SUMMIT

Though these were not intended to go together and were not fired in the same firing, I am rather pleased at how well they go together in terms of surface and decoration. In a short time I have already come to a particular way of working for this style and the fact that pots made two months apart can work well together gives me the sign that the technique and glazing has hit its stride and I am at least pointed in the right direction. There have been techniques and glazes over the years that took a rather long time to work things out and be able to create a cohesive body of work, certainly my old copper red glaze springs to mind. Hitting on forms and surface treatments for the copper red was a slow process partially due to the fact that I had to fill an 60cft kiln with just one glaze and fire it in a rather specific manner. This particular Oribe has been easier to fine tune though I doubt I can leave well enough alone; it is always something with glazes, a new summit appears with each and every glaze firing.

KANNYU

Illustrated is a modern classic beishokuji kannyu vase by celadon master; Minegishi Seiko (b.1952). The details around the mouth and waist of the form accentuate the double refractive quality of the glaze with the yellow-brown tone being enhanced by the iron rich clay the pot was thrown from. Minegishi Seiko  considers himself largely self-taught and his early work is a wonderfully elegant kohiki style heavily influenced by Korean pottery and though he continues to use some of his earlier forms, his more modern celadon work is literally night and day from his first footsteps in to pottery. This celadon vase was made in Nasu where he has his studio and kiln, located in Tochigi Prefecture and the center of his creation and constant experimentation in glaze making, forms and surface decoration. Though Minegishi is very well known for his unique shinogi (ridgeline) technique that is just masterful with the kannyu style glazes, it is the depth and beauty of his calmer forms that transcend his pots into a world of contemplation and reflection, painting a fractal universe in three dimensions.

AME-YU HENKO

Illustrated is a rich ame-yu glazed henko by the last pupil of Kawai Kanjiro, Mukunoki Eizo. The molded stoneware bottle has a casual, decorative slip trailed design that though influenced by his master is readily identifiable as the work of Eizo and is clearly marked on the base to avoid even a passing confusion. Mukunoki, who has changed his name to Shunsui, was born in 1943 and spent  time as Kawai Kanjiro's last full time student from 1958-1966 and along with his master's guidance he was also taught by Kawai Takeichi adding to his education. This molded bottle form is a classic staple of the Kawai-mon style and has a solid and purposeful form with bordered panels creating four interconnected but different planes; the glaze has a certain depth and in person it absorbs color and light from where ever it is displayed making for a ever changing presence.

HIBACHI

Illustrated is a large Tokoname shudei hibachi ("fire-bowl") by Yamada Tozan I (1878-1940). The pot has a burnished surface and a lengthy inscription carved into it with a long date and signature to conclude the text, after the signature is an annotation, SAKU-TO, self carved. Tozan I was succeeded by his son Yamada Tozan II (1907-1998) and in turn he by his son Tozan III (current). Shudei ware was developed early in the Edo period in Tokoname (Aichi prefecture) and is known for its fine grained, iron rich clay that fires to a variety of red tones including bright red vermillion. The clay is burnished to achieve these fine red surfaces and then once burnished the decoration is carved through the tightly packed surface creating a two-tone effect. The Tokoname potters specialized in carved kyusu teapots/cups, teaware (sencha and matcha) and censors(koro) and braziers among other items with hand carved (tosaku) floral and dragon decorations as well as extensive and idiosyncratic texts, prayers (sutra), travelogues, narratives, etc. This particular hibachi dates from the late 1920s and is a typical piece for Tozan I as well as the Tokoname style in general and since this pot has been in the US since just after WWII, I am curious what it has been used for during its stay State side?

Here is a short video of Tokoname potter, Yamada Tozan III that I found on YouTube:

BASIC GREEN

Ewer; a form of pitcher or jug that is shaped like a vase and is or was used for holding a liquid.

I am rather guilty of moving forward with "glazes in phases" and sometimes forgetting to use older glazes and glaze combos that are tried and true. I guess I get caught up in the zeitgeist of testing and proving phases and like to work out ideas, styles and decorations without being more inclusive of what I did just a short while ago. In one of my last firings I went back to my time tested basic green which I refer to as medieval green; though developed in my ongoing quest for Oribe style glazes, it has more of a medieval feel to it, like early lead glazes of England. In this case I made a ewer form and decorating with black and white slips using a wax resist design which compliments the base of the form and immediate interior of the mouth. I pulled the handle ovoid in cross section and went for a graceful and almost fragile appearance that echoes the curve of the neck. I have used hundreds (thousands?) of glazes over my years making pottery and need to be mindful that the next thing is not always the only thing when working out any variety of ideas.

A very dear, departed friend of mine who was interested in both Japanese art and culture used to quip; " a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step but it best to remember each and every one of those steps if you ever want to go back".

KO-TSUBO II

Illustrated is a small little jar made in Fujina, it is combed slipware with a soft greenish toned ame-yu glaze made by mingei purist; Funaki Michitada (1900-1963). Measuring in at less than four inches tall, this pot is a little gem with a swollen, full presence with a perfect little knob made just right to get the job done. Influenced by Old English slipware and Bernard Leach, Michitada and his son, Kenji (b. 1927) have carried out a crusade for creating beautiful and functional pots in a blended style of medieval England and Japan. This lidded ko-tsubo is made out of an iron rich reddish clay that just peeks out through the combed texture revealing a dark surface just beneath. Having a wonderful, natural feel in hand with a lid fits just right and the knob just asking to be grabbed this is a mingei pot through and through.

TWENTY-TWO

I have a group of large blue storage containers that we bought at a close-out place before we moved from Cleveland to New Hampshire. They have proven to be incredibly durable and even almost twenty years later they are still in great condition and filled to capacity with stuff, some long forgotten from various moves since that time period. I know there are a number of early pots in the containers as well as clay supplies I have also hoarded along the way from sponges to clock movements and just about everything in between.  While searching for a group of coveted dagger brushes, I came across a bin filled with 22 teabowls from my time at Cleveland State, Kent State, Cleveland Art Institute and Wesleyan Potters spanning from about 1992 to 2002 and decided to make a short slideshow video of the contents inspired by a song by THE NAILS, "88 Lines About 44 Women" but in this case it is 44 pictures about 22 teabowls. The pieces are not in chronological order and don't necessarily present the best of the styles they represent, that just happen to be what I found in the bin.

For those of you not familiar with THE NAILS 1982 classic (though this is the 1985 version), "88 Lines About 44 Women", here it is thanks to YouTube (this is an adult theme and language tune, listen appropriately);

戦国時代

Illustrated is a large samurai on horseback bronze by the multi-talented Tsukigata Nahiko. Obviously sculpted in clay and then cast in bronze, the figure is of famous Sengoku-jidai feudal warrior, Ouchi Yoshioki (1477-1528). The bronze was cast in several pieces, then assembled and patinated to give it an antique feel while high lighting the figure in full Samurai armor, even the sword handle, armor plates, flowing tie from the eboshi and the heraldic mon on the haori are captured in detail. Tsukigata was well known for his limited bronzes as well as his public commissions, some quite large, among his subject matter there are a number of heroic Samurai figures, religious figures including Fudo-myoo and his creative depictions of shishi. Irrespective of the material, clay, bronze, sumi or wood, Tsukigata has an innate appreciation and understanding of the materials and wrestles to get the most out of each.

A short account of Ouchi Toshioki can be read on Wikipedia but there is far more depth to his history than is available at this single source;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cuchi_Yoshioki

LEAP OF FAITH

I was recently discussing a couple of pots that a fellow collector was offered over the internet. The first was a vase represented by 2 of the worst pictures I have seen, slightly out of focus and each one clipped a small amount of the vase from the frame. The other was a series of 16 perfect pictures that showed ever angle and nuance of a wood fired tsubo. In the end he decided to choose the vase with the two lousy pictures and skip the tsubo. His reasoning and justification was simple, in all of the really good tsubo pictures he managed to see what he believed was a firing crack that came out of the mouth and down the side about 2" or so . As for the vase which he bought, the pot showed real potential and knowing the potter and the fact that it was boxed made him the most confident that the pot would be a winner when it arrived. In our last email exchange I asked him what happens if the pot was damaged after the potter boxed and sold it, for some inexplicable reason, that had never occurred to him. I am certainly not knocking his decision making process as all collectors have some peculiar guidelines for what and how we collect but being a bit of a cynic I wish that I had a bit of that optimism and could get away with the ignorance is bliss mantra. I guess at the end of the day everyone takes a leap of faith when buying anything off the internet just waiting to see what will arrive and what condition it will arrive in and the biggest issue; do you respond to the piece in hand?

THE DARK SIDE

I put together this video slideshow of a Hagi chawan that came my way a long while back by Koto Kenshin. I really liked the posture of the piece, it has a calming and peaceful nobility to the form and the color variations trapped within the glaze surface draw the viewer into the pot to admire the traditional Hagi sensibility right down to the dark side that paints the face from lip to foot. The maker of this chawan is a traditional Hagi potter, born in 1947, Koto Kenshin established his own studio and kiln in 1970, the KoHagi-gama where his son, Koto Komei works today. When you look at all of the potters working in various traditions it is sometimes easy to get lost in a sense of sameness but with the right attention and vision, character makes pots stand out from the crowd and this chawan has character to spare.