Quite a while back, on
7/13/2012 to be precise, I wrote a blog post entitled KINTSUGI in which I
illustrated the change a pot had made from being damaged and repaired, taking
on a renewed existence as an altered and possibly even enhanced pot. Having
seen photos of the pot before its untimely incident and then the repaired
version miz 2.0, I can say that though the damaged was rather unfortunate it
would have been even more so if the pot had just been discarded and not brought
back to life with a simple (?) kintsugi repair. Since that time I first posted
the image I have been asked a couple of times what the overall pot looked like
and I finally got around to searching through storage discs to find a photo of the
piece in question and here it is. Made by Oribe specialist, Takauchi Shugo this
Oribe mizusashi has his classic textured, hacked and spatula raked surface to
present a rather powerful and purposeful piece despite its kintsugi repair. The
pot and lid were both originally thrown round and then both were pushed oval
and the lid manipulated a bit but not cut to fit the form and mouth opening.
The rich green that Takauchi used highlights and accentuates the form and vivid
textures that he creates making for a rather potent and unique Oribe pot that
16th century bushi may have enjoyed. It is obvious that once damaged why the
pot just screamed; "repair me and make mine gold!".
Illustrated is a large
serving platter and pasta bowl glazed and decorated in a tin based majolica
based on formula from both Dick Schneider and Linda Arbuckle, both appear to be
based on a recipe known as Batz majolica easily found all over the web. Using
wax resist and several colors, after putting down the wax spirals I painted alternating squares of crimson and yellow on the surface and then
went in with copper and black accents to mimic the white resisted spirals as
well as the help animate the overall surface. I should also mention that I add
just a tiny amount of color to the white base glaze to soften it a bit, perhaps
.5%, this presents a white surface without being so white. I like the slightly
muted white surface and finds it works better with the colored washes and
decoration that I tend to use. I know a number of these larger serving pieces
have ended up in the hands of caterers and they stand up pretty well to the
constant use and abuse. I know my wife and I have a few pieces made in the late
90s which look close to new but I think the first pieces of majolica I ever made
were back in 1990 or 1991 and I now wonder how they have fared after all these
years?
It may be rather clear by now that I rely quite a bit on
spirals, not only because they are easy and simple to work with but rather because I
have always been interested in the significance of the device. The universal
and spiritual aspects of the spiral and its relationship to culture across the
globe and into the reaches of the universe, think spiral galaxies and beyond,
the spiral is much more than a simple decorative device and can be interpreted
as many things by many people. What better than to use a decorative device that
can say so much with such a simple circular collapsing brush stroke.
Though possibly dated and
perhaps a product of its time, this animated mizusashi was made by Kyoto
potter, Kanzan Shinkai. Richly decorated in thick textured slip, slip resist and
muted oxide coloration this tea piece by Kanzan has an appeal that translates as
easily to today as the period in which it was made, the 1960s or early 1970s.
The simple pattern is well orchestrated with the overglaze coloration and then
is echoed in the custom made lid with triangular knob tying the pieces
together. I am reluctant to say that Kazan is a guilty pleasure as that would
not take in to account the highly influential and important body of work that
he has left behind including his use of paper resist and thick textured slips
and vivid colorations to bring his surfaces alive. This pot though a bit more
sedate than some is a classic example of Kazan's pottery, a potter that Samuel
C. Morse introduced to Carl A. Weyerhaeuser on their modern pottery trips to
Japan in the 1970s, of which a fine bird appliqué bowl is now in the permanent
collection. I should in fact apologize for using terms like "dated"
and instead say, good work is timeless
and just a product of the period in which it was created. Is Kenzan dated? I
certainly don't think so.
Today is one of those, no
throw, no tool, no decorate and no glaze days, rather, I have some pots to pack
and some errands to run. On a day like this what could be better than donuts
which at one time were known solely as "circular perfection", but
times have surely changed. My wife was away for work in the Oregon and Washington
area two weeks ago and she sent me this photo from the well known Portland
hotspot, Voodoo Donuts. Considering she was quite a distance away, I was not
able to share in the donut festivities but let's face it, isn't it just wonderful seeing these active, yummy
looking and fun edibles? So while I am drudging about doing those tasks that I
am not particularly fond of I will just keep in mind that in one of her trips
to Portland, either I will tag along or at the very least, she will secret away
a donut or two that can make the journey from Portland, Oregon all the way to
Little Falls, New York and not even be considered day olds!
"Donuts.
Is there anything they can't do?" Matt Groening
I was in a hurry to
photograph this particular Oribe style vase and rather than use my actual
digital camera which was not at hand, I relied on my "emergency use"
cell phone, basic technology from 2007 if I remember correctly. There is
nothing smart about my cell phone, it has five emergency numbers programmed in
to it and it takes very rudimentary photos at best, a lesson I learned the hard
way and as I look at the phone know and look for a focus app I ask myself, what
focus? Of course I didn't learn how poor quality the photos were until after
the pot was gone and out the door, yet a new lesson learned. This 11" tall
vase was thrown out of stoneware, incised with a thin, sharpened piece of
bamboo and later glazed using my lepidolite Oribe glaze, a glaze which I use
exceedingly sparingly but that is what was asked for. Though I use a number of Oribe
style glazes, this particular one using lepidolite has a quality that I can
just not seem to 100% reproduce without the rare material, especially the
unique iridescence that it produces. Where slightly thicker around the mouth,
the glaze is this intense, deep green pool that is just one of my favorite
effects on pottery and mostly isolated to various Oribe, Iga and Shigaraki
pottery. I apologize for the poor quality of the photo but since I am making
very few pots in this glaze, I thought it may be worth sharing and the lesson
that goes along with it.
I wouldn't bother enlarging the photo, it
only gets worse the larger it gets!
I find it quite a unique
experience to be welcomed in to a collectors home to see and experience their
collection. There are a myriad of advantages of peeking into one's collecting strategy
and style from handling more pots, seeing pieces by potters you have not handled
before, being introduced to new potters as well as seeing how ones collection
is displayed and conceived. In this particular instance Mindy and I were
invited to see a collection of a couple who like us, collect as a team with
each piece discussed and vetted as a democratic process and with our
collecting, Khan sometimes casts the deciding vote (in my favor of course). Of
particular note was the way in which a large number of chawan and gunomi/ tokkuri
were on display, well-lit and lined up on shelves that just seemed to float
against the wall creating row after row of pots that just were asking to be
viewed and handled, with permission, of course. I think you can tell a lot
about a collector seeing such a large number of pots, carefully arranged and
displayed from style and firing preference to a taste for particular potters.
it was exceedingly enjoyable seeing this collection with just as many larger
pieces as there were small treasures, a well thought out and balanced
collection that left us eager to visit again at some future date.
Illustrated is a wonderful
little kogo by seiji and seihakuji specialist; Kakutani Hideaki. I posted up a
thrown and altered slip vase glazed over in a seiji glaze a while back and
though just a diminutive piece, there are similarities. This kogo was thickly
thrown out of porcelain and then had a foot tooled in the piece before Kakutani
faceted the sides and top making for an almost polar landscape
covered over in this soft, bluish celadon. I have to say it is a joy to see
this piece in person, small, intimate and animated by the varying cuts making
for a small treasure that fits in the palm of your hand and is easily tucked
away on a shelf near far larger pots, residing in the land of the giants.
Illustrated is a second
generation ash test that I have been working on quite recently. This is a basic
1:2:3 glaze composed of, you guessed it, just three materials of which one is
wood ash. The first tests were very stiff and had a series of issues but I
altered the formula, a basic batch recipe and started off using the glaze much
thinner than in the original tests and went from pots, to rings to this bowl
with the next test waiting on the bisque and another bowl test before moving on
to bigger pieces. Over the years I have become much more careful and judicious
in the testing process trying to keep the cost of materials, energy, clay and
time down to a minimum and yet the biggest problem still remains, when do you
give up on a particular test formula? I can still see the promise in this
surface, especially on all the cuts, facets and angles of this bowl and think
it is worth just a few more tests considering there is still test glaze
available and some bowls just begging to be glazed.
At this point I am not sure
that I would say that I am amazed by the styles and diversity of a number of Japanese
potters but I think it a safe bet to say there are some things that you just
don't associate with specific individuals. In the case of this illustrated chawan
it would seem to be something of a rarity to see actual "decoration"
on the piece with a few fluid and spontaneous brush strokes of iron over this
kohiki style bowl of rather stoic and formal form. It is easy to see the potter, Tsukigata Nahiko
in the form and surface of this pot being a thick, heavily crackled kohiki surface
with an ash based glaze over the piece but what does stand out is the use of
brushed iron decoration on the front of the chawan. Though I have literally
thousands of images of various works by Tsukigata this is the first decorated
pot that I can remember seeing though as a talented calligrapher and painter,
there are a large number of calligraphic tiles done in Shino. Aside from the
tiles, there are a number of pottery pieces that have one form or another of
some calligraphic or abstract decoration in the slip prior to being glazed in
Shino or other glazes (https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2014/01/gone-forever.html )
but as I mentioned, this is the first example of actual brushwork that I can
think of. I'll go on record by saying that I am not exactly amazed to see this
piece in Tsukigata's body or work but I will admit to being just a tiny bit
surprised.
"Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise."
Alice Walker
I have an internet friend
that knowing my interest in wood fired pottery send me jpegs now and again that
he thinks may be of interest. The other day he sent a group and among them was
a handful of images of a rather animated Shigaraki haikaburi chawan by Kowari
Tetsuya. At first glance the form looks pretty straight forward defined by its
brief and concise nature but as you study it you see the naturalistic twist to
the form that set the piece in motion and is echoed in the lip and lower lines
of the pot, not quite as simple as first thought. The chawan is covered over in
a mostly drier natural ash surface with the face being punctuated not only by
areas of wad scars and a rich hi-iro but also by several ash drips and a series
of punctuated areas where the feldspar has melted out of the surface. I find
the bowl eminently practical with its straight sides and solid kodai but there
is a sense of wit and playfulness that makes the chawan just that much more
interesting. Admittedly, Kowari Tetsuya is one of those potters that I enjoy
how he handles the clay, molds it to fit his mind's eye and chooses a firing
style that best compliments the pot be they Kohiki, Shino, Oribe or Shigaraki,
each is chosen to bring out the most of the form and purpose of the pot.
"Brevity is the soul of wit." William Shakespeare
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