$5 FRAME

I'll start out by saying that this porcelain Kutani tile is not some incredible work of art and over the years I have seen nearly identical examples but rather it is the story that is of more interests all these years later. At one time we had this up on our wall but given how precious wall space is these days, it has been sitting in a big blue tote downstairs where I happened across it the other day. While at Brimfield a long time ago we happened across a dealer who was selling frames for $5, $10, $25 and $50 a pop many of them with prints still in them, we found this frame for $5 with this Kutani Ryusen plaque in it so we purchased it along with three other frames (well prints really) but that is a story for another time. I think what interested me the most about this plaque is the exceptional level of skill used to paint and fire it over repeated firings, no small feat to end up with a perfect piece time and again. As a potter, semi-commercial or not having worked with enamels from time to time I can tell you that it takes a great degree of patience and experience and at the end of the day, for the price of a Big Mac and Coke I think it was hard to go wrong.

FILLER (A GANG OF FOUR)

I have to admit that usually at this time of the year things are mostly quiet and I keep myself with testing ideas, forms and glazes but thanks to two commissions I have almost enough to fill a kiln, now comes the filler and a good reason to keep busy. The commissions were a set of four molded square plates and a eight dinner plates which take up a fair amount of space so I have set about making a small handful of teabowls, a couple of covered jars and as of today a group of four tokkuri forms. I threw the tokkuri bottles in just over one pound of stoneware clay as well as a group of necks/mouths that I will lute to the pieces once the feet are trimmed and the clay is the right consistency. As of this moment my intent is to decorate them impasto style with thick slip and then glaze them in Oribe or Kuro-Oribe style, time will tell. It is always plus to be busy during this time of year even if it is a high of 60 degrees in the studio, at least I don't have to break the ice from my water bucket while throwing like I did on several ocassions in Cleveland. See, I can look on the bright side of things.  

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop."

N & N

With ever encounter as I as I look at the new to me pot I try to figure out where the pot fits in the potter's work according to quality and when the pot was made. On the odd occasion I am also left wondering where does this form, style or surface come from and is this pot an anomaly as it has an exotic and unique look to it. In this particular case illustrated is a wonderful, serene Hagi mizusashi by Okada Yu, expertly thrown and altered creating a manipulated for that is both organic and spontaneous in appearance. Though thrown and altered this mizusashi has that look of just happening, coming off the wheel as it appears, supple and flowing lines uninterrupted by any external force that is perfect for aesthetic appreciation or practical use in the tea ceremony.   

As if the form and alterations weren't enough the surface is equally as superb with lush blushed areas covering half of the pot that are punctuated with fine white crystals like flower petals cascading down pink silk. The rear of the five sided mizusashi is covered with a soft white Hagi glaze that completes the form and the vertical lines that separate the various planes of the pot are bare to the clay creating the appearance of a subtlety folded five panel screen painting presenting a narrative of nobility and nuance. The finishing touch to the mizusashi is a simple, custom made and perfectly fitting lacquer lid that though is in stark contrast to the piece creates a sense of completion and harmony.      

Though at a certain level a simple pot I found this pot fascinating and during its stay here I had it on a shelf where I just kept turning it round and round to get the best view and none failed to both surprise and please me; a very pleasant experience all in all.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS III

While working at Cleveland State there was a student there who made what came to be known as "brain-ware", odd ovalled forms with a super thick application of Gustin's Shino. Once fired, the really thick glaze would curdle and crawl to resemble what is in effect, a human brain and the maker was thrilled with the pieces though Dick (Schneider) and I were certainly less so as when it didn't work, the crawled glaze ended up too much for the forms and dripped all over the shelves, thank goodness for kiln-wash. I suspect at this point if you waded through some droll story about my days back at CSU that this illustrated detail has something to do with the moment of nostalgia.

The illustrated detail is from a larger Oni-Shino vase form by Tsukigata Nahiko and like in many other close-up pictures, I think this really gives an insight in to his surfaces that a simple overall photo would lack. The surface is alive with all the elements that make Oni-Shino so potent, rich and complex; the thick Shino glaze has crawled, curdled a bit allowing the rich iron underneath to percolated up and into the crevices between the nodules of feldspar with the entire surface coated in a thin by unmistakable layer of natural ash from the intensity and ferocity of the wood firing each of these pots is subjected to. Beyond the obvious and mesmerizing complexity of the surface there is a jubilant exclamation of texture both visually and tactilely that heightens the impact of this work and makes the viewer all the richer for the close encounter. 

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Today wasn't particularly a busy day but on the agenda is getting four of this tray form made on this hump mold for hump-day. The illustration shows everything I use to make these forms from mold, fettling knife, credit card, rib, sponge and stamp; these are the tools of the trade for this task, nothing less and nothing more. I roll out the slab and then using a cardboard template cut out the clay to shape and then drape it over the mold and set about defining it to the mold using the sponge, rib and credit card. I usually let the clay stiffen up for about 30 to 45 minutes and then flip it over on to a board, define the edge and repeat the process. After making two trays, I place the mold near the furnace and let it dry for an hour and then I am usually good to go for another two pulls from the hump mold. I used to have two of these mold but I think with little thought you can imagine what happened to it. All in all not a bad use of a hump day and everyday with clay is a good day.

RABBIT IN A BOX

So here is what I do know, this is a Bizen kogo made by Matsumoto Tsutomu and that is where things get a bit fuzzy as I am not acquainted with this particular potter but I can easily spot a rabbit in a box. Though boxed and signed I am just in the dark about the maker though I can say that the kogo in the form of a rather idiosyncratic rabbit (usagi) is rather well fired with swaths of deep rich purple fire color and areas of peppered ash and charcoal yet luckily the top and bottom of the form weren't fused shut. Though it may not appear this way to everyone, I really like the boxy, stylized form of the kogo which conjures up memories of seiji okimono by Suzuki Osamu where the form is accentuated by the minimum of detail to tell it full story. Though this potter is unknown to me, I enjoy the dry, wistful humor presenting itself like a hint of sarcasm locked away in clay and if at the end of the day it says quite a bit more than just "kogo" is there really anything else that I need to know?

TIME WELL SPENT

This simple chawan was clearly made by a Fukui native relying on centuries of traditional Echizen pottery and firing, this bowl has an old soul, medieval in fact in appearance, technique and presence with a flavor, a hint of the modern infused in the clay and natural surface. The form is casual and has some sense of early mountain chawan making the chawan uneven and irregular with a surface that displays a cohesive landscape composed of a myriad of adjoining locals painted with ash and flame and the guiding hand of an experienced master, Nishiura Takeshi. I should have started off by saying that no single, static image can really convey the surface of this piece but will have to appease a viewers curiosity for the moment.     

Once placed in the kiln, the naked form was left to the will and whims of the path and ferocity of the kiln which layered varying ash, thicknesses and texture on the form where gravity also had no small part to play creating a surface that moved under the intense heat and in the right light continues to do so. As for the coloration, the palette runs from the colors of natural fired clay to rich wet purples, hues of grays, blues, white and greens making for what can at times be confused for the interior of a mine wall, deep beneath the earth's surface. Firing for five days at over 1300 Celsius, almost 2400 Fahrenheit and many more to cool, like a small time capsule of time well spent from soil one moment to traditional expression the next, well beyond being time well spent, in many respects this bowl is part of the lifeblood and heart of modern Echizen created by a potter dedicated to a tradition that is on the move with each and every firing.

FIRE AND ASH

A fellow collector from Europe sent me this picture of a classically simple but well fired Iga set of tokkuri and guinomi which I was rather pleased to see though handling them would be even better. This set was made by Fukushima Kazuhiro who's works I have been watching for several years now and on my first encounter I discovered that he had spent time learning under Koie Ryoji  and then worked for a short while in California. Admittedly I was originally surprised regarding the Koie connection as I did not see any of the influence that usually comes out in the clay, glazing and firing from such a strong and charismatic teacher but as you look long enough there are subtleties, like rhythm and posture not to mention his use of Oribe glaze as well. 

As for this set, as I mentioned they are both simple in design, straight forward throwing with age old forms perfect for the task at hand and Fukushima has allowed the firing process and choice of woods decorate his pieces where gem-like bidoro betrays the positioning of the pieces in the kiln creating a luminescent landscape of the interaction between fire and ash. As a final observation it is rather splendid to see the movement of the surfaces even in this semi-formal and static image, one can only image how animated the surfaces are in person.

THROWING IN THE NEW YEAR

There is certainly nothing earth-shattering about this teabowl which I threw off the hump but since Jan. and Feb. are very slow months for me and work is good work and throwing in the new year is a good way to start a Monday. In fact, I needed to throw a group of covered serving bowls and then lids which I throw off the hump and once the bodies were thrown I wedged up a good size cone of clay and threw the four matching lids. I knew there would be clay left over so I threw a pair of matching shallow "using" bowls and four teabowls including the one pictured here. As you can see it is thrown out of stoneware and is pretty generous in scale and I decided to address the exterior of the foot while it was still on the wheel and will tool the interior once it is stiffened up. The truth is that anytime I can sit and throw is a good day which is made a bit better when it includes covered pieces and a few teabowls as well.   

"Choose a job you love and you will, never have to work a day in your life." Confucius. I am reasonably sure he didn't factor in all the packing!

LAST POT OF 2021

Illustrated is the last pot that arrived here for 2021, it has been here for a short while and given the date and time, I sincerely doubt there will be another. This simple, almost quiet Bizen vase was made by Masamune Satoru in 2000 and is somewhat typical, classic even of how he works with clay from the form, marks, posture and applied lines. What perhaps distinguishes this particular animated pot from the rest of the pack is the firing which has ash moving in two distinct directs, vertically and horizontally while it was stationary and waiting its final fitting in the kiln. Initially the ash was swept by the form horizontally building up streaks moving from the pot facing the flames toward the rear as the firing went on ash began to build up on the face and finally began to melt and cascade down the piece from top to bottom. Obviously this is not a rare occurrence but it does trick the eye and add a dimension to the piece which otherwise would have been a nice pot of good character, strong form and a proper firing but let's face it, the ash moving in two directions brings more movement and articulation to vase that has benefited from the experience of the potter and the serendipity of the ash and flame. Several other features not to be overlooked are the strong, sturdy and practical lugs placed on opposing sides of the form, the lush ash build that helps define the mouth, a rather deceptive volume contained in the form, one of those rare pots that arrives and present the feeling of being much larger than the dimensions imply and lastly the great shell impressions left on the base of the pot where it was set to keep it from adhering to the shelf.  All in all when you add up all these enjoyable features it translates in to quite a nice package.