IN THE ROUND

Though I have a better camera than previously, I am still struggling with making better quality videos of pottery. I suspect if I had a full time set up and a pricey turntable and lighting arrangement, I could make better videos but for the time being, this will have to suffice. This video is of a splendid, rich Aka-Shino chawan by Hori Ichiro. As one would expect, the bowl feels wonderful in the hand and each and every facet of the bowl has been well attended to culminating in a fine and strong kodai. The videos like the slideshows are meant to try to convey the space, volume and even presence of the bowl where a single, static image may not succeed. Like most chawan by Hori Ichiro, there is nothing fussy or contrived  about this piece and any superfluous possibilities were stripped away most likely even prior to the lump of clay taking form on the potter's wheel. I hope this video, in the round gives one the perspective of the enjoyment this chawan brings in person and in hand.

"Sping, summer, autumn and winter. And spring comes around again. In the flow of time, what can I express through my ceramic art." A quote by Hori ichio from the MCAA

1970

For the past three decades (!), I have taken every opportunity to acquire books on modern Japanese pottery which covers from about 1900 to the present. The vast majority of these books are in Japanese and quite a few are surveys that cover the history of the field up to the time they were written. For some reason, many of these surveys date from the 1970's and cover the traditional and cutting edge of modern pottery up until the time the manuscripts and photos had to go to the publishers and if I had to hazard a guess, 80% of these potters are unknown to most collectors today. A while back I was able to acquire a five volumes set that was published in 1970 and written by Kuroda Kusaomi, each volume covers about 50 potters and is illustrated though the majority of photos are in black and white. Each volume focuses on the major potters of the day and has a section for signatures and seals covering those introduced in each book. I love books like these that give a perspective of what the dynamics of the pottery scene was like in 1970 from those that were ultra-traditionalists, avant-garde and potters who were finding new ways out of strict traditions much like Tsukigata Nahiko who is covered in one of the volumes. I assume that the set of books and photos were probably done over the course of a year or so and despite the lack of color photographs it is obvious that 1970 was a very good year.

Illustrated is a totemic style, unglazed sculptural piece by a young potter only recently using a traditional Shigaraki anagama, most likely the first in the valley for a very long time; Kohyama Yasuhisa. To my eye, this piece gives a few hints as to where Kohyama was destined to go with his pursuit of coil-built objects as well as showing an aesthetic discipline determined to make the viewer take notice and walk away all the richer for the encounter.

James Taylor live performance from 1970; FIRE & RAIN

LOOKING BACK

 

 

Illustrated is an overhead angled view of a recent stepped temmoku and medieval green jar that came out of the kiln. I like this angle, it shows off the two glazes to their truest color and it gives a perspective of the steps that were created while throwing the pot all at once. The alternating panels of glaze and the stamped decoration with inlaid glaze adds to the surface of the pot but the real interest from my perspective comes from looking back at older architectural landmarks like the Tower of Pisa from which I drew a certan degree of inspiration to come up with this form. Applying that which has already transpired to make something new can be either a pitfall or a challenge, though I prefer to try to render the borrowed into something of my own and to accept a challange rather than see it as a pitfall. I would like to think that I succeeded.

You can see more of this jar over at my Trocadero marketplace by clicking on the link;
http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1306121/item1306121store.html

SNOWY EGRET

I received these photos from a friend of mine a long while back and in the interim he has decided to stop collecting and has already disposed of 95% of his collection just prior to a change in his location and lifestyle. While collecting he had assembled a rather nice collection with a number of rather fine Tsukigata Nahiko pots of which this particular mizusashi is one of them baring the name; Snowy Egret. Though Tsukigata named his pieces on the odd occasion, I have certainly seen very few pots named and in each case, those bearing a name were exceptional examples, this mizusashi is certainly no exception. Of classical form and Oni-Shino surface, this pot goes far beyond the pale with almost the entire surface covered in a layer of natural running green ash produced during one of Tsukigata's intensive and chaotic firings. The face of the pot is covered in a rich brown triangle of ash, tamadare style where the ash built up and began to show signs of scorching from the onslaught of fire and free flowing ash. Though I have seen a few its equal, one would have to admit, it does not get much better than this for the Oni-Shino style and the charismatic and dynamic work of Tsukigata Nahiko.

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?)