SURPRISES

It is rather rare that I would collect a used koro, I have been burnt in the past, no pun intended regarding the overwhelming and sometimes offensive odor that is next to impossible to get rid of. I decided to take a chance on an obviously used koro recently, mostly because it is a less often encountered style by Yasuda Zenko, Kuro-Seiji (Black celadon). When the package arrived, I first set it in front of Khan, our first line of sensory defense and in mere seconds he moved on without interest, I opened the box and then unpacked the bubble-wrapped wood storage box, back to Khan and once again nothing. Feeling emboldened, I unpacked the wood box to find two distinct surprises, first off, the koro had almost zero scent, perhaps a lingering trace from years gone by but nothing of an issue whatsoever. The second surprise was that the lid is pure silver and weighs in at 57 grams and in spot value actual exceeds the cost of the koro in the first place.     

As for the Yasuda koro, it is rather traditional in form, resting on three feet, with an unglazed ring where the firing support went, the interior and exterior are glazed in the same manner presenting a somewhat dark and brooding appearance. I imagine the overall appearance is quite enhanced with wafting smoke coming through the three leaf like apertures, cut and then bent out of the lid with fine lines, delicately chased between each of the three leaves. Though not exactly a typical or traditional surface, what Yasuda Zenko created is rather modern expressive with a hint of an enduring Kyoto aesthetic, I think maybe I won’t scrap the lid after all(!).

 

BANDED & STAMPED

I fired two kilns last week and these banded and stamped Oribe pots were in the first firing. I made two sets to get one though both came out and the one set is now at its new owners. The idea was to make a set of teabowl and water jar for someone who had no intention of using it for tea and requested it in a more Western aesthetic. Both were thrown out of stoneware with pronounced banding around the forms before they were stamped with different but complementary stamps. The surfaces match and are just plain, old Oribe without any topical additions making for a rather crisp, clean look. There is nothing complicated here, straight forward throwing, tooling and glazing and most of the time, this is just what I prefer.

CRAZY

                             

                                  

There isn’t much I can say about this yohen temmoku style chawan other than what crazy pattern. The pattern is vivid, multi-colored with a sheen of gold across the surface which has its own topography which appeals to the touch and the eye. This chawan was made by Yamamoto Noriyuki, a potter I know almost nothing about, the pictures are a better narrator then I could be.

 You can see more of this chawan over on my Trocadero marketplace;

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1507990/WILD-YOHEN-CHAWAN-BY-YAMAMOTO-NORIYUKI

WATATSUMI

Illustrated is a rather generous and thoughtful gift that was sent to me some while back, sort of a thank you for helping out a new collector get their bearings, along with some basic translation help and hints as to what to avoid. This specific piece was sent to me because of my interest in texture as well as Ki-Seto glazing, made by Goto Hideki clearly his watatsumi guinomi has both in spades. This guinomi is a little on the large side and the visual and physical textures are both wonderfully complimentary to the evocative, twisted form. Considering our recent excursion into collecting guinomi, this was a very nice addition and let’s be perfectly honest, based on my usual choices in pottery, this little gem certainly stands out like a Godzilla in the Tokyo bay.

MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON

Way back when, at a time when clay, chemicals and energy were much cheaper, I would take and write a number of pottery styles on little slips of paper and then pick two out blindly. In one case I ended up picked “Greek kylix” and “renaissance majolica”, what I decided on was the body of an apothecary jar and the pedestal of the kylix and plus or minus, this is what I had come up with. Considering this was likely two decades ago, there are no photos of my previous crimes against pottery so last fall I started making a few of the pieces perched atop pedestals to see what I could end up with. 

This Oribe covered jar is one of the pieces I ended up making, made of stoneware out of two pieces, well three if you include the lid, the surface has an impasto decoration, moving around the surface at a diagonal in two bands around the form. Once bisque, I used my Kuro-Oribe glaze and well, the rest is pretty self-evident. Two traditions blended together to create this horizontal, raised covered pot, a little bit of Greece, a bit of Italia with a pinch of Japanese pottery and a momentary lapse of reason coalesced with the aid of some clay and heat.

TIL DEATH DO US PART

Illustrated is a quick picture of a most welcome marriage of a tokkuri and guinomi by Nishiura Takeshi. The guinomi is the new addition and was something I was actively looking for to pair up with the existing Echizen tokkuri, a not too novel concept adopted from a fellow collector in Europe. It would seem every tokkuri needs a guinomi or two and vice versa, in some respects this completes the other even though the chances they will be used are slim to none. The clay and surfaces of these two match quite well with hints of Nishiura’s somewhat unique hekishu-yu, blue sand technique and though I am on day one of glazing for two firings, I took a few minutes to catch this pair in the height of the afternoon’s sun. Though I really love this surface highlighted by the sun, this surface has tons to say whatever the light source may be, I am alive, I am Echizen and til death do us part are perhaps their strongest messages.

SAKE-WAN II

I am not sure at times the differences between coincidence, serendipity and kismet but recently after acquiring a raku guinomi, another one, slightly different popped up by the same potter. Made by Konishi Heinai II, the guinomi on the left is the newer acquisition, simply marked “red guinomi”, this like its partner in crime on the right both resemble miniature chawan which I often refer to as mini-wan. Despite being different surface, both have very similar sizes, forms and even weight which is a testament to a skill honed through repetition and decades of production. Perhaps the only real difference between these two pieces is the kodai and surfaces are a bit different and to my eye, they compliment each other rather well. I know I said this previously, I am not normally drawn to Raku/ raku potter with the exception of Raku Kichizaemon XV and Konishi Heinai II, one is in my price range and one is not, can you guess which is which?   

BTW, I should note I would love to use these for bourbon and not sake, but truthfully, I just don’t have the nerve!

CONTAGIOUS ?

Not sure if it is contagious but I have noticed a few potters have recently had accidents of one type or another and now can proudly add myself to that list. I have been a hobbled after a small accident and things have been slow going of late though I am now in the midst of a concept of a plan for my imminent glaze firing. I had to make up a number of glazes and have glazed up a few test pieces to proof all the glazes and surfaces as well as having made up several dozen glaze tests. Most of these are unheard-of combos from existing glazes that I use currently or have on hand from past use and feel the need to do this every now and again. 

Once the test bowls are fired, the glaze test will all go in bigger firings to get a more reflective outcome, I will start glazing up somewhere around fifty pieces, almost a dozen with lids. There are several orders here and the two kiln loads will be divided up among soda blue, amber, saffron iron yellow, temmoku and two types of Oribe. Until the glaze proofing is complete, I am trying to take it easy as the last thing I need is to end up making things worse which in all honesty, I am very good at, at least I know my strong suit.     

By way of a quick post, here are the two ring jars that held up my last firing. Though they looked similar just glazed, the one is saffron with black iron over and the other is Kuro-Oribe which has pooled nicely in the depressed channels. Both are small covered pieces that will take up little space and can be used for just about anything short of holding a full party bag of peanut-butter M&Ms coming in at 13.5oz, I know this for a fact as I tried.

DETAILS

I was recently contacted and asked "what's with all the detail pix?" and thought to relate this simple experience. Years ago, I was contacted by a dealer with a group of photos of a pleasant looking chawan that I really didn't show much interest in but was highly encourage to take a look at the piece in person. The pot arrived and true to their word, the bowl was quite exceptional in person and was betrayed by the limits of the photographs. Flash forward to the digital age and the internet and these details flush out pieces that may seem nice in an overall shot but with a detail picture the whole thing becomes a lot clearer in terms of what is actually happening with the pot and its surface. As if that wasn't enough, by sharing detail pictures a clearer understanding of pots that many individuals may not ever get a chance to handle is the next best thing to seeing the piece in person or behind glass at an exhibition or museum show.   

Illustrated is a perfect detail shot, this is the interior of a Ki-Seto guinomi by Goto Hideki. The texture and glaze are just perfect for these semi-amorphous forms based on seashells, watatsumi, creating depth and movement to counter-balance the nature of the forms. Normally, the interiors are hidden but it is exactly this detail that clearly illustrates the brilliance of the partnership between the whole and the sum of its parts at which Goto excels.

KUSHIME SHINO

Wonderful combed Shino henko, bottle form with thick glaze over a rich, deep red iron yohen surface with hints of pale green covering the pure white areas. The henko has intentionally carved facets or channels that help animate the form though the thick, finger swiped Shino brings movement and animation to the form. Matsuzaki Ken including this in an exhibition in Heisei 14 where it is prominently illustrated.  You can see more of this Matsuzaki ken henko over on my Trocadero marketplace; 

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1507539/ILLUSTRATED-COMBED-SHINO-HENKO-BY-MATSUZAKI-KEN