ANOTHER END OF DAY

Though I rarely work in really large series of pots, I am not that guy who sits down and throws 40 of the same thing, even in my smaller series of a dozen or so similar pieces it can get a bit trying as the eleventh piece comes along to decorate or carve. Illustrated is what I refer to as an end of day bowl and with this group there were actually two bowls that deviated from tried and true designs that I had planned on carving. This particular decoration is another variation on an old design that I refer to as "tree of life" blended together with my "intersection" design and I think it works well to articulate the shape and space of the medium sized terra cotta v-bowl. This may just seem like just another carved tebori design but after carving out ten of the same decoration even a small deviation is a most welcome to a potter who has the patience is measured in mirco-grams.

TUMULTUOUS PROCESS

Illustrated is a medium size Shigaraki tsubo, though of simple form it is the firing that really grabs your attention and hold it as there is movement and ash enough for several pot. Made by Koyama Naohiko, son of Koyama Kiyoko, it is the simplicity and modest scale of the pot that has acted as the perfect clay canvas for what can only be described as a very fine firing. As evidenced by the clam shell scar at the extreme left of the pot, this was fired on its belly and the ash that built up had nowhere to go but down and thanks to gravity this beautiful cascading landscape was created. Like a small chawan by the same potter that I put up some time ago this tsubo is covered from top to bottom and in 360 degrees with varying ash and ash effects making for a rather contemplative vessel where the potter gave way to serendipity and happenstance of what can be a tumultuous process, wood firing at its best.

HARMONY

A first glance it is easy to think what a simple foot but having had some time to live with this pot I am convinced it is anything but that. After decades of throwing/tooling pots, this foot by Kimura Morinobu shows a craftsman's confidence of cutting the feet of bowl after bowl on a board without any hesitancy and adapting the needs of each foot to the variations with each pot. With an eye to function and cohesion the foot is in perfect proportions to the pot, relying on the "goldilocks" effect of being neither too big, nor too small, neither too low or too tall, creating what each form demands to please the eye and create a sense of symmetry to a hand-made object. 

Beyond the skill of creating the foot, Kimura relies heavily on the cut texture of the clay to "spice" up the foot which is then further harmonized with the choice of glaze best to suit clay and form. Working in conjunction with the texture of the "exposed" clay, there is just enough glaze around the foot to add a perpetually wet sheen to the surface which both helps keep the area pristine while further enhancing the depth and atmosphere of the kodai. It only stands to reason that working, day in and day out for decades within the sphere of functional pottery allows for an atmosphere of harmony to evolve where more things work in totality and the complex unconscious decisions make for a simple foot on a simple bowl even if the viewer knows better.

EIGHT SIDED SQUARE

Highlighted by rare sunlight this teabowl was part of a series of hexagonal and octagonal faceted pieces, joking referred to as the "polygon group". This particular bowl was thrown out of the small batch sandy white stoneware clay I have been mixing up. The whiter clay makes for a brighter Kuro-Oribe surface especially in the sunlight while allowing for the textured clay to show through and the dark blue-black surface to take a more prominent role in the production. As you can see, though basically square in form, each plane is pushed out in the center and faceted to either side which makes for a nice dividing point where the higher ridges creates a series of whitish craggy peaks. The foot on this bowl is more or less traditional having been tooled on the wheel while several of the other bowls had their feet cut square to compliment the overall forms. Though there is nothing earth shattering about these forms, it does give me  a break from the thrown round grind and allows for trying out simple ideas to present a form in a newer way as this squared, eight sided teabowl shows.

ALMOST II

At first glance this tsubo has the appearance of almost  being a large, medieval style jar favored by Tokoname potter Takeuchi Kimiaki but as you look at the pot things give away the actual scale of the piece. In form and proportions this is a small version of a usually much larger O-Tsubo form and as you check out the varying drips around the pot it is quite clear this pot is quite a bit smaller than its archetype measuring in at about five inches tall. Despite its size this ko-tsubo has all of the features of the larger relations from the wonderfully wonky and undulating lip to the running ash glaze each terminated by deep green drips which would be monumental is size if this were a large tsubo. Though admittedly a large Takeuchi Tokoname tsubo filling the corner of a room would be quite spectacular this tsubo captures the essence, posture and aesthetics of a larger version. Lastly there are a unique set of assets to a piece this scale; easier to move about, much easier to place on an over-crowded bookshelf and infinitely easier to keep dusted, sometimes small does have its advantages.     

"From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow."  Aeschylus

HORNBY REVISITED

I decided to revisit this oilspot style temmoku covered box to fill in some of the back story as to how it came to us, this was a gift from a generous Cleveland couple who had recently visited Hornby Island while on a trip to Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The couple who were rather active patrons of the arts were very supportive while I was setting up my first studio had brought back a number of pots from the area but were fixated on one potter in particular, Wayne Ngan. Knowing our love of pots, this was a rather thoughtful gift, a gift of a pot by what I have long considered a potter's potter, a potter who held clay, the process and firing in the highest regard and tried to let the clay speak through him to arrive at its intended spirit. 

This spirited covered box form is no exception, finely thrown out of stoneware, the form and subsequent faceting bring dimension and movement to the piece and the use of this enigmatic glaze was a perfect match to bring the clay form to life. As for the oilspot temmoku surface, the top of the lid is flanked by a myriad of rusty iron spots imitating the night sky while the more vertical areas have spotting and streaking that add motion and a pleasing visual effect that keeps ones attention looking for what else can be seen on the exterior. The pot's bottom is surrounded by a roll of fat temmoku glaze and the flat plane is punctuated by Ngan's impressed square seal, the final mark of the potter making for a sturdy and perfect base. This pot has been around for a very long time now and with each visit, each quiet conversation it still has a lot to say about a potter and his vision.      

(Sorry for revisiting this pot but as I was looking at it the other morning I thought of our wonderful visits with Bob and Dee and wanted to recount their kindness and time sharing their collection with us from Warren Mackenzie to Betty Woodman not to mention their intimate knowledge of many of the best places to eat in and around Cleveland!)

GO FIGURE

Though I am tragically impatient, I do seem to have just enough to test new batches of materials especially ash as they come in the door, a potter's version of trust but verify. Illustrated is a recent glaze test on a small cup that didn't exactly work the way it had previously as it decided to not stay put, run off the pot and forever meld itself with a small piece of soft brick I had cut and placed under the piece. Though you'll have to take my word for it, I made the formula up as I have a dozen or more times though in bigger batches using not one but two new materials, ash from a friend and frit which has been as constant as the North Star. I am back in a terra cotta cycle but will have to retest this formula as soon as I can as I am hamstrung without this glaze and would love to get this conundrum worked out, adjusted and back into the rotation. I realize the ash in glazes can but filled with variables but it does seem this happens far more often than I would like, go figure.

NOSTALGIC

Sitting on a shelf next to a small group of teabowls by Bill Klock is one of many physical reminders of our time in Cleveland, a small teabowl by Bill Brouillard. This ash glazed and iron accented bowl is thrown thin, light and the ash glaze helps bring the form to life and the foot is crisply tooled with a signature cartouche contained within. This teabowl was gift on a visit to his studio located a distance from where he taught alongside Judith Salomon at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Looking around at pieces like this teabowl make me a bit nostalgic for Cleveland which was a wonderful pottery town filled with a broad and diverse group of potters, there are certainly far worse places to work and perhaps few better.

ALMOST

A fellow collector in the North-East sent me this picture a short while ago of a piece by Ikenishi Go with a winter wonderland as a backdrop. At first glance nothing seems awry but the fact is this bowl is almost a chawan but not quite being a 'simple" hachi it apparently can serve in nearly any capacity and as informed by the owner it works just fine as a chawan if not labeled as such. This hachi was thrown and carefully manipulated to have a rather unconscious and unpretentious form and is covered over in a semi-dry coat of Ki-Seto glaze over various incised decoration highlighted by tanpan green accents here and there. This bowl is a bit on the large side and slightly ovalled creating a rather dynamic appearance balanced on its foot while asking to be picked up and enjoyed. Thinking back on the original precepts of tea it is clear to me that despite the lack of a single word on a box lid, if it can fulfill the  function of and fits the general description of a chawan, than what's in a word?  

(Photo by Evan Worley and used with his permission)

BLACK OVER WHITE

In an effort to simplify things and try out a new black glaze at the same time I decided to glaze this sandy mix teabowl with a clear glaze. As you can see the clear allows all the surface texture and stones to show rather nicely adding quite a bit of visual texture to the bowl and the black glaze was trailed on the piece in a casual but somewhat controlled manner. The black glaze is a bit thicker than I wanted but certainly did come out a dark, rich black that really stands out on this surface which is a bit more white than this particular photo shows using simple daylight. The next step in fine tuning this black glaze is to make it up a tiny bit thinner, reduce the oxides (carbonates) and reduce the stiffness a bit as well. One interesting feature that I am sure I am about to ruin by altering the formula is that in the sunlight, the black is punctuated by silver dots where bits of sand or stone are underneath the glaze. You may think that a black glaze would be rather simple and easy but when you see something specific in your head it all gets a bit complicated; next firing, more testing     

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become in adequate, I shall be content with silence."  Ansel Adams