CHISELED

Over the years it has been fascinating to watch the works of Matsuzaki Ken change, even mature from how he sees form, decoration and especially the firing process. This wood fired, chiseled surface henko falls in to the end of his second phase of pottery making where form and firing are married for maximum effect. Dating to 2004, this henko was coil built creating a slightly thick form that was then "decorated" by using a chisel to create the visual texture of the piece that once wood fired was  both softened a bit yet further accentuated by ash for a dramatic effect. There is a wide array of surface effects on this henko and I choose this side to showcase as it is the side illustrated in Andrew Maske's book, KEN MATSUZAKI; Burning Tradition, I should also note that this is illustrated in an exhibition catalogue from the same year (2004) in Japan. As for the form, it has a primal appearance, elemental and rather stoic that makes the mind work for all the various associations possible; simple form, excellent execution and perfect surface, the pottery trifecta.

JUST "BEING"

Illustrated is a whimsical, playful set of katakuchi and guinomi made by Kowari Tetsuya. I was contacted by a fellow collector in Europe regarding our shared interests in Japanese modern pottery and Kowari Tetsuya in particular and as we started sharing photos back and forth I received a treasure trove of photos, most of pots that I had never seen and was thankful for the opportunity. This particular pairing is of a vivid Shino glazed katakuchi tokkuri pouring vessel and a dancing guinomi both showing areas of iron and of course all natural ash deposited during the intense process of wood firing. As with most of Kowari's work both pieces are casually thrown with a spirited defiance to convention and perhaps a slight disregard for all that gravity has to offer. However you respond to Kowari's work, I find the slightly eccentric nature of his pieces to be warm, genuine and welcoming and in this case, each seems to bid the viewer to participate in the "being". Enjoy the whimsy, freedom and spirited nature of these pieces which at the end of the day it is all of these attributes that make Kowari's pots stand out in a crowd.

T'ANG DRAGON

It has been quite some time since I have used any of my appliqué stamps which took some searching as they were hidden away in a box in bubble wrap and buried on a seldom accessed shelf with small bags of chemicals stacked in front. Once recovered I decided on making some pieces loosely based on a T'ang style dragon, by way of a Danish skonvirke brooch to be applied on to a coarse and sandy white stoneware clay body of my own formulation. The picture shows the end result where I tried to create a T'ang sancai effect on each of the medallions while the remainder of the teabowl was glazed in a clear and my AO+ glaze. The teabowl has three medallions around the almost straight sided form that has its surface broken up by the small pits and sand punctuating the surface while the medallions are made of the same clay body minus the sand and small stones. In the end for a quickly rendered piece among a group of five or so pieces used with glazes not even tested for this technique the first group came out surprising well and none of the appliqué medallions exploded off the pots which is a plus in my book.

PERFECT

Now admittedly, I don't really drink a lot of sake, my palette tends to run more towards good whiskeys and bourbons but that being said, I have long considered this pot to be a perfect tokkuri. Undoubtedly, every collector and sake aficionado believes they have or know of the perfect one but this one is mine, this tokkuri was made by Koyama Fujio back in the 1960s and was a gift from a dealer that I have had a long relationship with and was a very welcome surprise when it arrived. Broadly speaking this piece is Shigaraki in style and it is clear to see that it embodies the very essence of feudal pottery, the archetypes that Koyama was so keen to study and emulate during his days divided  between being a part-time potter and one of the foremost pottery authorities on Japanese and world ceramics and despite his skill level with clay, his knowledge of what was what in terms of pottery was second to none. Though there is really no such thing as a perfect tokkuri I have drawn my conclusion based on a number of factors all blended together to make this little pot; thoughtful form, well considered size, aesthetic appeal, ideal volume, purposeful form and mouth, utilitarian at its core and just a joy to hold and use. Perfect is certainly a high bar especially for some rough, wood fired irregular little pot but it is how we decide to see things that ultimately make the decisions as to how we qualify an object and I have no problem saying this imperfect tokkuri is just perfect for me.  

"Almost all powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes."  Carl Jung

ANOTHER ECHIZEN TOKKURI

Illustrated is another Echizen tokkuri  a classic yuteki-temmoku piece shrouded in shadow and basking in bright sunlight perhaps bearing a classic Chinese glaze surface while being distinctly Japanese in origin and purpose. This sunlit tokkuri was made by Echizen potter, Sasaki Yuzuru, pupil of Kimura Morikazu who specializes in iron glazes of a wide variety including the oilspot technique with a yellow background that I have posted up previously on my blog. This yuteki temmoku tokkuri is stout and solid with a friendly demeanor and a rather utilitarian form including the neck and mouth that make it easy to grasp and pour from. As for the surface, the background is a dark, almost intense bluish black covered over in varying size spots that are like small rings or halos within even more composed of several colors and looking a bit like electrons circling the nucleus of some as yet unidentified atom. What I end up taking away from seeing a number of pots by Sasaki Yuzuru may sound cliché but form really does follow function in totality and the surface is never a secondary consideration from the moment he puts the clay on the wheel.  

STARTING WITH THE BONES

In a recent series of email exchanges regarding teabowls (chawan) with a fellow collector and tea person, I started thinking about getting back to basics, simplifying the form and starting with the bones without considering the glaze surface. In an effort to try to get the lines of the form right, I decided to use an Edo period Raku chawan as a jumping off point  to create a rather practical form and size bowl. I opted for a rather low foot with just enough lift to animate the bowl and create a suggestive shadow line and the piece(s) were softly thrown to allow the lip to undulate naturally and finished with a simple foot that is stable and like the bowl, simple in execution.    

Once set up, the teabowl(s) were tooled  allowing the surfaces of the clay to be dealt with by using faceting to better define the form while creating movement and decoration at the same time. The secondary purpose of the faceting is that it opens the clay exposing the texture and sand to good effect once glazed adding more dimension to the finished, fired work with the right choice of glazes. Though still quite wet, once bisque the plan is to go with the Kuro-Oribe style surfaces to accentuate the facets and vertical quality of the bowls and still give an intimate picture in to the clay texture underneath. I only threw two teabowls in this style, having other things to do and wanting to see what the fired results end up like but I think they came out the way I saw them in my mind and now need to wait and see what the end results end up like.

NATURAL FLOW

In some respects I am reminded of the stacked "chimney pots" of American potters like Peter Voulkos and Don Reitz as I look at this wood fired Tamba piece but this form pre-dates the 20th century and finds its inspiration sometime in the Edo period of pre-modern Japan. Made by a member of the extended Ichino family of Tamba, this vessel was made by Ichino Genwa and shows a clear understanding of a thoughtful use of clay and flame. Though not particularly large this form has a large presence and the firing created a unique landscape on the face where the pot laid face down during the process allowing the ash to reach around like some alien grip  which terminate in a series of drops now frozen as part of the narrative. 

When surveying the other side of the form it is easy to conclude that this is a somber piece but as you following the movement to the face that initial impression gives way to one of contemplation and a sense of animation, a reminder of the connection of pottery and humanity through the millennium. It is this wonderful quality of wood fired pots that I find so attractive, opposite surfaces from front to back uniquely created that despite their difference there is a natural flow in to one another in a continuous and natural manner creating a landscape that changes as you navigate the piece. This is another one of those "simple" pieces but of a good purposeful and strong form combined with a well fired surface and though I may ask this way too often, what more can you ask from a pot?

MUKUNOKI CELADON

When I think of Mukunoki Eizo what first comes to mind is the modern palette of Kawai Kanjiro with surfaces of Hamada and Mashiko slipped in for good measure. I rarely think of Chinese influenced celadon (or other glazes) for his work but I really need to remember that Kawai Kanjiro started his pursuit of pottery in testing and also using Chinese glazes for his work in the 1920's and 1930's. If you thumb through any book on Kawai you will run in to masterworks using Chinese glazes and techniques as well as celadon pieces as part of his early work.   

In this respect it is only fitting that Mukunoki Eizo would turn his attention to similar glazes during his career making pots, both influenced by his master and seeing the benefit of such surfaces to accentuate and bring his ideas to life. Turning his attention to seiji style glazes among others, this is a classic example of his work, thrown out of a white stoneware filled with feldspar inclusions the teabowl has been decorated with a florid sliptrail design around the entirety of the pot under a glaze of various thickness and fractures at times being rather thick and presenting a rather exotic appearance. This chawan is quite sturdy in posture, purpose and throwing with the glaze giving it a lighter appearance than it has in hand. Like his master, I am really rarely surprised by the form or surfaces that Mukunoki Eizo comes up with presenting a focused blend of the past and present as well as the master and disciple.

STEP 2 , PART 2

From a late September (2021) firing, illustrated is what I consider to be the best of the recent saffron and Hagi white glaze tests stepped up from pod to yunomi and to teabowl, you have to learn to crawl before you can walk. Though I actually tried out this glaze combo on a slightly larger jar, for whatever reason, the glaze and surface really popped on this waisted style teabowl with a wide array of effects that I am beginning to expect from this style. The secondary saffron, iron yellow glaze runs just enough to create a nice sense of movement adding a bit to the vertical nature of the piece with a nice palette of hues and textures scattered about the surface like a nice autumn landscape right down to the coloration with the inclusions in the clay adding even more visual punctuation.   

I have to admit that I am liking this surface and the activities it presents especially over the small batch clay that I am making with mixed sand in it. That being said the clay is a bit rough to throw but I am getting used to it and even with the inclusions it has a good degree of plasticity and certainly stands up rather well. I have become rather addicted to texture over the last handful of years and this clay with this surface or even my Oribe or Kuro-Oribe is perfect for the task. I have managed to find a source of good clean small stone that I may try mixing in to the clay body but I wonder at what point is enough, enough? I am thinking for the time being I may actually "hold fast' exactly where I am.

SCENIC OVERVIEW

There are advantages to living in central NY State, the Mohawk Valley that out way some of the things you can miss out on living a distance from a large city by the view is not one of them. We live way up on the northern slope of the valley which gives us a wonderful view in to the valley and on clear days you can see for miles and miles south, all painted by white in the winter, lush green for the better part of spring and summer and the dazzling medley of colors during fall. Not far from our house is a small pull off on the route, a scenic overview that allows one to stop and peer out into "our" valley, this view makes it much easier to make pots than one would think.   

Now to the point and how I got here, recently I was able to photograph this piece and what sprung to mind was any number of scenic overviews I have seen over the years. The is a wonderful balance of lushness and dramatic movement that appears more like a living thing than a static object but you can see the narration of material, glaze and fire all laid out like some captivating landscape viewed from a chosen strategic vantage point. The pot in the spotlight is a mostly snowy white Oni-Shino vase by Tsukigata Nahiko covered over in a thin coat of all natural green ash that adds a slight tint to the surface. The vase is accompanied by a nice rich, royal blue shifuku and a signed box and with any luck I will photograph the piece with a bit more time and depth in the coming months which will make for a nice road trip and my type of scenic overview.