A SIMPLE CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY

I got a rather excited email the other day from a guy I have known for years, he doesn't collect pottery, rather he is interested in kodogu, sword fittings and metalwork. He very proudly told me he had found a rather remarkable chawan and since he was on the road, he had mailed it to me as a gift and I should have it in just a few days. A man of his word, the package arrived two days latter and was in a good size parcel so there was no tip off to what was to come. As I unpacked the piece, it was double boxed and I began to get a bit nervous as it was beginning to feel like I was dealing with one of those Matryoshka doll sets with ever layer revealed, the packing got smaller and smaller until I was holding the illustrated chawan. Now in fairness, the individual that sent it is not a Japanese pottery collector so there needs to be a bit of lattitude in regards to the pot he sent which turned out to be a rather small wood box with a guinomi residing within. Though as I unpacked the package that was sent my initial feeling that I had choosen door number three on Let's Make A Deal faded as I opened the wood box and took out the rather wonderful Iga guinomi any of that disappointment faded away. As one can guess, it can be a bit dangerous to let the mind wander as it is easy to have such unreasonable expectations as to be let down no matter the outcome but I can say in this instance, once opened I couldn't have asked for a finer little pot from a rather thoughtful collector.

"We love to expect, and when expectation is either disappointed or gratified, we want to be again expecting." Samuel Johnson

A GREEN BOWL

Flanked on either side by a large X and O, the remainder of the design is meant to look like bamboo swaying in the wind. This particular Oribe works well over black and white slips and the qualities of the glaze show up a bit brighter given the background with areas of iron and copper spotting along with a degree of iridescence at the surface. The bowl was thrown a bit loose to create the natural undulation of the lip which I far prefer to cutting the lip to an un-natural state and the sides were lightly cleaned up a bit with a wood rib while on the wheel to give a smoother surface for the decoration while leaving a bit of the evidence of having been thrown. I enjoy throwing Western teabowls, there intention is as wide as those who end up with them in terms of use, display and enjoyment and though I keep thinking I am going to get bored with the various oribe style surfaces there has yet to be even a hint of coming to the end of the road with this green pursuit.

"Any subject can be made interesting and therefore any subject can be made boring." Hilaire Belloc

COMPARE & CONTRAST

After I posted the Suzuki Satoru vase up on Wednesday, I remembered that I had a series of photos from another piece by the potter with a different Oribe glaze. If you compare these two pieces the texture and manner of throwing is very similiar even though this particular vase was made at least ten years ago, possibly more. The Oribe is used much thicker overall on this pot creating a depth that is finished off on the surface with a nice luster depending on how it is viewed but like the other vase, this one is also pretty large and has a wonderful sense of volume and commands its space quite well. The rough texture that moves at a slight angle up the pot also helps animates the form as well as accentuating the height of the vase. As you study these two pots by Suzuki it is quite apparent that his idea of the Oribe tradition is a cohesive and thoughtful blend of the old and the new with his own voice thrown in for good measure.

6815

llustrated is a composite photo of a large Oribe vase by Suzuki Satoru, on the left from a gallery in Hiroshima dated 9/8/2016 and on the right during a stop over in Little Falls back during a very snowy January of this year. The pot though definitely influenced by Okabe Mineo at several levels is part of the body of work that Suzuki has developed over the years and is recognizable as his work. Suzuki uses a number of Oribe variations that work well on heavily textured surfaces and create a wide array of effects that accentuate the way the piece is thrown and the movement of the pot. In this case the glaze is moving down the pot creating wonderful tendril like effects that have a variety of appearances depending on the vantage point and the light sources. I took a number of photos of the vase and will at some point in the future put together a video slideshow of the pot to help fill in any number of blanks that a single photo ends up creating.

On a side note, I am always curious about the journeys that pots take and in this case there is the start date established by the Suzuki vase in September of 2016 and a near end date when I had the pot back in January. This allows for approximately 16 months for the Oribe vase to go from an exhibition in Japan to NY State and cover about 6815 miles along the way. I wonder what stops it took along the way and did it come East or West to get here. I doubt I will ever have the full story but it was rather enjoyable to host the pot here for a short while during its travels to the current final destination until perhaps the next journey that it undertakes.  #ilikeoribe

A BARREL & A CUP

As one may imagine just from the name of where I live, Little Falls, there are not a lot of dining possibilities but there are a few places here and close enough to keep us happy. Back in March we went out to dinner with friends at the Copper Moose Ale House* here in town and had a rather nice, casual meal but in some respects the high light was this wonderful Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale* that I had. As the name implies, the beer is aged in old bourbon barrels giving it a rich and unique flavor and when served really cold, it is just delicious. Luckily a local outlet carries this beer and we are able to get it at our leisure or until the supply runs out. It is all the better in these small slipware terra-cotta slip beer or bourbon cups that I made some time back that we use whenever we get the chance. Like many of the pots we use here at home that I have made, these cups are extras from a cast of thousands made as an order so there are only 3 hanging around. Just as well, I am not too keen on sharing this ale and a lack of cups in a potter's home is as good an excuse as any not to share as I can come up with.

(* This is in no way a commercial endorsement of either the resteraunt or ale, decide for yourself and if you are going to have an excellent cheeseburger or an ale, do so in moderation and responsibly.)

JUST ROUTINE

The illustrated kohiki mizusashi is a picture I have had on the hard drive for some time now. I don't have much info on the potter, Tamura Hamao but what I can say is that I really enjoy how the piece was made, slipped and glazed. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this is one of the most casual, non-chalant and honest pieces I have seen in some time. Please bare in mind that I am making observations from over a dozen photos (none of them mine) and it appears like Tamura threw this mizusashi like he presumably had many dozens before, quickly faceted the surface and once green, dipped it in a fine slip before it was bisque and glazed, in other words, the pot was made purposefully from an experienced routine with little thought given to the process beyond muscle memory. The mizusashi is the epitome of simplicity of form and exectution but the uneven facets, random iron spotting, active slip and mellow clear glaze create a pot that is filled with subtle nuances, complex and hidden gems, making the whole so much more than what the description of the pot and process whould indicate. I really enjoy pots like this but it is hard not to like and not for the lack of the potter trying, doing just what he does, day in and day out.

ENSAI

Here is a short video slideshow of an Ensai-Hagi hanaire by veteran potter; Okada Yu (b.1946) which I had here for too brief a time. The surface matches well with the form and there is a nice array of textures with the crisp white juxtaposed nicely against the shadowy grey-black at the top of the piece. I tried to capture the vivid sense of movement and atmosphere that surrounds the vase and hope it is conveyed well in the video, enjoy!

TLALOC

I should start by saying, please don't ask me exactly how I got here but let it suffice to say the imagery is very loosely based on the ancient Aztec rain god, Tlaloc. At some point early on in my pottery career, I had made a number of designs that represented Aztec gods from visits to the CMA, BMFA and the Met, this particular design of Tlaloc was meant to represent the deity nourishing the earth with the figure in the midst of a stylized storm. This large teapot was handbuilt and then the incised design was adapted to the form and then inlaid in a white engobe which was then lightly dusted over the surface and then fired to temperature. Despite appearance, the piece functions as an occasional teapot and the flattish spout pours fairly well. This ishime-ji, stone texture piece is loosely based on ancient stele and I tried to create designs that fit the form and technique to appear like old carved or incised stone. I continue to use this technique now and again when the mood strikes and a particular design dictates a specific method of execution.

"All the gods, all the heavens, all the hells, are within you." Joseph Campbell

DO OVER

Several years back I posted up a single photo and a video of a Furutani Michio Iga chawan. The video was shot using a cheap turn-table and an equally as inexpensive digital camera that let me take 3 minute videos. Considering the date, I thought it would be only fitting to try to build a new slideshow video with the photos I have on hand to do the piece the justice it deserves. A first glance it seems a rather simple Iga teabowl but in truth it is a noble and complex chawan that has many of the tell tale characteristices of Furutani Michio's pottery from form, firing and foot. I hope this slideshow gives a more insightful and comprehensive look into a classic chawan by perhaps one of the most important wood fire potters of the 20th Century.

You can see the original post and video here;
https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2014/07/timing.html

YURI-HAKKIN-SAI

Illustrated is a rather large bowl I was able to study a while back by Kyoto potter Furukawa Toshio (1949-2005) with the aid and assistance of my potter and I guess photography assistant, Khan. I was forced to take several shots of this large bowl on the floor as it is just about 20" in diameter and doesn't fit where I normally photograph and that is when curiousity got the better of the cat. Furukawa Toshio specialized in a number of glazes of which celadons proliferate including multi-colored celadons that create shaded seiji surfaces as well as rich, deep copper reds. This particular piece is created by putting cut and sgrafitto platinum foil under a very deep Persian blue style glaze a technique (yuri-hakkin-sai) that his son Takuro (b.1979) continues today. There are several pieces with this exact style of surface exhibited in the EXHIBITION OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE ART CRAFTS and it would not surprise me if this piece was exhibited there as well though that will remain to be seen. There is a lot I could say about this piece but perhaps the most striking feature is how luminescent the surface is, catching and refracting (reflecting) light from every angle and any light source and as you can see, even Khan is drawn to this pot.