OBJECT

I am not sure when I first saw one of these Bizen sculpture by Kaneshige Kosuke but I am sure it was in the very early 90s. My interests and collecting mostly revolve around rather functional pieces, especially those used for tea ceremony but for some reason I was instantly drawn to this series of work. As I look at them, my thoughts consider things elemental and primal making the Bizen firing a perfect choice for such pieces. The areas of ash, dryness and wet surfaces combine to reflect light and set mood in a variety of ways depending on one's vantage point making for an "object" that is constantly morphing and evolving as the form may possible suggest as well. I used to have a photo, taken with actually film mind you from and exhibit I saw in Japan with a similar piece flanked by a chawan on one side and a mizusashi on the other, to this day I am still struck by how natural and symbiotic the arrangement was then as much as it is in my memory today.

AKA-E

A number of years back there was a rather nice but small traveling show put on by the Japan Foundation; EXHIBITION OF JAPANESE TRADITIONAL POTTERY : Work in Traditional Styles by Modern Potters. This was an easy to remember exhibit as the pieces, all 65 of them were rather memorable and indicative of the potters represented. Among the group was a simple aka-e decorated stoneware hachi with areas of black glaze and overglaze red and green enamels by Kato Kenji. Inspired by the Persian pottery he is best known for the decoration and presentation was entirely his own voice and unique among modern Japanese pottery.

The slideshow video I just put together is of a far more intricate and provocative designed hachi though the form, style and techniques are identical with Kato's distinct vocabulary with bits of Persian and possibly Scythian elements thrown in for good measure. The decoration is wonderfully balanced on the squared form with rich whitish and black glaze acting as the back drop for wonderful brushwork using a deep red overglaze enamel with accents of green about the surface all tied together by whispy tendrils of quick, delicate and lyrical line work. Though I imagine this hachi was intended as a serving piece, I can't help but imagine a table set with six, eight or even twelve of this hachi acting as "dinner plates" at an other worldly gathering of friends and family.

LAST MINUTE

Illustrated is another avenue I am testing, a crackle slip, applied on bisque ware and then glazed, the first tests have been promising. This test cup came out fairly promising with the stark contrast of the black glaze over the clear and slipped bowl. The big mistake I made was that I didn't get the slip completely mixed and there are small nodules of slip material punctuating the surface. This was a rookie mistake and one I know better than to make but in my defense, the test idea was very last minute, the kiln was loaded and as they say, "time and tide wait for no man". The next go around I will seive the slip thoroughly using a 30 mesh screen and make sure it is100% ready to use. Some mistakes are unavoidable but it is the mistakes that you repeat because of time or space  constraints that always leave a little mark and in this case on both mind and pot.

RESISTENCE IS FEUDAL

After the Second World War, there was a real resurgence and reimagining of the feudal traditions of Japan, whether they were the glazed wares of Mino and other locales or the Rokkoyo; potters across the country turned to these archetypal pots to bring them well into a new century. Among these varied styles was that of Tokoname where Ezaki Issei spear-headed the rebirth of their ancient pottery along with several of his students such as Osako Mikio and Takeuchi Kimiaki. The illustrated medieval style tsubo is one facet of what modern Tokoname ware looks like as interpreted by Takeuchi Kimiaki where the clay body has the classic appearance of pots from the Ezaki school of pottering making along with the vivid, almost illuminated ash glaze wrapping the lip, mouth and shoulder of the piece while trails ending in bidoro gems cascade down the form. Though there are both subtle and overt differences in the works of Ezaki, Osako and Takeuchi, there are also a number of similarity as each worked within a singular vision of what ancient Tokoname pots had to say as well as how they wished to communicate what the modern tradition would add to those pots that had gone before. It is hard to resist this type of tsubo filled with purpose and created without an over bearing intellect where the elements are casually crafted to create a pot filled with the merging of the ancient and modern spirit.

MONOCHROME HENKO

There is not a lot I can say about this wonderful ink wash by Mashiko legend, Hamada Shoji. Painted in simple monochrome, this ink sketch captures everything one can imagine regarding his molded vase forms together with a fluid and spontaneous rendering of his iconic sugarcane motif. Hamada has easily captured the volume and scale of the pot which would be a more than welcome addition to any collector who actually owns such a henko. I have seen several pot and painting combos over the years and it would seem with enough patience and money, a pairing is not necessarily out of the question. Happy hunting!

NUKA-2018

Back in Cleveland after several trips to Japan, I did a lot of testing and glazing using nuka recipes, one from Randy Johnston and the other from a potter in Japan. Over the years the formula morphed a bit from both of the original recipes to a mixture of both wood and nuka ash which is what is illustrated here. Deciding that I wanted to try out the old nuka surface I made up the old formula and found that the surface was just too stiff and the glazes used over it were more than a bit dry so i set about fine tuning it for the wood ash that I had on hand and the clay body I am using currently. This whisky cup is from the first sucessful tests of the modified nuka glaze with areas of black slip under and an iron overglaze splashed over the surface here and there. From these tests I have made up a larger batch of this glaze and am currently running a bisque in which there are test teabowls for this nuka formula (nuka-2018) and a crackle slip as well. Should be fun if nothing else!

KIN-KAKI

Though not the best detail photo I have seen, the illustrated image is of a detail of a rich and eloquent Mashiko tsubo that I found while surfing the web. Made by Yoshikawa Mizuki (b. 1941) the thick and deep temmoku glaze is lusterous and a perfect backdrop for the painted branches, leaves and the golden persimmon that flank the upper shoulder of the pot. There is a stategically placed branch dropping down into the lower third of the piece with the low hanging fruit taking center stage at what should be considered the front or face of the jar. Together with the strong and decidedly Mashiko form, the combinations of overglazes, the subject matter and the choice of glazes have made for a wonderful pot that brings to mind many a trek through Japan where both fresh, sliced persimmon and hoshigaki could be found and enjoyed along the journey.

写

The term "utsushi" is an interesting one, it can mean a variety of things like; to emmulate, appropriate or to be inspire by, what it does not mean is to reproduce or "an exact copy" as is often presented. An utsushi-mono in relation to a work of art or craft is more about an older work being the archetype for which a modern artist or craftman is inspired by and uses as a springboard to create an object that may only differ through sublties but is not a slavish copy. Within the world of Japanese pottery in many traditions there are objects from chawan, mizusashi and vase forms that are used by modern potters as inspirational works, these are seminal forms that have made their way through history to act as benchmarks, archtypes for modern times. In Shigaraki and Iga there are a number of mizusashi and vase forms that serve as these archetypes which have served traditional potters like Tanimoto Kosei, Furutani Michio, Konishi Heinai and Sugimoto Sadamitsu to name but a few.

Illustrated is something old and something new, on the left is a traditional Ko-Iga vase form that has inspired potters spawning numerous copies both loose and exact (plus or minus) since the day it was first made. On the right is an utsushi-mono made by Sugimoto Sadamitsu, obviously he was inspired by the Ko-Iga achetype also illustrated but rather than make an exact copy, he choose to play with the form a bit, altering the proportions, the rigidity of the base and the angularity of the lugs. By softening the squared portions of the pot, the vase takes on a very different posture and attitude, opening up the form to being a bit more intimate, inviting the viewer to wish to handle the piece as opposed to merely study it. Though the  Ko-Iga appearance matches the older vase, the firing and ash on Sugimoto's piece activates the surface and creates a sense of movement that the older piece doesn't have. There is something to be said for being inspired by a work but the true test of individuality is allowing your voice and vocabulary to be easily recognizable and shine through both form and surface.

 

JUST ONE DEGREE

What you are looking at is a sizable glaze run at the very bottom of one of my Oribe style covered jars. What is immediately apparent is that perhaps just one degree of temperature or minute more of firing and this pot would have stuck to the shelf and most probably pulled off part of the foot ring when it was retrieved from the kiln. As much serendipity as it was anything else, the fact that this glaze stopped just a micron short of calamity is in a small measure due to gaining some familiarity with glazing these pots as well as shutting down the kiln a few degrees shy of the cone melting, all gained from repeated firings and lots and lots of tests. I will admit it is very easy to claim some modicum of experience for avoiding the pot becoming ruined but if luck certainly didn't play a huge part in this affair, why do I still fire most of my Oribe style pots on wads or thin slabs of soft brick?

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

When I first saw this Shino mizusashi, I was reminded of a number of the post-war Mino potters like Arakawa and Kato Tokuro along with some of their contemporaries that were creating works inspired by the Momoyama aesthetic. This classically inspired pot relies on the past as much as when it was made being both something old but something new at the same time. Though an earlier work by Hori Ichiro it has all of the traits one expects on his pots to this day, from strong and purposeful form to understated decoration and exceptional glaze apllication and quality, though older, it still has the determined strength of works he is currently producing. Hori's skillful use of his underglaze iron and the apllied Shino glaze create a tremendous amount of movement and complexity to the surface. Creating a vivid landscape as if he was brushing an medieval ink brush painting, the atmosphere of the pot has that feudal quality that any Momoyama specialist would be pleased with and I am reasonably sure that viewer and user alike would be more than content for a face to face encounter.