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RESISTENCE IS FEUDAL
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LAST MINUTE
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AKA-E
A number of years back there was a rather nice but small traveling show put on by the Japan Foundation; EXHIBITION OF JAPANESE TRADITIONAL POTTERY : Work in Traditional Styles by Modern Potters. This was an easy to remember exhibit as the pieces, all 65 of them were rather memorable and indicative of the potters represented. Among the group was a simple aka-e decorated stoneware hachi with areas of black glaze and overglaze red and green enamels by Kato Kenji. Inspired by the Persian pottery he is best known for the decoration and presentation was entirely his own voice and unique among modern Japanese pottery.
The slideshow video I just put together is of a far more intricate and provocative designed hachi though the form, style and techniques are identical with Kato's distinct vocabulary with bits of Persian and possibly Scythian elements thrown in for good measure. The decoration is wonderfully balanced on the squared form with rich whitish and black glaze acting as the back drop for wonderful brushwork using a deep red overglaze enamel with accents of green about the surface all tied together by whispy tendrils of quick, delicate and lyrical line work. Though I imagine this hachi was intended as a serving piece, I can't help but imagine a table set with six, eight or even twelve of this hachi acting as "dinner plates" at an other worldly gathering of friends and family.
The slideshow video I just put together is of a far more intricate and provocative designed hachi though the form, style and techniques are identical with Kato's distinct vocabulary with bits of Persian and possibly Scythian elements thrown in for good measure. The decoration is wonderfully balanced on the squared form with rich whitish and black glaze acting as the back drop for wonderful brushwork using a deep red overglaze enamel with accents of green about the surface all tied together by whispy tendrils of quick, delicate and lyrical line work. Though I imagine this hachi was intended as a serving piece, I can't help but imagine a table set with six, eight or even twelve of this hachi acting as "dinner plates" at an other worldly gathering of friends and family.
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OBJECT
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COMMONWEALTH ASH
Recently a friend sent me some wood ash from his studio in Virginia, so as with all new materials, I decided to test it and glazed and decorated a teabowl and put it in the last firing. When I unloaded the kiln, there were two teabowls near each other, one from the old ash and one from the new Virginia ash and though both the Nuka surfaces were similar the colors were quite different. The old ash which had originated in upper NY State came from Bill Klock and my sister-in-law and has a decidedly blue-grey tone to it while the new ash (see the attached illustration) from the Commonwealth of Virginia seems quite a bit cleaner running to a just off-white color and a much brighter surface. Truthfully I am fine with both surfaces but it is quite apparent what just over 500 miles and varied sources can mean when using wood ash as a major glaze component.
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KLOCK HOLLOW
I should mention there is a short bio for Bill in the book; THE LEACH LEGACY; St. Ives Pottery and its Inspiration, page 134 & 135.
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UNCOMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP
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UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
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JEZZ, WHAT A PAIR!
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JEEZ, WHAT A PAIR
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EQUAL TIME
"It is better to create than to learn; creating is the essence of life." Julius Caesar
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ON MEMORIAL DAY
I realize this is an often and over used quote but I think it meets the deep rooted sentiment of our collective experiences.
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr.
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr.
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UNRESTRAINED
"Random chance plays a huge part in everybody's life." Gary Gygax
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VADE MECUM
Illustrated next to the book cover is a kinuta mallet vase glazed in Shino glaze that has a certain aggressive quality to it and though not Oni-Shino, this glaze quality represents a clear departure from that of Arakawa Toyozo though the wonderful proportions of the vase were quite well learned from the master and show a style and form that becomes quite distinctly Tsukigata's own in only a few years from when this piece was made. There are a number of Tsukigata mallet vases on my blog so you can compare this one to latter ones and there is another, very early piece which was made in 1967 so it is easy to see the pace at which he was moving toward his more signature style. It is great to find books like this, they are exceedingly useful at piecing together the chronology of a potter's work and having a clearer picture of avenues that they pursued, some to folly and others to fame.
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VIRIDI PATERA
"If you don't know what makes green, you're going to try every color combination." Alison Krauss
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A HANDFUL OF CLAY AND SOME ASH
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1968
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STACKED III
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ALL ABOUT THE FORM
When I am looking at pots there are pieces that are decidedly all about the surface and glaze, a technique, painting or in this case being all about the form. Tall, elegant the surface finishes off the form in a dark cloak with flecks of aventurine shimmering about the pot as if dancing about only constrained by the borders of the form that have been rubbed back to a rich rust color. Made by a master of the studio pottery movement, Kawamura Seizan (1890-1967) of Kyoto this piece is a bit different than the majority of his body of work where he specialized in sometsuke and overglaze enamel painted pottery though this vase is typical of his attention to detail and exacting understanding of form. At many level I am reminded of a select group of the Meiji to early Showa studio potters blended with hints of older Chinese monochrome porcelains without the coldness and perfect sterility, this pot has a grace and appeal which is seemingly all about the form but let's be honest the rich surface certainly has something to do with it
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UNUSUAL SIGHTING
Over the years I have seen a fair number of pots by Honiwa Rakunyu II, in fact, my wife and I had visited his studio/ kiln a number of times on our trips to Japan and to Shigaraki specifically. We still owe a debt of gratitude to Honiwa's daughter for her gracious offer to take us around Shigaraki on our first trip to the area while we were milling about in the rain. This brings me to the illustrated chaire, though I am always reluctant to use the term rare or rara avis, let's just say this little pot made for an unusual sighting. The Shigaraki chaire in this short video slideshow was made by Honiwa Rakunyu I, teacher of Rakunyu II who assumed the name in 1963 and given when it was made having the original shifuku and signed box make it quite a nice package.
I don't know a lot about Rakunyu I except to say that he fired using a noborigama at a time before the anagama was re-introduced to the valley and was made sometime prior to to 1960 but after WWII. I am struck by the casual and thin throwing with markings that circle the piece adding to a sense of motion that is then high lighted by a lightly colored rear and a dark, charcoal reduced face, like two distinct phases of the moon. The shoulder of the chaire likewise is nearly bisected by dark and light halves but is speckled with additional ash which has an amber brown appearance adding to the effects that bring life to the piece. I have seen only a handful of pottery by Honiwa Rakunyu I of which this is the only chaire but his pots have a rugged and determined sense of tradition and function to them and are easy to use and even easier to admire.
I don't know a lot about Rakunyu I except to say that he fired using a noborigama at a time before the anagama was re-introduced to the valley and was made sometime prior to to 1960 but after WWII. I am struck by the casual and thin throwing with markings that circle the piece adding to a sense of motion that is then high lighted by a lightly colored rear and a dark, charcoal reduced face, like two distinct phases of the moon. The shoulder of the chaire likewise is nearly bisected by dark and light halves but is speckled with additional ash which has an amber brown appearance adding to the effects that bring life to the piece. I have seen only a handful of pottery by Honiwa Rakunyu I of which this is the only chaire but his pots have a rugged and determined sense of tradition and function to them and are easy to use and even easier to admire.
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