John Baymore ... Wood-fired Chadogu and Pottery

[JBaymore]

"From the Center to the Edge"
Invitational Teabowl Exhibition

Tacoma Community College Gallery
Seattle, Washington
March 26 - March 31, 2012
in conjunction with the annual NCECA conference

NCECA-Tacoma-InvitationalChawanShow-JohnBaymore-Front-400W.jpg (17.63 KiB) Viewed 2826 times

NCECA-Tacoma-InvitationalChawanShow-JohnBaymore-Back-400W.jpg (18.88 KiB) Viewed 2826 times

best,

..................john

[andrzej bero]

so nice kodai,
question: are there any principles you choose one or another style of kodai? thanks

andrzej,

Thank you for the kind comment.

Since I make a lot of Chawan actually intended for Chanoyu taemae, I tend to follow "the rules" a lot.... certainly more than an awful lot of western potters I have encountered. Many western potters make Chawan..... but not a lot have spent time in Japan looking and handling the "real things", working a bit with actual practitioners of Chado, or have undertaken studying the art itself very much.

At a recent group Chawan exhibition, I invited a tea master to visit and look at the works. She found few of the western bowls suitable for actual use in ceremony. She liked many of them as visual objects.... but would not be able to use them. Many were breaking "rules" or design features that needed to be seriously taken into account.

So the short answer here is that for a lot of the forms I make, depending on the general style (tradition) of the parcticular Chawan,.... I tend to often (but not always) use the kodai style that is considered "approprioate" by most Chajin for that particular type of wan. Certain types of Chawan are expected to have certain general kodai treatments.

All that being said.. ...... being Gaijin (Gaikokujin....foreigner .... literal "outside person")..... I do not have the constraints placed upon me that tend to be there for most Japanese potters making Chawan (and other items too). So I can eaily play with form, surface, and styles to my heart's content. I can put a Shino style kodai on a Setoguro type of bowl form and (sometimes) get aways with it . Or a raku style kodai on a Shino piece. And so on.

Either a Chajin will accept that "playfulness"... or not.

best,

......................john

John,
That is a pleasure to read your answers, thanks. Words about potters who make chawans without deep studying I take to myself.
For me now contact with chanoyu practitioners change a lot.
Congratulation your exhibition!
best
andrzej

[Saladin]

I did learn of Sheffield Salmon clay from you, and how it seemed to make that Nuka look really pretty. Spodumene?

Saladin,

That is actually Sheffield 16425 clay. And yes... it has spodumene in the formula. The lithium oxide being picked up out of the claybody by the nuka glaze modifies the surface nicely.

But if you put a Shino on it....... it shivers right off the pieces!

best,

..................john

I remember the shivering shino! Interestingly I use a faux nuka from Warren Mackenzie that looks beautiful and opalescent over a shino. I guessed it was the spodumene.. Different clay though.

After reading your post on Western chawan I was curious to know what other errors we Americans make when making tea bowls? I've noticed that some Americans (here in Oregon) tend to make them too large or too heavy, or use the "wrong" kind of clay (if that's possible). Many don't seem to know the difference between a yunomi or a chawan.. In Japan do tea practitioners still tend to stick to modern renderings of classic forms?

[bonjiri]

so nice kodai,
question: are there any principles you choose one or another style of kodai? thanks

andrzej,

Thank you for the kind comment.

Since I make a lot of Chawan actually intended for Chanoyu taemae, I tend to follow "the rules" a lot.... certainly more than an awful lot of western potters I have encountered. Many western potters make Chawan..... but not a lot have spent time in Japan looking and handling the "real things", working a bit with actual practitioners of Chado, or have undertaken studying the art itself very much.

At a recent group Chawan exhibition, I invited a tea master to visit and look at the works. She found few of the western bowls suitable for actual use in ceremony. She liked many of them as visual objects.... but would not be able to use them. Many were breaking "rules" or design features that needed to be seriously taken into account.

So the short answer here is that for a lot of the forms I make, depending on the general style (tradition) of the parcticular Chawan,.... I tend to often (but not always) use the kodai style that is considered "approprioate" by most Chajin for that particular type of wan. Certain types of Chawan are expected to have certain general kodai treatments.

All that being said.. ...... being Gaijin (Gaikokujin....foreigner .... literal "outside person")..... I do not have the constraints placed upon me that tend to be there for most Japanese potters making Chawan (and other items too). So I can eaily play with form, surface, and styles to my heart's content. I can put a Shino style kodai on a Setoguro type of bowl form and (sometimes) get aways with it . Or a raku style kodai on a Shino piece. And so on.

Either a Chajin will accept that "playfulness"... or not.

best,

......................john

John,
That is a pleasure to read your answers, thanks. Words about potters who make chawans without deep studying I take to myself.
For me now contact with chanoyu practitioners change a lot.
Congratulation your exhibition!
best
andrzej

interesting post john

its interesting to note that some pieces are usable for otemae
having said that, its amazing seeing both the traditional 'ido' chawan copies thru the modern Japanese interpretations and creations of chadogu (tea tools) while in japan.

your point about handling is a key point. usability and functionality are also key points

would love to hear more
FUN TOPIC ! endless !

next topic, shuki ! hehe

would love to enjoy a night of izakaya traversing thru the nijikai and beyond someday sir ! looking forward to the day our paths cross

cheers
cory (gaikokujin) but w/ some nikkei blood. LOL

[JBaymore]

Chawan Packaging for the Nara Exhibition

This is the type of formal packaging I usually do when selling Chawan in Japan, or for the more serious collectors here in the USA (and elsewhere).

JohnBaymore-NaraChawanExpoPackaging2012.jpg (21.95 KiB) Viewed 2729 times

JohnBaymore-NaraChawanExpoPackaging2012-2.jpg (19.54 KiB) Viewed 2729 times

(Note that the tie on that above box is done for tightness for shipping, it is not the traditional knot.)

best,

...................john

[JBaymore]

would love to enjoy a night of izakaya traversing thru the nijikai and beyond someday sir ! looking forward to the day our paths cross

Me too Cory... me too.

Are you going to be at NCECA in Seattle this week?

best,

...................john

[JBaymore]

Hi everyone.

I have to teach all day tomorrow and then I will be off to Seattle for the annual NCECA conference ......... so I might not be able to post here or read stuff much for about a week.

See everyone when I get back.

If you are in either the Seattle area or Nara, Japan..... I've got some teabowls at shows in both coming up very shortly (see posts/pictures earlier in this thread).

best,

...................john

[JBaymore]

Back from NCECA.

Soon.... off to Korea and Japan.

best,

.................john

[Chip]

Thanks for dropping by John. Hope all your ills are fading memories!

Looks like you are busy busy busy!

[JBaymore]

Nara Chawan Expo 2012

Show opens in Nara, Japan on April 10th.

http://www.chawanexpo.com/


best,

...................john

[JBaymore]

Thanks for dropping by John. Hope all your ills are fading memories!

Looks like you are busy busy busy!

Thanks, Chip. While I am not yet 100%, things are headed that way rapidly. Test results are coming back steadliy improving. I'm still a bit lacking due to some weakness...... but as I add exercise back in... that will improve also.

Yeah, vey busy. Just catching up from being sick has been a bear...and lots of good stuff is happening on top of that. So totally maxed out.

I've been invited to be off to Korea (1st time there) to present / show / participate in a teabowl festival there at the end of the month. Then back to Japan for a short while.

best,

.................john

[Chip]

Great on all points, John! Pace yourself though!!!

And of course, best of luck to you on your journeys ...

[JBaymore]

MunGyeong Chasabal Festival 2012
MunGyeong, Korea April 28 - May 6, 2012

This is one of the Chawan that I will have exhibited and for sale at the Festival coming up in Korea in less than a week. It is more Japanese-style in general form than Korean. I will also have some more Korean-shaped forms refering back to the Ido-style shapes.

JohnBaymoreCrackelJadeChawan1.jpg (12 KiB) Viewed 2533 times

JohnBaymoreCrackelJadeChawan2.jpg (12.93 KiB) Viewed 2533 times

JohnBaymoreCrackelJadeChawan3.jpg (13.88 KiB) Viewed 2533 times

best,

................john

[debunix]

(wiping drool off keyboard)

Such a lovely finish to that glaze.

[JBaymore]

MunGyeong Chasabal Festival 2012
MunGyeong, Korea April 28 - May 6, 2012

This is one more of the Chawan that I will have exhibited and for sale at the Festival coming up in Korea in less than a week.

JohnBaymoreCrackelJadeIdoChawan1.jpg (13.86 KiB) Viewed 2529 times

JohnBaymoreCrackelJadeIdoChawan2.jpg (13.71 KiB) Viewed 2529 times

JohnBaymoreCrackelJadeIdoChawan3.jpg (16.96 KiB) Viewed 2529 times

best,

...............john