Pots and pottery

[GavinG]

It's interesting. The Japanese have had a long tradition of wood-firing unglazed pots, using the ash from the flames, and the smoke-paths to make a decorative surface on the pot. Google Bizen for some examples. Western potters have taken these techniques and adapted them, but I can't remember seeing Japanese bonsai pots using ash glazes and wood firing. (Maybe a round Bizen literati pot many years ago?) I think Kitaya has shown a couple here, made in Australia.

Here are some examples, and thoughts.

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The fire marks on this are wonderful, but I can't help wondering if an asymmetrical or irregular form might be even better.

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The marks on this are from flying ash. The form suits the decoration better, to my eye.

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The textures and colours of this one would work well for native bonsai, I think.
These three are from "Modern Japanese Ceramics" by Anneliese Crueger.

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Although the photo doesn't really show it, this is massive - about 80cms wide from memory. The craggy detail and burn marks could be interesting. It's by Peter Voulkos, who was well mad.

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This is smaller, but still monumental. The colours are probably too much for a bonsai pot as is, but it shows the range of possibilities.

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This shows some of the colours and textures that are "out there".
The last three photos are from "Great Pots" by Ulysses Grant Dietz

I can't make them (something about thick clouds of smoke and the neighbours being a metre away over the fence in suburbia) but if anyone gets the chance to do some wood-fired pottery, think about rough textures, fly-ash glazing, asymmetrical shapes, and sculptural forms. It can be tricky to make a pot look interesting but not too heavy or thick, or distracting from the tree.

Thanks for reading,

Gavin