I have sung Eiichi quite a few praises in the past, and this is no different. My biggest issue is the size he choose for these pieces, as from everyone that got one of these in the Teachat Eiichi Commission Special Offer, has remarked on their large size. It is less of an issue for me because I am incredibly fond of big cups of sencha, and this cup is a near perfect match for a kyusu I have in terms of size.
The glaze is certainly interesting I happen to go for one that showed "Grey Scars" as I like to call them. Maybe because I am not sure I am fond of just the orange/ beige color strictly on its own. The above picture shows my favorite feature of this cup, which has me thinking about affectionately naming it "Scar face".
Surprisingly through many cups of sencha this is still resisting any signs of staining, which I thought might occur quicker due to its many breaks and pits inside the glaze ( pictured above). If this stains anything like the Biwa I happen to have it will be a really interesting looker once the staining does start to take place, giving it an incredibly ancient look.
In terms of form and shape Eiichi did outstanding work, he let the glaze and the oni-hagi clay cause the wabi sabi effects of this piece, and otherwise threw a near perfect form for this cup, super straight walls, just minor ridges from formation spiraling up the sides. I always find those ridges are great to assist with gripping the cup. The cup looks nearly perfectly circular, and I bet I could set a piece of cardboard on the top of this cup, and it would hit nearly everywhere along the rim at once. Unlike the woodfired Yunomi I got from Eiichi, the foot is immaculate.
Beautiful piece!
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