Ten Japanese Potters

This is not a good photograph but it does give an impression of the wonderful exhibition I went to see yesterday.

Firstly, I have to thank Tony Orvis, the potter at Unique Cottage Studios for posting on Facebook that he had been to the launch of the exhibition, which had included a tea ceremony and sushi.  That status update led me to searching for Goldmark Gallery and discovering a treasure in the delightful town of Uppingham in the beautiful county of Rutland.  (If I am waxing lyrical and overusing the adjectives here please excuse me but it was a wonderful day out).

In 1919 Bernard Leach met the Japanese potter, Shoji Hamada, and the rest, as they say, is history.  The exhibition of Japanese pottery at Goldmark, focusing on the tea bowl and the tea ceremony, included the work of both the son, Shinsaku Hamada,  and the grandson, Tomoo Hamada,  of Shoji Hamada and also the work of the current Living National Treasure, Jun Isezaki.  The works were set out in a spacious, light gallery on the upper floor and there were no barriers to any items except three by Jun Isezaki which were in a simple glass case.  There were no notices to say "don't touch" and it was tempting but I resisted when I looked at the price list!  It was an interesting exercise to think about these practical, beautiful, everyday items being worth thousands of pounds (and to see how many had a little red dot stuck alongside them, these are obviously very appreciated).

Alan and I wandered around the exhibition of 200 pots at our leisure, returning to our favourites several times.  Interestingly, we both liked the work of the same artist, Tsubusa Kato.  

"TK20.  Chawan.  Porcelain.  Celadon with blue drawing 8.5 x 13.0 £1055" 

does little to sum up the exquisite item we both coveted.

We were given a catalogue and will enjoy looking at that and dreaming of tea bowls.  You can view the exhibition catalogue here and Ten Japanese Potters and a Tea Ceremony is on until 10th August.

In addition to the exhibition, Goldmark Gallery itself was also a delightful find.  The building, on Orange Street in Uppingham, is like a rabbit warren of small galleries, each with something more unexpected and glorious than the previous.  One specialism of the gallery is artist's prints, and having enjoyed the works of Matisse, Warhol, Dali and Picasso at an exhibition in Lincoln's Usher Gallery last year we were enchanted to see works by these artists, and others, available for closer inspection and enjoyment.  They are remarkably affordable, limited print runs, signed by the artist and available for a price that I thought was just for a weekend's loan!!  

I like this quotation from Henri Matisse,

"It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else."

There is also another studio of pottery.  Various potters, working in various ways have combined to produce work the looks wonderful en masse.  It reminded me of natural dyes all working well together.  We had a very long chat with a knowledgeable young lady (sorry, I didn't ask her name) and shared tips about visiting Japan.  We even treated ourselves to two beautiful ash glazed mugs by Somerset-based potter,  Mike Dodd.  After being served coffee in them it would have been too difficult to leave them behind!

Of course, being on a jolly we had to find good food.  Coffee and plain chocolate florentines in a teashop/bakery and later, a fresh and tasty lunch.  Even the journey was a pleasure, through the Lincolnshire and Rutland countryside on a beautiful Summer's day, the sky was blue and the fields were golden and ripe for harvesting.  And all this on the day that my fantastic son became 30 years old, Happy Birthday David, I enjoyed your day!

Time for a Pot of Tea?

We were very fortunate while we were in Japan that Tae, a very good friend of Bryan's (he calls her his Japanese Mother), was willing to perform tea ceremony for us at the farm.  Tae arrived dressed in an elegant kimono and it took a long time to set everything up properly on the third floor.  It was revealed that one of the bedside tables was actually a brazier for the kettle!

I cannot even begin to explain tea ceremony, it is full of ritual and ceremony, a reason for every movement and process and something that takes many years of study to begin to perform beautifully and correctly.  There is loads written on the subject, a simple outline is given here by the Japan National Tourism Organisation, there is much more detail here.  Tae was elegant and precise and we all did our best to be equally elegant, to say the right thing and to handle the Chawan - tea bowl correctly - not drinking from the front of the bowl for example.

When Tae had served us all she asked if somebody would like to make tea for her.  I leapt at the chance but boy was I nervous!  Afterwards Bryan told me I was so nervous my toes were curling up!  Tae guided me through each step and I was so honoured and privileged to have had the opportunity.

Little sweets are eaten before drinking the matcha to balance the bitterness, ours were themed to the season of cherry blossom:

Bryan told us that a discussion about the origins and pedigree of the tea bowls would probably follow the ceremony if we were Japanese so here's my little ceramics contribution.

I bought this lovely little dish at the antiques fair at Tokyo International Forum on the Sunday before I joined the Japanese Textile Study Tour. 

Carin spoke to the stallholder about it for me it is Ontayaki pottery , not very old but I love it.  There's an interesting account of a visit to the Onta pottery village in Oita Prefecture (in southern Japan) here.

At Kiso-san's I bought two tea cups, I think of them as being a couple, one male, one female, and I love them both.  The celadon glaze is gorgeous and the cups are wonderfully tactile and a lovely reminder of my visit to Japan, I shall enjoy using them.

I also collected these pottery shards during my time in Japan.  I'm not sure what I shall do with them yet but they felt like little gifts.

Finally on ceramics (for today), this wall near the Japan Folk Crafts Museum caught my eye.