SILO

Not much to say about this Oribe style covered jar with B.C. (johnny Hart) or Prometheus inspired finial with combed white over black slip. The form is loosely based on old storage building from Africa, looking a bit like a grain bin or silo and have three feet cut from the base. Considering that I really enjoy making lidded pots from cannisters, covered jars, cap jars all the way to covered boxes, this ongoing series of box forms, many resting on three or four feet are not likely to disappear anytime soon but I am thinking that soda blue and amber glazes may add a touch of diversity to the pieces. Perhaps next time (?).

MOUSEY

Though perhaps best known for his original and innovative Oni-Shino, besides being an all round renaissance artist, Tsukigata Nahiko was well versed in the full spectrum of the Mino tradition. Having a foundation in a wide array of glaze making, Tsukigata made a large number of pots that have quite a bit in common with their classical antecedants and this particular vase is no exception. Though neither rare or common, this vase dates to the late 1980s to the late 1990s and is typical of work which he described as Nezumi-Shino, once again taking his unique approach to the style where a highly active iron/ cobalt underglaze was used with a thick, viscous Shino glaze leading to this vivid look. There is an array of "special effects" where some of the colorants have boiled up through the surface; browns, blacks, blues, greens and turqouise perculate to the top layers of the glaze creating a rather unique landscape that like much of Tsukigata's works can easily be attributed to his hand (and mind) where what seems ordinary becomes anything but.      

Intentional or not, I immediately think of thick melting ice and snow slowing revealing the stone underneath though I suspect this type of landscape conjures up all kinds of memories and associations to each individual viewer. Perhaps one of the outstanding aspects to Tsukigata work is that no matter how many of a particular form you see, each and every pot has its own unique voice and especially landscapes. As I have seen a number of this form in varying sizes in this Nezumi-Shino surface, Ki-Seto, Oni-Shino, Muji-Shino and others, each piece is connected initially by form but each piece presented a nearly alien appearance to the other making it clear that though manipulated by the maker through glaze and firing, it was the fire that had the final say on what each pot would look like, maybe more than any other factor. In the end experience, technique and knowledge are one thing in the creation of a pot but without surrendering the pot and at least a bit of one's ego to the kiln and flames, these pots would be all the less so let's be thankful for those crucial decisions.

ILLUSION OF MAGIC

Pure magic is the best way I can describe the glazes and surfaces of Kimura Moriyasu and I suspect that anyone who has seen his work in person or in a book or catalogue would agree. The illustrated detail is from a chawan made in the late (?) 1990s where the overwelming color is blue enhanced by shades and nuances of many other tones all running into the interior to create a nebula of effects all surrounding the center composed of golden hues, adrift in some far off galaxy. I am simply amazed at how a handful of chemicals, some intense heat, a bit of alchemy thrown into the mix together with decades of experience can conjure up this illusion of magic locked within a three dimensional object. I think that the such work can better be described by poet or sage so I will let the photo tell its story all on its own as if a picture is worth a thousand words, I can imagine quite a bit more being written on the ceramics of Kimura Moriyasu.

ROAD TRIP

I am not sure how often this happens to other potters but I ran out of clay recently, I still have a good cache of terra cotta and porcelain but not stoneware. Part of this problem stems from the fact that a clay supplier I used to get deliveries from was goobled up by a really big company so now I have to make a supply run an hour west or two hours east to get heavy supplies like clay and chemicals for glazes and slip. Compounding this new issue is that our vehicle can only really carry about 500lbs at a time so I am limited with each trip. I know, things could be a lot worse, I could have to dig my clay and mine my own materials but truthfully i wasn't paying enough attention and "poof" the stoneware was gone.  

Illustrated are two, well three pasta/ salad/ what-have-you omnibowls that along with a spare teabowl were thrown off the hump and represent the last bag of clay. I threw these bowls to proof, test the amber and soda blue on shallow pieces as well as making sure that the glazes will work considering I am using newly sourced materials. Shouldn't be a big problem but better to be safe than sorry as the old days of saying; "well f#ck it" and filling a kiln with an iffy glaze are well behind me or at least I hope so.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Illustrated is a rather wonderfully fired Shigaraki uzukumaru style pot or is it? Made in Nagaoka City in Niigata the works of Kon Chiharu are sometimes called Echigo Shigaraki as they are made in what used to be Echigo Province prior to the Meiji Era but does it boil down to location, location location? Despite where it was made, this haikaburi tsubo was guided along its pathway from Shigaraki traditional pottery under the guidence of Tsuji Seimei who himself did not reside in Shigaraki proper. Under Tsuji's tutelage, Kon Chiharu master the insight into medieval style pottery, use of clay and firing where today his works are highpoints of the tradition irrespective of geography. This tsubo clearly has a sturdy and powerful form with a well defined neck and mouth that has a playful and wandering quality that makes for a rather distinctive and alluring vessel. Fired on its belly, the scars and ash flow surround the pot in a gravity defying embrace where the horizontal movement adds a trememdous  amount of animation to a form that seems rooted to the ground through its purposeful form and base. In this case the pot just happened to be at the right place at the right time and the sun did the rest of the heavy lifting.

WASHIZOME

Illustrated is a small washizome futamono by Saga prefecture potter, Eguchi Katsumi. This small covered box was skillfully thrown out of a dense, white porcelain with deocration using dyed paper to create the overall design before adding accents in sometsuke blue style. The entire covered box for is covered in a simple, brilliantly transparent clear glaze with the piece being deocrated entirely around the form with a single larger blossom depicted in the inside of the bottom and lid. As one might expect the fit and finish of this little box is equal to his large pieces, skillfully thrown, tooled and meticulously decorated with an exacting fit between the two pieces, top and bottom. This covered form is bigger than a kogo and measuring in at about 12cm across, not 100% sure of its intended purpose but even at this size, the possibilities are almost endless.       

As mentioned Eguchi Katsumi is well known for his skilled use of this washizome technique using traditional handmade Japanese paper in the pursuit of his decoration. Unlike many other Saga/ Arita potters, Eguchi is hands on for all of the processes in the creation of his work from throwing, tooling, decorating and firing making him a bit different than many in his community. Though this small covered box is simple with a simple design, this piece clearly portrays the style and technique developed by Eguchi Katsumi to its fullest and shows a dedication to not only his unique decorative approach but to his indigenous materials, firing and heritage blending tradition and traditional materials with a modern sensibility.

HANABI II

Recently I was contacted regarding making another hanabi fireworks teabowl but they didn't want an "exact" copy of the orginal set, rather something that had the same general decoration and feel but would stand apart from the other bowl. I was rather relieved they wanted something in the same style and technique because whenever you actually try to make a copy, exact or close, things don't normally pan out well, at least from my experience. On top of that, revisting something almost a year later I know I always wonder if I will get to the heart of why the individual wants it in the first place, does it have the same spirit or sensibility. I know this is basically a simple bowl with a very simple technique employed and not complex rocket science but when  someone wants something the goal is to try to live up to the expectation.     

Illustrated is the recreated hanabi technique, the white areas and the bowl shape are made a bit more formal with high mostly straight sides and just a hint of throwing rings around the form. As for the colors, they were easy to match and the bowl has that deep black, glossy look broken up with the white panels and colors punctuated and splashed across the surface. I would like to think I succeeded in my goal as the customer was happy so I guess that is about as good as it gets.

WELL CONSIDERED ADVENTURE

Illustrated is another Kuro-Bizen tokkuri by Oiwa Tomoyuki and this one is of a different form and approach than the previous one, another well considered adventure. Composed of a number of focal points and various angles and crisp, sharp shoulder the raised band around the waist and the inviting flare of the mouth all work well together while modelling its new suit of ash and lusterous black that  breathes life into paints the form and paints the narrates. The waisted center of the tokkuri calls to the user and makes for a perfect purchase for pouring of just admiring in hand while the dual texture of the glossy black and the semi-matt ash appeal to both eye and hand. There is something captivating about the posture and goals involved in the creation of this tokkuri; the body is a perfect size and the neck and mouth compliment the proportions and all together it carries out a conversation regarding function and aesthetics. To my eye, Oiwa has struck a wonderful balance of taking what he learned under his master, Kakurezaki coupled with his own vision and blended it into a statement about an evolving, modern tradition where new techniques, ideas and firing usher in a whole new understanding of what it means to be Bizen now and well into the future.

NULLUS SUBSITUTUS

I'll start out by saying that I realize there is no substitute* for the real thing, in this case a gosu hakeme chawan by Kawai Kanjiro but when I first saw this bowl, I immediately thought that this was in the top percentage of work by one of his pupils, Mukunoki Eizo. Both the broad bowl form and foot are reminescent of Kanjiro's chawan but there is a subtle difference in shape and the bold application of thick hakeme slip, a difference that is easily identifiable yet all the features of Mukunoki's pot quickly add up to one is truly a remarkable work by a student and not the master. Consideration has been paid to the form and  function of this chawan with a lip that is both sturdy and narrow enough to drink from with a broad, pleasant curve and volume to the bowl and a strong, pedestal foot that acts as a perfect resting place as well as a stark visual feature that weighs in as a counterbalance to the overal aesthetic. The interior of the bowl has a thick, crackled clear glaze while a gosu covers the highly textural hakeme slip in blue with areas of rich iron make their way to the surface adding even more dimension to a study in ceramic topography. 

Just to be clear, this chawan is in no way a substitute for the work of Kawai Kanjiro but given the difference in everything from foot to surface is it even possible to make that leap when you are judging the pot on its own merits and that of the potter, Mukunoki Eizo.  

( *I wrote this post after an exchange with a fellow collector who asked me if this wasn't just a "poor mans" substitute for the original, a contention I strongly disagree with.)

SOCIAL MEDIA

Being an individual more than willing to embrace the 21st century, I just wanted to take a momnet to let any bloggers know that I am also on both Instagram and Facebook. These outlet are using a lot of the old posts used first here on I, POTTER but there are some new and slightly different content if you wish to take a look.

https://www.instagram.com/albedo3studio/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100074959900457