FINE LINE

To some people, boring and to others current and lively, maybe that is what kohiki is all about though it is hard to deny the function and utility of the bulk of this work from every day to tea ceremony. I was just having an email exchange when I came across a folder of yunomi that I had here a long while past, a collection that I was selling for a retiring friend and amongst the pictures was this Ogawa Tetsuo kohiki yunomi.  Now I will admit there is a very fine line perhaps a razors edge between boring and simplicity and after all it is a word used way too often but I would argue there is elegance to this simple and noble kohiki yunomi whose sole purpose is to press on in service, to be seen and to be used like century's worth of pottery that has been made and used before it. Because of the simplicity of the surface, there is absolute clarity of form, nothing to hide faults and foibles, nothing to misdirect the eye, what you see is just exactly what you get and in this practical piece, the potter's goal is function with just the right amount of aesthetic considerations thrown in to make the yunomi go, "pick me, use me" and why wouldn't you?

BUILT TO POUR

When I reflect on my earlier days in clay, especially in Cleveland, I can't help but remember just how many teapots and pitchers (jugs) that I made. They were in every firing be they stoneware, porcelain or terra cotta but over the years there were less and less orders for jugs and teapots seemed to go to specific places and special orders. Since those days I have continued to make both forms and in time they find homes through galleries or now days over the internet. I think back on the tradition I came from, among which there were three Leach pupils, all dedicated to function and purpose and by hook or by crook, I can't see stopping making teapots and pitchers anytime soon.   Illustrated is a healthy size cottage style teapot made of terra cotta covered first in a dark black slip and then over-decorated in "falling leaves" in thin yellow, green and red with a thin clear glaze over the surface. The end result, this cottage teapot is built to pour, holds enough for six (?) and was designed and made to be a standard, functional pot that is as at home in the hand, on a table or adorning a shelf hopefully not just collecting dust.

ECHIZEN TAKENOKO

A fellow collector up north sent me this photo in situ of a rather well fired pot in use on their dining room table, black cat included. Made by Echizen potter, Nishiura Takeshi, this thrown pot has had small feet attached to reorient the direction the pot was meant to be used as well as how it was fired. Resembling a bamboo shoot, this vase has a wood fired surface that speaks of some ancient promethean wrath of ash and flame engaged in some enclosed ferocious argument or at the very least a very serious personal disagreement where as luck would have it the pot survived wrapped in that molten fury. Despite knowing the origin and process of this vase I can't help but think that it appears like some mysterious found object co-opted in to use looking both natural and other-worldly at the same time. Perhaps the most enduring impression that this simple vase radiates is that of being elemental, old, ancient, medieval at the least that which ties the Echizen works of Nishiura in an unbroken line of tradition from the past to the present.

MORE IS BETTER

I had shown both of these pieces as greenware and decorated just prior to going in the bisque so I thought I would show the pair just out of the glaze fire. Both were intended to be glazed in the Narumi-Oribe style and the deep green did its part rather well but the Narumi-Oribe just wasn't quite strong enough where I mixed up 20% iron slip with 80% white slip. In retrospect I should have likely gone 60/40 remembering that more is better (?) but no changing the results now. All in all it still has a neat look and it works well on the thrown and squared forms so best to live and learn with the next kiln being the test crucible especially with all the various kiln filler intended as much for feedback as anything else.          

"There is an element of luck, this is an element of trial and error, sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed. It's not as beautifully simple as it may seem when we are talking about it."  Lakhdar Brahimi

HAPPY FOURTH

Irrespective of your politics, these two quotes go a long way to explain what is at the core of the United States and its grand experiment;

"True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else."  Clarence Darrow

"May we think of freedom not as we please, but the opportunity to do what is right."  Peter Marshall 

BALANCE

Looking like violently created rock strata surrounding a moving stream, this Oribe futamono, covered box is a lesson in imaginary landscapes and vivid texture. Having some elements to older Rimpa decoration, the texture plays a key roll in articulating this form as well as inviting the eye from side to side and top to bottom of this pot which at its core is a simple box, simply executed but the potter has whipped up the surface in to a turbulent and frenzied vision with areas of placid calm to balance the landscape out into a harmonious vision.    

This Oribe covered box form was made by Kato Kuniya (b.1940)  who over his career in clay he has specialized in Oribe, Seto-Guro and Karatsu and exhibited at various venues including Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition, Japan Traditional craft Exhibition and the Chunichi International Exhibition. The are elements of tradition blended with modernism and hints of Rimpa thrown in for some measures harkening back to the sylized decoration of Ogata Kenzan without being too overt about it. The interior is simple and calm by contrast though decorated with a few errant plovers exactly like those that are seen on quite a few older Oribe works as well as on various Rimpa paintings where they can be spotted about the waves and sea spay in 2 and 3 dimensions. As with much of Oribe pottery, it is the carefree attitude of this piece, both the exterior and interior that truly ties it to the early Edo tradition of the casual and playful nature nurtured over the centuries and certainly still alive and well in the pottery of many modern Oribe potters, Kato Kuniya included.

CARVED GEOMETRY

This large tebori wall bowl is from the same firing as the 3s & Es bowl that I posted previously. Thrown out of terra cotta and covered in a layer of dark, black slip the double saw blade was hand carved after the basics for the design were laid out in black ink to try to get it right. Though I generally go for more organic designs and decoration every now and again I rely on geometric and stiffer patterns to use on pots like this revolving saw tooth design, especially the tebori pieces. As you may be able to see in this picture, this particular technique is hard to photograph and makes the pieces look harsher than they are in person but I think you get the general idea from the provided picture and the combination of the rich red terra cotta and dark, black slip make for an easy surface but generally an inviting one as well.

FIRST ENCOUNTER

I think it is quite easy for sculptural ceramics to spring to mind when discussing the works of Ohira Kazumasa from large outdoor installations to small, intimate almost pieces that are far more than function. Over the years however there is a portion of his work, much of it based on old Iga pottery that at its core it is both very functional and medieval in both appearance and construction. This large medieval style Iga o-hachi is just one such piece that was my first encounter with Ohira's works back in 1991 or 1992 and is clearly a piece where function and tradition play a key role in both its creation and purpose. Close to two feet in diameter, the clay is coarse, yet wonderful to handle and admire while the ash has both covered the entire form in a fine wet mist while built up deposits have melted around the rim and run in to the interior of the pot creating some abstract landscape, an imaginary vista that compliments both form, function and food in its use. While I have nothing against sculptural ceramics, a style that I am quite fond of, at the end of the day I generally choose the fusion of form, function, clay and surface in those objects that play a role in our everyday lives and I think a large Iga platter like this fits that bill to near perfection.

MISHIMA IN THE ROUND

I put up a blog post some time ago depicting a classically decorated and presented mishima mizusashi by kohiki and slipware specialist, Ogawa Tetsuo and decided to build this short video slideshow to fill it out a bit. As you can see in the slideshow, Ogawa relies heavily on the Korean archetypes and style of decoration while adapting them to traditionally Japanese vessels and objects putting on a display of mishima in the round. In this case the mizusashi was divided into bands of highly articulated mishima inlay that is sandwiched by horizontal lines that seemingly contain the expanded volume of the form. 

The top of the form creates a visual pathway into the mizusashi that is then terminated by the black lacquer lid which creates the perfect vessel for both use in the tea ceremony and admiration as a solitary and contemplative pot. The surface of the pot does go beyond just the mishima decoration with areas of mishima, grey-blue for where the glazed stoneware can be seen and some very enticing blushing resonating about surface breaking up any sense sameness as the viewer surveys the piece. Like most pots that I favor, this is a simple pot, no bells and whistles with a traditional form that as you see all of the pot through this short slideshow the flavor and subtle complexity becomes all the more apparent.

SOME TIME TO SPARE FOR TEA

Though I doubt he would even remember our stop, our short visit with Otani Shiro was rather pleasant and informative at the same time. We were given a tour of his kiln, studio and gallery and then we had in his words, "some time to spare for tea" including some delicious, home-made small cookie-like biscuits to go with it while drinking out of generous, Shigaraki yunomi made by Otani-san himself. I should have apologized for all of my questions but back in the early 90s these face to face interviews were as good as gold. The topics ran from his influences and philosophy on pottery making to kilns and firings to the American wood firing scene and his relationship with Rob Barnard and several other US potters as well as several who claimed to have worked with him that in deed had not.          

At the time of our visit he had recently fired his kiln and the majority of pots were thrown tsubo of various sizes and of course various surfaces. An old blog post for 2013 (https://albedo3studio.blogspot.com/2013/10/first-quarter.html) shows a large thrown and slightly altered tsubo that was recently fired with a rather sublime and ethereal blend of hi-iro and tsuchi-aji, a bit like three dimensional poetry and a pot that was hard to get out of my mind for quite some time. The afternoon slipped away rather quickly, we thanked Otani-san profusely for his time and knowledge leaving with a small tsubo and a presento of boxed guinomi and we were on to our last meeting in Shigaraki with Ueda Naokata who despite his busy schedule afforded us an hour of his valuable time and where we parted with a wonderful chaire and a gift its equal if not better. This trip, though poorly planned and cramped for time everywhere we went in Shigaraki Valley was a trek that will not ever be forgotten even all these years later though a few pictures and pots do help jog the memory.