There is a new video up on the Karatsupots youtube channel. On it, I explain the process of glazing Chosen Karatsu ware, from applying the ame glaze, to trimming the ame, and subsequent application of the wara glaze.
I’m lucky in that I can walk out my door and head up the hill for a walk, and I rarely encounter anyone else.
Today, I was passed by one car and was otherwise completely alone. It was a beautiful spring day after a day of rain and the mountain was lush. Several times on my way up I could smell the wild boars that must have been lurking nearby quietly. I don’t worry about them. The only time I ever see one is when they jump up to run away when I get too close on the road.
The road is roped off now, because of a landslide that damaged the road higher up, but it’s no problem for walkers to go through.
A very nice walk, and a nice clay discovery, I’ll be heading up again from the other side in my car to get some for pots and glaze.
These are some of the new patterns I’m playing with for the spring firing. There is much inspiration to be had from old Shino and Oribe work.
Many people don’t realize there was a great deal of cross pollination between Karatsu and Oribe in particular. There is also evidence that Furuta Oribe came to Taku at one point: one historical document mentions his name, and there are shards from the ruins of Taku Koraidani kiln that show very ‘Oribe-ish’ decoration, as well as most of a kutsugata bowl which is quite obviously made for tea ceremony.
Last year I bid on a small old Shino piece being auctioned (I bid about ¥12000, and didn’t win. The winning bid was ¥52000) the reason I wanted it was that it had a wisteria decoration on it that was virtually identical to some of the Taku Koraidani shards.
Rice plants and horse tails are both representative of Karatsu brush deco.
The birds separated by a line bisecting the dish is a typical motif in the Taku pot shards.
Below is one of the pieces that I’ve started experimenting with this year. I really like Japanese brushwork but I don’t have the decades to study it for my pottery, and I’d feel bad doing a crappy job of it. I decided to try writing English with a brush, with little regard for the shape of the letters, rather letting the flow of the patterns emerge with soft, quick uninterrupted strokes. It’s intended to be gestural more than anything else, since it is quite difficult to read even if you know what it says. It has been a big hit with customers so far, and many people have thought it was Japanese script.
This cup says: “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” It’s a quote by 11th century mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam. This is actually more legible than some of the other pieces I’ve done.
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