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ITS ALL IN THE WRIST

November 28, 2012, 2:47 pm
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Illustrated is a fine shikishi by legendary potter; Kato Tokuro. This shikishi is painted in a rich, deep black with areas of "flying white" appearing like a noble pot, balanced in the center of the card with the depth of his spirit evident in the bokki of the image. It is quite possible it is all in the wrist, but far more likely it is the spirit of the potter that creates these dramatic calligraphies. Over the years I have seen quite a few shikishi and kakejiku by Kato Tokuro that depict the kanji for "tsubo" (pot) and each one is a bit different and unique, just like the pots of the master himself.

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INEVITABLITY

November 30, 2012, 2:50 pm
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"Just when I thought I was out................they pull me back in". After completing a large number of orders, commissions and pots for several holiday shows, I thought my terra cotta run was at an end, for now. However, it started off innocently enough with an email asking if I could make a covered serving bowl in my Falling Leaves pattern, then my wife says, well, as long as you need to fill the kiln, I could use 4 shallow bowls in the Tenot pattern (carved with white slip). Next thing you know, I am making a few of these, a few of those and I am in the midst of another terra cotta cycle. I am also going to make a few extra Falling Leaves and Tenot pattern pieces just to have some of the newer work around. It never hurts to have spare pots in the works, someone may even want them.
Illustrated in the foreground is a terra cotta hand-built vase with small lugs, it currently measures 14" tall by 12" long. I thought it would make a nice platform to decorate and it was a spur of the moment project though I will likely make another to fit up the back of the kiln. If you look in the background you can see the four bowls that Mindy requested for our cupboard along with the rest of one afternoon's throwing. Considering I have been throwing terra cotta, stoneware and porcelain for nearly two decades, it is rather inevitable that I will be throwing the red menace for some time to come.

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C'EST EN BLEU

December 3, 2012, 2:49 pm
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Illustrated is a quartet of  Persian vases by Toruku-ao specialist, Kato Kenji that all say; "this is blue". I am rather fond of his work and his definition of  blue, so it was nice to be able to see and handle this group of pots, two glazed in his transparent Persian blue and the other two in his more opaque glaze that works well with bold, thick decoration. The tallest of the group is just about 12" and all four were thrown out a wonderful earthenware that fires up to a reddish buff color. I am continually fascinated by the lyrical brushwork that Kato Kenji used from wispy to bold all laid down quickly and with skill rehearsed from decorating thousands of pots over a lifetime exploring blue.

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OFF KILTER

December 5, 2012, 3:05 pm
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I will spare all the recounting of a strange day, but it has been just one of those off kilter days. Issues with customs and the Post, glaze problems, clay problems (as in throwing), add in a day where the cat has decided to play Ninja warrior every time you go by and you might get a sense of my meaning. I am not saying it has been a bad day, just one of those days where everything feels as if it has shifted  five degrees off center. If I had been craving chocolate milk, I may have credited it to a temporal rift. Despite struggling with some very wet terra cotta, I threw what I had planned and was able to sand some greenware and slip it without any incident, so in reality I have little I should complain about.
Illustrated is a shikishi painted in a vivid tone of black by Oni-Shino pioneer, Tsukigata Nahiko. The four characters, kanji, are painted over a light gray wash most probably representing a bamboo stalk. It has little to do with my day or post, other than it has a nice centering effect.
"We should tackle reality in a slightly joking way, otherwise we miss its point."  Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990)

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NOT THIS ONE, THE OTHER ONE

December 7, 2012, 2:34 pm
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When one thinks of Raku, one immediately thinks of the Raku family dynasty, founded by Chojiro along with Hon'ami Koetsu. In general however, after the time of Chojiro and Koetsu, it is mostly the mainline Raku family that comes to mind when thinking about Raku chadogu. The Hon'ami side of the creative process is usually overlooked and the family is thought of as sword experts/appraissers and sword polishers, however, over the centuries, the Hon'ami have continued to create pottery right through to the modern day. Illustrated is a Aka-Raku chawan of fine rounded form with exceptional areas of black carburization about the surface, interior and on the foot ring. This chawan was made by Hon'ami Sokyu, a direct descendant of Hon'ami Koetsu who is making tea ware in the traditional tebinari (hand molded) method as passed down from master to pupil over the centuries. In many respects it has more in common with the fuedal days of the Edo Period than it does with modern times, but after all, that what good Raku should strive for.
For more pictures of this chawan along with a recently added Shimaoka Tatsuzo plate, please go to my Trocadero website where I am also running a 25% off sale on pottery that I make;
http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/catalog/query.php?

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FLOURISH

December 10, 2012, 2:53 pm
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Over the 20th century, there have been a number of ceramic artists who were so much more than that. Working across a variety of art and craft, people such as Takeuchi Seiho, Kitaoji Rosanjin, Kawakita Handeishi, Arakawa Toyozo and Tsukigata Nahiko  created works in ceramics, bronze, painting/calligraphy and lacquer. Today when I think of a multi-discipline potter, I think of Tsujimura Shiro (b.1947) with his wonderful pottery across a breathe of traditions and styles and his creative approach to calligraphy and painting. Many of Tsujimura's paintings have a rather evocative, contemplative atmosphere to them with traits reminiscent of the Momoyama era suiboku painters.  Like his pottery, the ink works of Tsujimura have a visceral impact and an introspective beauty to them.
Illustrated is a wonderful photo of the multi-talented artist/potter, Tsujimura Shiro "painting" large scale calligraphies at an exhibition at Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts in New York. The photo was taken by passionate collector and President of the Japanese Art Society Of America, Susan Peters. The exhibit showcased Tsujimura's pottery and was accompanied by his shoga (callagraphic art) and in the background of the photo you can see two large vases by Tsujimura. With a bold and instant flourish the calligraphy appears though it was roughly 65 years in the making.

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HOW LITTLE WE KNOW

December 12, 2012, 2:55 pm
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Having decorated a number of terra cotta pots, next came time to add the detail by means of sgraffito . This is a mostly an auto-pilot process and at times my mind contemplates matter large and small, well mostly small to be honest. Out of this came a segment from a favorite movie of mine, I am not sure why, it is just the odd way my brain works at assembling associations. The song is "How Little We Know" as sung by Lauren Bacall with  Hoagy Carmichael on piano. The video comes from the 1944 Bogart and Bacall classic; TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. However I got there, it is just a perfect interlude for a busy Wednesday 12/12/12.


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A SAD DAY

December 14, 2012, 2:42 pm
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Our thoughts and prayers goes out to all affected by this tragic and senseless shooting in Newtown, CT today.
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SAKAKURA SHINBEI XV ON IPTV

December 17, 2012, 2:53 pm
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Here is a short video of Hagi potter, Sakakura Shinbei XV that is part of a TV special on the potter from NHK Television. The Sakakura family has been making pottery for a long while and are a dynasty in Hagi, headed by the XV in recent times. His great-grandfather XII (1881-1960) is among my favorite Hagi potters and his work has that classic and timeless quality about it. Sakakura Shinbei XV is well known for his large handbuilt pieces as well as his tea oriented works, works that follow in the traditional footsteps of the previous generations of the Sakakura family.

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THERE AND BACK AGAIN, AGAIN

December 21, 2012, 2:04 pm
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So, we spent Wednesday on the road making my way down to Wesleyan Potters in Middletown, CT to pick up a few pots which had been around a while. It happens, somehow, they had just not found a home. The trek however, was a case of multi-tasking as I was also to deliver a dinnerware commission along the way just in time for the holidays and saving me the effort of packing it all up and shipping it out by UPS. As usual, the trip took us close enough to Guilford that we had lunch at Nick's, yes cheeseburgers with well done onion rings and then a stop at a wine store we used to frequent and lastly a canoli run. Our last stop in the area was to Meriano's Bake Shoppe ("leave the gun, take the canoli") where we picked up a box of canoli for the holidays. These canoli remind me of the old style care and attention from a bakery like where I grew up, Danny's Bakery in Plattsburgh (NY), friends of the family. All in all, a nice trip on a sunny and sometimes partly cloudy day that serves to be the last of my pottery business prior to Christmas. It was a good way to spend a day.

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SEASONS GREETINGS

December 24, 2012, 2:56 pm
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I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone the Happiest of Holidays and Season's Greeting around the world. With a little luck if we all wish for the same thing this holiday season, next year we can all experience a little more Peace on Earth by spreading good will to all, from locally to globally.


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MELTING SNOW

December 26, 2012, 2:17 pm
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A friend of mine is a rather astute and veracious collector of fine Hagi chadogu and in particular the works of Miwa Kyuwa and Miwa Kyusetsu. His collection of Hagi ware, though not large is comprised of a number of Miwa chawan and mizusashi that run from exceptional to master works of the art. The pieces in his collection by Miwa Kyuwa are subtle, reserved and extraordinary examples of chadogu, while the pots by Kyusetsu (Jusetsu) are bold, powerful works of art that act as a counterpoint to his older brothers works. The works of the Miwa brothers covers the span of the 20th century from the traditional idiom of Hagi, the post-war developments to the advent of the Shira-Hagi and haikaburi techniques pioneered by the two Ningen Kokuho of Hagi.
Illustrated is a wonderful example of a large Hagi chawan made by Miwa Kyusetsu XI (now Jusetsu) in either 2000 or 2001. It is one of those quintessential chawan that only Kyusetsu is capable of producing with a vivid keshiki that evokes the atmosphere of melting snow in late winter. The vivid kairagi crawling is accented with black slip peering out from underneath the Shira-Hagi surface with a large area that has blushed pink along one side which spreads onto the obverse of the chawan. The surface compliments the strong classical form set atop a kodai only a master is capable of producing. Though often imitated, no one has come close to imitating the distinct qualities and characteristics of one of the finest Hagi potters in history, Miwa Kyusetsu XI.

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OGUCHI TSUBO

December 28, 2012, 2:50 pm
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Illustrated is a phenomenal and classically inspired Tokoname tsubo by Takeuchi Kimiaki (1948-2011). The form and surface look as though it was made six centuries ago at the height of the Tokaname medieval tradition but is in fact a modern reworking of the ideal made by a modern potter. Takeuchi Kimiaki, studied with Ezaki Issei who was one of the essential component for the resurgence of  Tokoname pottery in modern Japan. Though Takeuchi is well known for his use of "splashed" ash on pots, especially platters, this pot has a natural surface, covered in running translucent green ash, the result of exceptional placement in his kiln and the intense atmosphere created by wood firing pots; the slightly deforming lip stands testament to the heat and ferocity within his kiln. This wonderful, timeless and classical tsubo also stands testament to the teaching of Ezaki and the dedication and skill of one of modern Tokoname's finest potters; Takeuchi Kimiaki.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

December 31, 2012, 2:23 pm
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Happy New Year to everyone in every time zone and country. I hope the coming year is a joyous and prosperous year across the board and remember to make easy to fulfill New Year's resolutions and if you are going to drink, drink responsibly. Kampai, akemashite omedetou!
Illustrated is a very nice Iga tokkuri by Kojima Kenji accompanied by two seiji guinomi, the smaller guinomi by Wakao Kei (b.1967) and the larger is by Uraguchi Masayuki (b. 1964).

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NOT A CLOUD IN SIGHT

January 2, 2013, 2:47 pm
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A very good friend, who I share a passion for pottery and Tsukigata Nahiko with, got my wife and I a very nice Xmas gift. We have been aware of the gift for over a week and it finally arrived today. Illustrated is a large wood carved panel by Tsukigata Nahiko which loosely translated says; "no clouds for many miles" (banri mu-un). I have seen these panels in a number of books and catalogues over the years, but owning one was not necessarily something that I thought would happen. It is quite large at just over 90cm long, 40 cm wide and about 5cm thick. It is deeply relief carved which includes a finely rendered facsimile of one of his seals adjacent to the last kanji. It is a masterful and powerful work in person with the characters seemingly in perpetual motion across the panel. Once again, I am reminded, it is great to have friends and it is the friendship that continues to be more valuable than "the stuff".

"Friendship is one mind in two bodies."  Mencius (372-289 BCE)

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LAST & FIRST

January 4, 2013, 3:00 pm
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With the odds and ends thrown, decorated and fired, the last kiln for 2012 was fired about two weeks ago. I packed up and shipped out the few last minute Holiday commission and completed the few small bowls and plates that Mindy had asked for. It has been a good long while since I made a set of anything matching for us, the bulk of our dinnerware and every day pottery is a mixed bag. In fact, the set I just made was meant to replace a set made back around 1995/96. Over the years of intense use, packing and moving and every day mishaps, they all showed there age and needed replacing. Along with the commissions and our pieces, I made several vases and a mirror set of an order to hedge my bets and to have a few of the Falling Leaves pottery sitting around. My next cycle will start on Monday and I am a bit relieved to move back to stoneware after nearly 3 months of terra cotta work.
Illustrated is a set of three Falling Leaves patterned terra cotta pots, comprised of a large platter, a shallow wall bowl and a medium sized covered serving bowl. Though I am at times a bit gruff in regards to working in terra cotta, I am always pleased with the lush and bright colors together with the high contrast of design that I can achieve within the terra cotta temperature range. 
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INCOMING & OUTGOING

January 7, 2013, 2:58 pm
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I have put up a group of pots on my Trocadero marketplace that have just come in on Friday via UPS along with a few pots that have been around waiting to get posted. It is a rather eclectic group of pots ranging from a very nice Oribe chawan by Matsuzaki Ken, a pair of vases by Kohyama Yasuhisa to a nice Persian chawan and a few other pieces. The great advantage of having pots coming and going is that it allows me the opportunity to study them while they are here. I have long since realized that you can't own everything, after all, where would you put it? Certainly space and economics can get in the way of world domination through collecting, but like gravity, it is a just a reality that we have to live with.
Illustrated is a hakeme slipped Oribe chawan by Matsuzaki Ken. Though his style is seemingly far afield from his master, Shimaoka Tatsuzo and his master's master, Hamada Shoji, there is a common thread that comes out of Matsuzaki's pottery and this chawan is no exception.
http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/catalog/query.php? 
 

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CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

January 9, 2013, 3:08 pm
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Back in the early 80's there used to be an Asian specialist dealer who would make the rounds to various antique shows in NYC, Hartford, Cleveland and a few other places we would travel to. He would usually have several nice modern Japanese pots including the work of Hamada Shoji, Kawai Kanjiro, Shimaoka and various other potters. At one particular show we attended he have a number of very fine Hagi chawan including a piece by Miwa Kyuwa, Saka Koraizaemon X and a particularly fine chawan by Sakakura Shinbei XII, our first encounter with any of his work first hand. It was a wonderful chawan, made when he was 69 years old (as annotated on the box) and was just a noble and classic piece. The asking price at the time was $2000, so owning the piece was just not going to happen and as luck would have it, next show around it was gone.
Flash forward to the internet age when meeting with collectors become a much easier task and it was only a matter of time before I would encounter the Sakakura chawan again. As luck would have it, as well as the gracious nature of the owner, he sent it to me to study for a while and I was very pleased to handle it. This particular chawan was the first Sakakura Shinbei XII pot that I had handled and set a standard to judge his works against and it was indeed a high bar. The majority of works I have seen and handled by XII have a classic sense of beauty and honesty to them, in hand they give one the sense of appropriateness in weight, form, scale and purpose. Despite the potters intentional manipulation with hand and spatula,  there is a directness and simplicity that belies the complexity and thoughtfulness of their creation.  To this day, Sakakura Shinbei XII is one of my favorite Hagi potters against which, I measure the field of pots and potters from the south of Honshu in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Sakakura Shinbei XII (1881-1960) was born Sakakura Heikichi in Yamaguchi Prefecture (Hagi) and became the head of the Sakakura family all too early and was named the Ju-Ni-Dai, 12th generation of the family in 1897. Having started his study with the XI generation, he went and completed his eduction in clay with Saka Koraizaemon IX becoming independent and building his first kiln in Yamaguchi City in 1905. By the time Shinvbei XII was in his late 20's and early 30's he began to get attention for his pottery, winning various awards for the work starting in  about 1910. He immersed himself in his study of making pots, studying pots and tea ceremony and his work shows the dedication to his craft. In 1956, Sakakura Shinbei XII was named Prefectural Intangible Cultural Asset and in 1960, his nomination was being reviewed for Juyo Mukei Bunkazai (Living National Treasure). His works have been well illustrated and collected in Japan and abroad and the following links are of three chawan which were collected by The National Museum Of Modern Art in Tokyo;

http://search.artmuseums.go.jp/gazou.php?id=188&edaban=1

http://search.artmuseums.go.jp/gazou.php?id=139&edaban=1

http://search.artmuseums.go.jp/gazou.php?id=138&edaban=1
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CLOSE ENCOUNTERS PART DEUX

January 11, 2013, 2:44 pm
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Illustrated is the Sakakura Shinbei XII chawan that I mentioned in the previous post. What always strikes me at first glance is that it exudes a comforting warmth and earthiness, it is like it converses the truth of what it is to be Hagi. The bowl to foot ratio and height speak of practiced perfection and a thorough understanding of the needs and use in chanoyu creating an ideal form for the eye and hand. There is a remarkable luminosity to the piece, created by the quality reddish daido clay cloaked in a thin slip with the translucent glaze over creating a tremendous depth to the surface and  painting it's comforting afterglow. I find it very interesting that three of his chawan are in the Museum of Modern Art, when I look at his work, I see the quiet and timeless nature of a chawan that is at home in the 17th century as it is a museum's showcase today.

(Used with the kind permission of a private collector)
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THE GLAZE IS ALWAYS GREENER

January 14, 2013, 3:11 pm
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I am constantly at play and experimenting with both iron and copper in my glazes. Though I use other oxides, carbonates and colorants, I keep coming back to these two as the diversity and surfaces that are possible are nearly endless including copper blues and iron yellows. Using copper, I am invariably influenced and drawn into the realm of the varying Oribe glazes; though I have over 20 Oribe glaze formulas, the old standard with lepidolite is by far my favorite. Now in always exceedingly short supply and most presumably on the official extinction list, lepidolite creates an Oribe of a wonderful quality with depth, richness and an iridescent sheen that brings the surface to life. I am at constant odds as to when to use the lepidolite Oribe, but certain pieces just speak up louder than others. I wonder what I will do, when I run out of lepdolite and there is none left to find?

Illustrated is a medium size hachi plate with an all over impressed design that I call TOBU and no, I am not referring to the Tobu Department chain in Japan, nor is it a Japanese word at all. The design originally sprung up while I was listening to the music of Cream, specifically, The Tales Of Brave Ulysses (TOBU); the imagery of the song, the allusions to the waves, distant beaches and the boiling sea made me think about creating an overall wave/sea pattern. The top, in the picture was actually on the area close to the shelf while the opposite side was resting on posts to elevate the piece and have the glaze run and pool as it did. The glaze is always greener with lepidolite.

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