Mukuhara Kashun Tsuchinohana Yunomi

I can not remember how many years ago it was that a Tsuchinohana Yunomi from Mukuhara Kashun first caught my eye.  Well needless to say, that one was bought before I could save up the money, and I have been watching them in anticipation ever since, finally for my 25th birthday decided to purchase one.   I was asked by someone what caught my eye about this style of piece, and it is something that I struggle to put into words.  I could do it in one word, heavily weighted with a multitude of different meanings all buried within.  So in one word: impermanence.

Maybe it is the fact that it looks ancient when brand new, looks like one good wind storm or a down poor of rain will cause it to crumble away.  Something that is almost the antithesis of flashy, in the sense that you would far more expect to see this cup in a little cave, or hermits hovel, as opposed to a palace, or mansion.   While it really is not frail ( though I haven't fully tested that, and I do not intend to any time soon)  the appearance is somewhat endearing.



As to the actual details of the piece, incredibly light weight, with a smooth but bumpy texture, from the very sandy clay.   As pictured above it has a lovely kiln/glaze effect up one side of the piece, which really highlights all the sand in the clay body.  The foot looks a bit small  but is nicely carved.  Though Mukuhara kashuns chop is so small and such an irregular shape I often have a very hard time discerning it from the standard bumps and cracks in some of his more coarse clay bodies.



The most interesting aspect about this yunomi is how it appears to be riddled with all sorts of very veyr tiny cracks, some large and clearly going through the glaze, and others very very small, and completely covered by the outer glaze,or are perhaps just slight fissures in the outer glaze, revealing the underglaze, but it really gives a very dry and cracked earth appearance to the piece.

My Pieces for the Wood Kiln

I guess I should attach a footnote on that title.  The attempted tea tray which was going to be a gamble anyway that is in the back, and bone dry, did not survive the night.  I went to pick it up by its edge, and SNAP! I am sure I don't need to tell any tea drinkers on the forum a tea tray is only useful if it can actually hold the water.

I have two carved pieces attempting to mimic Kaneta Masanao and his carved pieces ( far right).  One I hope to be a yunomi, the taller thinner one I hope to be a flower vase.  Two teabowls are missing from this line up.  Above you see two more teabowls, and two pinchwork yunomis of slightly different shapes.

These pieces while I am working on making a fluid piece throughout the entire piece, they are sort of a tale of two sides.  What do I mean by that, well lets look at the yunomi feet.

 

While I like these strong very apparent feet, they are very geometric in nature, compared to the rather fluid and ebbing and flowing nature of the pinch work sides.  I can only hope these survive bisque firing.  Then it will be time to glaze them and prepare them for the firing in early May. 

Mashiko!

So I am known for loving Wabi sabi pieces, which depending on your choice of words could be considered rustic, wonky, rough, or just plain childish in their appearance. One thing I will say is in my limited work with making my own pottery, the real talent in Hagi and similar wares is making the irregularity of the piece seem like it just absolutely belongs there.  Whether it is a  flaw in the glaze, or just plain rough and irregular form of the piece, after you get to know the piece you wouldn't have it any other way.

So now for something completely different:





This lovely cup is from Tagami Munetoshi a fifth generation Mashiko potter.  I say something completely different because the cup like quite a bit  of Mashiko ware, and many other types of pottery in Japan they aim for near perfection in every piece.  I honestly never thought I would enjoy these nearly perfectly created pieces as much as I do, its shape is also incredibly interesting, and its fun to rub my finger over those three green dots on each side of the cup which were applied quite thick and are slightly raised above the surface.

The cup its self when empty is so light and delicate feeling its almost like holding nothing at all, except for the slightly cool sensation on your fingers, there is no real sign that you are holding a piece of pottery. What was a wonderful surprise for me, is that although the glazing on the inside looked completely coherent, after a few cups of tea it stained in very fine crackles, giving the piece that well loved look I enjoy so much.

I will admit I have a lot to learn about Mashiko yaki.  I see no sign of a chop on this piece.  I almost wonder if its one of those things that takes some practice, and eventually you can identify a pieces providence on sight alone.

Julie Devers Yunomi

I have been remiss in posting lately, and I have had this little cup for over a month now, which I purchased before I learned that the artist is the teacher, and operator of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts anagama kiln.  The outside of this piece shows remarkably well how much wood ash can accumulate on a piece during wood firing.  As the only glaze on this piece is a Shino on the interior to help make it food safe.  The entire "glaze" on the outside consists solely of deposits from the wood ash, which on one side creates a very thick and glass like surface, and on the other side a very thin layer, that feels almost pock marked, with little hills and valleys.



If there is one thing that absolutely fascinates me about pottery, but I have never seen any well documented guidelines regarding, would be the thermal properties of pottery pieces.  This piece, feeling of average thickness, and sort of glazed is an incredible finger burner when holding near boiling liquids.  But besides that the large smooth graceful curls working their way up the sides are great, and add a very funny comfortable texture to the piece.



Julie makes quite a variety of wonderful wood fired pieces, while I do not think she has an outlet to sell online, her website is http://www.newgrangepottery.com/ .  

Hagi Teacups of various styles.

Looking at all my Hagi teacups that are actually able to be used for tea with ease. Two of these are Special offer so I can not say how readily similar styles are available outside Teachat Special offers, I will comment on where I have seen similar styles/ if I have seen similar styles.

From Hagi yaki

This is a classic style Yunomi by Mukuhara Kashun, and these are available in a vareity of sizes. I have seen some that are absolutely huge, and some that are about half the size of this. I think this qualifies as a medium sized Yunomi and it holds probably about 8 oz to the rim and a little more than 6 comfortably.

From Hagi yaki

This was a Special offer at Teachat, and I honestly have not seen many teacups quite like this, it holds about 3 or 4 ounces making them a small teacup, but its so wide on top and is such an open bowl that it lets tea and water cool quite quickly. There are several slightly smaller Guinomi's (sake cups) in a similar style but they usually have steeper sides. But in terms of tea cups, quite a few non Hagi artists most notably American Artists have cups somewhat similar, though not as wide of a bowl.

From Hagi yaki

This is billed as a wan, and these can come in several different variations, but these are rather standard and are a good all season cup. But at this point I feel I have acquired too many basic style wans. And while each is unique they are usually a bit on the plain side.

From Hagi yaki

These Tebineri (Pinch Work) Wans are almost hybrids between Classic Yunomi's and wans as all of them I have seen are a bit taller than wans but nearly as wide. I have seen a few of pinch work cups somewhat similar than these on zencha.net by one of the Choun's who are known for pinch work pieces.

Pristine or used?

Sen No Rikyu is quoted as saying "The value of a piece of teaware depends on its ability to make good tea." That being said, I feel there is a large emphasis in Western cultures put on having pristine looking ceramics among many other things. While of course I want to eat from clean plates and drink from clean glasses, I am comforted when something shows its use.

From Seven Stages of Hagi

Hagi yaki, and Korean ceramics are quite well known for the effect pictured above. When I see something like that, I personally feel "this cup has experienced tea as I have experienced it, and has stories to tell." I almost feel like the cup is an allegory for experience, this cup remembers a little bit each sip taken from it, it shows its been through quite a bit.

In contrast to pristine teaware, such as constantly washed and scrubbed porcelain. While they to might have stories to tell, I feel like when they get thoroughly cleaned, it is almost as if their memories are being completely wiped clean.

Granted a clean piece of ceramic can still look great, and show the care the creator put into its creation.

From Hagi yaki

But after extensive use, it develops in my mind so much more character.

From Seven Stages of Hagi

Again this is all personal preference, but I love my heavily used looking pieces.

Favorite piece of teaware

This is a post taken from my Tea Blog The Sip Tip for a Tea Blog Carnival post. I feel the discussion I went through in this post really fits in with the purpose of this blog.

"What is your favorite piece of teaware and why?"

A rather unsatisfactory answer, but rather true is, the latest Teaware acquired. As it is newest thing in your collection you are enamored with it, and you find its quirks appealing rather than trouble some. So as of writing this first part on April 17th. My latest piece of teaware acquired is Zhu Ni Yixing tea pot, which has been featured in this post.

But lets face it, I have a site The Hagi Project in which I mainly catalog my Hagi Yaki collection. So I would be lying if I said that my "favorite child" is not a piece of Hagi yaki. I hate to say that around my Yixing, or Lins Kettle, but the way Hagi change and feel. The fact that they seem to be border line alive.

The Hardest question is: Which Hagi piece is my favorite?

This is hard, as I really like Tebineri (pinch work) pieces, and Oni-hagi pieces. Oni-hagi is extra coarse clay, often with large noticeable, pieces of sand.

Tebineri pieces feel amazing in hand, and due to the pinch work nature, they tend to be a bit more unique and different than typical hand made pottery pieces. I know all hand made ceramics are unique, but the fact that masters artists can make hundreds of pieces that look rather similar, when using a pottery wheel. It seems when pinch work is done the piece is more organic in nature. While the pieces will look similar, when examining them with your hand you get to know and feel the soul of the piece.

I like Oni-hagi pieces for reasons that are much harder to explain. Sometimes Oni-hagi clay can cause interesting effects to occur in the glaze. That and the fact that it seems to make the piece more likely to leak/weep, makes the piece feel live.

That being said, what is my favorite piece of Hagi-yaki? From what I said it seems a pinch work Oni-hagi piece would be ideal, but I do not know if I have ever seen one of those, it seems that combination is just not done.

So my favorite piece of teaware is my Noutomi Choun Hohin. Though sadly it is the hardest to actually capture its true essence in a photograph. But it feels absolutely amazing in hand, to match. This piece also looks rather alien in its appearance.

Admiring Korean Teaware

So I added to my teaware collection with some Korean teaware, thinking it would be a rather safe bet as Hagi yaki supposedly got its start from Korean Potters, and many of the forms in Japanese pottery come from Korean ceramic inspiration.

I really must say the sizing on this 3 person set is impeccable, the water cooler when full to the base of the spout holds just enough to fill the teapot, which holds just enough to fill the cups nearly to the top. Which is amazing regarding the sizes of all the pieces look completely off, mainly the teapot looks on the small side compared to the water cooler and cups.

After two uses the crackling on these pieces are already starting to change color, and somehow the piece feels so incredibly natural in hand. I am sure you can look forward to many more updates on korean teaware, and how this piece is changing.