Karatsu style pottery; the chirimen-kodai, crinkled silk crepe texture, immediately identifies the pot as Karatsu ware, a common trait among southern works(Kyushu-mono). The classic and timeless kodai is crisp and sharply cut, the texture standing out from within the kodai creating a wonderful visual landscaped microcosm. The foot-ring bares the marks of the cut-off cord, that separates the bowl from the wheel head, adding to the swift and spontaneous nature in which the kodai was addressed. This foot was cut by Tanaka Sajiro (b.1937), a master of Karatsu-yaki whose works show a life dedicated to the study of this regional pottery. Tanaka is a man of many talents having studied Zen Buddhism, chanoyu, ikebana, calligraphy, poetry and of course pottery making. Having excavated Ko-Karatsu kiln sites, he studied the manner of their manufacture and firing, in this way, started on the path to making Karatsu-yaki. There are few potters as adept and thoughtful in their creation of Karatsu ware as Tanaka and his kodai are among the very finest.

TETSU-GUCHI

Illustrated is a detail from a large iron and temmoku glazed vase that was from my last firing.  What I like most about this particular glaze is that it manifests differing characteristics in texture depending on thickness and varying angles and edges of a pot. Along the interior and exterior of the neck, the glaze has created a myriad of partridge feather style streaks while where it has pooled on the mouth and ridge just below, it creates wonderful little whirlpools of texture. The body of the vase has streaking similar to the neck but is punctuated at intervals with temmoku spots showing through the iron glaze creating its own unique pattern, both ring lugs have fired to a reddish hue with the bulk of the glaze running off them creating cascades down either side under the appendages. Having a real fondness for rather runny glazes, I have yet to see two pieces come out exactly the same and am reasonably sure that I won't any time soon.