HANGING AROUND II

I don't make a lot of hanging vases as most people prefer vases that are free standing and don't rely on a given wall space for display. The illustrated hanging vase was made by wrapping it around an old dowel and then beating it with a paddle to create the texture and then a foot was attached and a small window cut out to allow for the flowers to go in at a point lower than the top of the vase. Though the vase can stand on its own, it is not necessarily built to do so as the center of gravity is too low, the base too narrow and the pot a bit wonky which offsets its balance. Intended to hang, the pot has a small hole in the rear near the top where a cord passes through to hang the vase from. I finished the piece off in one of my Oribe glazes and added some iron over to add movement and more visual appeal and hopefully create a  surface that is simpatico with a wide array of flowers that the vase could be used for. You can see more pictures of this vase over at my Trocadero market place;

http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1305741/item1305741store.html

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

I often wonder what it would have been like to study with Kawai Kanjiro or Hamada Shoji, two giants who helped define Japanese ceramics during the 20th century not to mention their influences around the world. It must have been a staggering experience that set one's direction into motion but what about having studied with both of these pioneers, it could only be described as the best of both worlds. One such potter who studied with both Hamada and Kawai was Okuda Yasuhiro (1920-1999) having studied under each during the lean war years. After his experiences under both masters, Okuda established his own kiln around 1949 and even Bernard Leach visited his studio in 1956. Okuda established two distinct signature styles, one a mingei influenced body of work, many of the pieces with rich and colorful overglaze enamels with fish as a central theme and the other pursuit was haikaburi style woodfired wares of which the illustrated chawan is a classic example. This chawan is light and comfortable in the hand and has a rich surface of natural ash deposited about the bowl and interior which runs toward the mikomi to create a rich pool of liquid ash. Overall it is a simple bowl with a fine form and well cut foot but perhaps it is the spirit of his masters along with a unique ability to blend both worlds into a single object that makes the work of Okuda Yasuhiro as appealing as it is understated.

IRON & ORIBE

The actual firing from Wednesday seemed to go off without a hitch but as any potter will tell you, there is no certainties until the kiln is open and unloaded. I cracked the kiln Thursday morning around 10am and had it unloaded by about 4pm, overall the results were pretty good with the very bottom being just a bit cooler than normal and a slight snafu with the ash glaze that lead to pieces having very little of the flow effects that I prefer. I spent the evening packing up 3 orders which by the time I post this, should have all gone out the door. I decided to post pictures of a few pieces that were done just to do them, the henko vase form and an iron and Oribe water jar and teabowl. The teabowl was given a fairly even but thin coat of an iron glaze over the whole bowl to darken and enrich the surface while the henko and water jar both had the glaze applied in varying thicknesses to promote a lot of movement and flow about the surfaces. Where the iron was especially thick on the henko around the neck and shoulder the glaze became particularly active creating a strong visual highlight. On the water jar the glaze was applied to create enough flow to accent the shoulder and top of the form without obscuring the texture. Another kiln firing completed, a few days of down time while I sort out a group of tests and some "experiments" with glaze and then on to the next cycle.

OUT OF STEAM

I am firing the kiln today as well as dealing with a few other tasks like finishing up a series of 40 tests, some for terra cotta and the bulk for high fire. It is a busy day and I am a bit out of steam. I thought I would post a brief but interesting video I found on the Mino master and Prefectural Living Treasure, Ando Hidetake. Enjoy the video and I am back to work.

A YEAR IN THE LIFE

I was going through some file boxes last week and stumbled on a group of folders each with groups of Japanese postcard, gallery exhibition notices from varying years. I decided to build a short slideshow video out of one of the folders, in this case 1999 showcasing the diversity of shows and giving a small glimpse into a year in the life of pottery as shown by just a few galleries throughout Japan.

IN PROCESS II

I unloaded a bisque yesterday morning and was grateful to see there were no surprises which is always a relief. I got the pots clean and separated for their various glaze combinations and collected up the teabowls and tokkuri/ bottles and gave them all their first glazes right away and finished them up this morning before having to run various errands this afternoon. I am primarily using my temmoku, saffron, iron red, clear and Oribe glazes with a few pieces in ame-yu and Ao; all the glazes were made last week so that is one less thing I need to think about as I get glazing. On Monday and Tuesday I will glaze the bulk of the pieces, the larger pieces like this paddled mizusashi form that owes a bit of its influence to a Tsujimura Shiro Iga mizusashi I recently handled though what ever plans I had in mind quickly go out the window once the paddle hits the clay and the forms are beaten up a bit. At the moment the plan is to glaze this piece in one of my Oribe(s) with some iron additions to the surface, the firing will likely happen next Wednesday so if things go well, I'll post a picture or two next Friday. As with all glaze firings, fingers and toes are crossed and small kiln gods are made, not much more I can do but load the kiln and get it fired.

".....chance favors the prepared mind." Louis Pasteur (or was it Travis Dane?)

MORE DETAILS

Illustrated is a detail shot from the Furutani Michio hanging vase; though visible from the front of the pot, this highlighted detail is a bit difficult to see in the photo that was posted. The area surrounding the mouth is covered in a beautiful coating of  jade colored ash culminating in a rich emerald bidoro drip that is bigger than my thumbnail in size. It is easy to get lost in the singular particulars of almost any object but it is all of these wonderful pieces/parts that creates the entirety of a pot, like the myriad of pointillist dabs and where would the LA PONT NEUF by Petitjean be without every last detail?

"No art is good unless you can feel how it's put together. By and large it's the eye, the hand and if it's any good, you feel the body. Most of the best stuff seems to be complete gesture, the totality of the artist's body; you can really lean on it."  Frank Stella

 

ANOTHER YEAR

I took this photo a week or so ago and was struck by not only the overall image but the completeness of the pot in use. The vase is by the late anagama master Furutani Michio and is the largest of this type of kakugata kake-ire that I have seen, measuring in at over 17" long and comes from one of the larger collections of Furutani pieces that I know of at over two dozen pieces. As can be seen in the photo, the vase was carefully fired on it side creating a face that clearly shows the scars and position of the piece in the kiln while the other angle of the face shows a coating of ash running toward the ridge that divides the front of the pot. The back of the piece is covered with rich glass creating a wonderful landscape that moves around the pot like a feudal emakimono. The use of vibrant red chrysanthemum bring the vase to completion and create a stunning counterpoint to the rustic and worn appearance of the pot. I am in constant awe of the beauty, serenity and nobility of the pots of Furutani Michio who as a modern potter was able to infuse his pottery with the essence of what it is to be Shigaraki or Iga while pursuing a singular personal voice that can be heard in his clay sometimes loud and clear and at other times a simple, subtle whisper.

"Truth exists for the wise, beauty for the feeling heart." Johann von Schiller (1759-1805)

(Used with the kind permission of a private collector.)

KAPPABAN

When I think of Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992) my mind immediately goes to the striking kappaban stencil prints of great samurai warriors and battles as well as the evocative bijin prints he is so well known for. Mori covered a lot of ground in his mingei influenced prints and among some of his best works are the prints of the everyday; people at work and engaged in the business of living. This particular kappaban charged with energy, portraying a potter at work making a sizeable vase in his studio, oblivious to all but his pursuit, chasing after the nobility of the common. The print appears to present a pot being created by the coil and throw method which is a common practice in Japan and shows that despite the simplicity of the design, the attention to certain details was paramount to Mori to capture the essence of the image. Using only the color of the paper, black and brown, Yoshitoshi Mori shows us the noble pursuit of a potter and his creation at an elemental and pure level that is rarely seen.

DISTURBED GEOMETRY

If you take a strong and sturdy form and the use of two straightforward glazes, in this case black and iron red, a bit of wax and an unfettered design you can be mislead into thinking that there is little exceptional going on. However as you look at the work of Morino Taimei nothing could be further from the truth as his elemental forms and simple design and execution create objects of sophistication and contemplative beauty who along with the late Miyashita Zenji create wondrous sculptural ceramics that use organic and even asymmetrical decoration on geometric and rigid forms. Morino creates these geometric forms entirely by hand, choosing to hand build from the ground up; the piece rises with precise lines and curves later to be glazed and decorated in a manner which both compliments and disturbs the continuity  of the piece. When added together, form, decoration and texture create a visual and lyrical poem that yields new nuances at each and every viewing.

"At ubi materia, ibi Geometria."  ("Where there is matter, there is geometry."),

Johannes Kepler