THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Recently I ended up firing several kiln loads of pots that were a mix of my regular stoneware, porcelain and the high iron stoneware that I have been making up myself in small batches of about 40 to 50 pounds of clay at a time. The reason I even mention this is that I am pleased with the variety and range that I get from the glazes I use on the pieces making it seem like they are different glazes as opposed to different clay bases which alter the appearance. The only real exception to this is the use of my temmoku on the two stoneware bodies where it comes out almost identical but on the porcelain it is just a tiny bit translucent making for an interesting effect especially over stamped decoration. The illustrated Oribe style jar was thrown out of the iron stoneware and then had a thick band of combed slip applied, over the slip it is an intense, mottled green but over the rest of the body it has a thick, deep green appearance with mossy tendril effects from the additional iron in the clay mingling with the glaze. Though it isn't terribly different then the effects on the regular stoneware it is just different enough to create a surface and appearance that is both related but apart from one another providing just another avenue to explore in the ongoing search to see what else I can get copper to do.

TIMING II

Considering the timing, I remembered that I had a short NHK video on the hard-drive of Tsuji Seimei and decided to post it up to Youtube. At the moment, there is an ongoing exhibition of the works of Tsuji Seimei at The National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo which showcases the work and diversity of a rather divergent, traditional based potter who specialized in creating Shigaraki pottery among others. I hope there is enough to glimpse the genius of the this exceptional 20th Century potter in this short video clip, enjoy.

 

SUMPTUOUS

sumptuous; (adjective) extremely costly, luxurious, or magnificent

When I think about Banura Shiro my mind often strays to the sumptuous Rimpa art of the Edo period with Ogata Kenzan and Korin among others, the extravagances of the court and the wealth of the merchant class who patronized so many of the artists and craftsman.  I think that Banura would have fit right in with his classic yet individual flair for form and graphic surface decorations and certainly with his use of gold and silver added to his pottery of which this illustrated chawan is an excellent example. In many respects this teabowl is like a decorated screen with a gold background that further serves to highlight and accentuate the silver leaves casually placed about the surface, this chawan could have just as easily been created in 1750 as the 20th century. As most potters can likely attest, the use of gold and silver is a complicated tight rope to walk, the balance, amounts and design all need to be very carefully considered and well thought out prior to execution or the results become more than a bit "hadé" (gaudy). For Banura, he employed a wonderful visually and tactile texture behind the gold which breaks up what could otherwise be a rather ostentatious and even boring surface. Creating a gilded surface of varying hues, intensity and concentration showing off an understanding of how far to go without going any further, though rich and elegant it manages to remain just mysterious enough to engage the viewer and get a dialogue going.

FUN-SIZE

Over the weekend we bought candy for the impending knock on the door which signals that Halloween is upon us again. We decided on two ceramic pieces for the candy, one a large lip bowl in temmoku and iron glazes and on the shelves near the door this recently fired small Oribe style covered jar. The contents give a sense of the scale to anyone familiar with the "fun-size" candy bars and also points out the function and practicality of hand made pots, especially when chocolate is involved. This covered piece held the contents of one 11 ounce bag with some room to spare, in other words, it is a good size and rather accommodating for any of your favorite treats. Happy Halloween.

PUZZLE BOX

I have mentioned in previous blog post how it is not really possible to overpack a pot for shipping so when a pot or box arrives damaged I just can't help but feel somewhat responsible for setting the circumstance in motion. I recently had a somewhat heavy wood fired pot sent my way and as the piece was not packed securely enough within the wood box it acted like a bowling ball in a balsa cube and just demolished the box. All told, the box arrived in 11+ pieces, not including the signed lid which escaped without so much as a scratch, but the rest of the box was more akin to a puzzle box or a fallen Humpty Dumpty than a storage box for the pot. After examining the damaged remains for a bit I decided to try to reassemble the box as best I could with limited carpentry skills and little more than wood glue, craft twine, small nails, a hammer, paintbrush and a razor knife. I carefully reconstructed the bottom first and once together and dry attached each side wall, most in several pieces. I will admit, I cheated a bit using four very small nails to reinforce the sides as well as four on the base reattaching the base to the walls, all of which would have been traditionally done using small wood pegs. After three sessions, with glue dry and joints sanded, I replaced the cord and though obviously a bit out of sorts, the box was reconstructed. Ultimately I will suggest having a base box made to fit the lid but for the time being, the pot has a storage box and what was broken has been restored, well, more or less.

WORK IN PROGRESS

From time to time I intentionally make lidded pots without their lids to see what I can come up with using other materials or even found objects. In the past I have used wood, copper, tin, aluminum, cast acylic but wood seems to be the most natural especially when making mizusashi inspired water jars. The accompanying work in progress video slideshows shows the simple steps getting the lid correctly fit, sanded, prepped, "painted" and having the knob attached. Since I am not a wood worker by any stretch of the imagination, getting the lid cut in a perfect (?) circle is beyond my skillset and tools on hand so a friend of a friend, a cabinet maker provided the blank and I set about carefully sanding the piece to fit exactly in to the gallery. The upper part of the edge is sanded to a round contour and the bottom has a bevel to match the pot. This is not my first use of a "homemade" wood lid and not likely be my last but I think it adds a distinct look to the pot that a ceramic lid or a bought, commercial mizusashi lid would fail to provide. Thanks for watching.

WALL SPACE

Measuring in at just about 22" across, this handmade cryptomeria wood panel and large tile look wonderful over a doorway. The large tile is made of a dense stoneware clay and was then decorated using iron slip and a thin layer of Shino glaze to create this panel which read, NO (the second kanji from the word Shino) despite having a slight enso feel to it. Tsukigata Nahiko made quite a number of these calligraphic tiles and I have seen a lot of them in this style of traditional wood mounts made from cryptomeria japonica cypress with the tansu or screen style hardware around the corners, there is also a number of more free from, all natural frames in which a square recess was cut out to accommodate the tile. What I can say about these tiles is that they have a tremendous amount of intensity to them and the tile is solid, having real substantive weight which when balanced out with the lighter weight cypress frame makes the piece manageable and easy to hang. All you need to do is find the right place to hang it despite the lack of the precious commodity of wall space and enjoy!

GORO-ORIBE

Over the past decade or so I have spent a lot of time looking at the various types and styles of Oribe from the rich, bright greens, to the coral based Narumi, the playful and graphic Yashichida all the way to the feudal and powerful Kuro-Oribe pieces. Looking at all this pieces, old and new I am continually impressed with the wide array of decoration and designs used on the pieces, especially the bold designs based on textiles. The illustrated Kuro-Oribe chawan is one such bowl where the inspiration for the decoration is likely to have come from old textile patterns but with Suzuki Goro, who knows, the idea could have come from a food wrapper or some graffiti dreamed up out of his own mind's eye. Looking a bit like to large, abbreviated moving mandala, the decoration compliments the rhythm of the form and contrast well against the framed area of buff which highlights the brushwork. Though the playfulness and execution of the decoration may seem casual and extemporaneous, I suspect it was the nearly 50 years of doing, making, painting that creates a bowl that is just so appropriate, wouldn't you agree?

"Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success."  Swami Sivinanda

鯱鉾

From time to time I find myself doing some calligraphy as the mood hits me, though Japanese inspired, I am a huge fan of the abstract expressionists and would like to think there is a mix of both East and West in what I do. I use both ink sticks and bottled ink in a wood fired suzuri that I have made for myself but I always find myself using a small cup for my suiteki as I have never bought one. This brings me to my recent purchase on e#ay in which I found a rather cool Shigaraki suiteki for a price I couldn't resist, $10 and nearly two months later it finally arrived. The suiteki is a molded piece, made and fired in Shigaraki by Kawai Koji and works just as I would expect with no dribbles and a nice flow. I have seen a number of kogo and suiteki by this potter as well as some of his smaller thrown pots and his subject matter runs from the various zodiac subjects to tanuki, small huts and minka, floral design and the shachihoko just like the one that recently arrived. To those unaware, a shachihoko is a mythical beast with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp and is associated with the ability or properties to protect things from fire which is the reason there are large sculpture of these beasts on either side of the main roof of Osaka Castle. This suiteki is a fun, useful piece that has been a pleasure to use and look at and I hope this short slideshow video conveys that.

LINE INLAY

I am still working out a rather easy, straight forward technique for creating line inlay on pieces and though the bowl illustrated is a bit simple, the idea of the design is beginning to work out just the way I see it. My original premise was to be able to create thin line designs using glaze inlaid in to another glaze, in this case the base is temmoku and the inlay is of a clear glaze that has turned to a bright amber due to the influences of the oxides in the base. The technique is simple enough, first the pot is glazed in temmoku and using ink I draw out the design then wax over the surface where the design is to be inlaid. Once the wax is dry, I scratch through the surface of the wax all the way down to the bisque using a nail I altered and then brush over the inlay glaze. I know, there is nothing ground breaking here but it allows for a thin line design to be created with almost no effort at all. The technique works so well that it is also easy to even write all over the pot which given the right circumstances may be just what a customer ordered.