HAGI SSO 16 Eiichi ROCK! by Shibuya Eiichi

[David R.]

The way I see this is the more Rocks there are on earth and the cheaper they are, the more people will be able to enjoy such a delightful object with their tea.

Also, I'd like to buy one day a wheeled Rock at a cheap priece.

This particular piece is gorgeous. I've put it in my follow-up items to see if it is sold and at what price.

[Chesslover]

David R., I don't mind more ROCKs...but I think information concerning that (exclusivety) and some other information (price) were misleading...

[camw]

To be fair, Chip delivered these at the price he initially indicated when asking for deposits so there should have been no surprise and I don't think it can be said there was any deception. If you had been seriously unhappy I'm sure Chip could have offered your place to someone else and returned the deposit if someone stepped into your place.

He has no control over what vendors or artisans do after a special offer, all he can do is pass on what he is told at the time. I don't see that the market has been flooded with them or anything, the auction says this one was from a cancelled order, so there may be more to the story about why they are for sale.

I'll also point out the last one to sell a couple of days ago was $98 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... AOABM%253D

[AdamMY]

One thing you also have to remember is ebay is an auction site, so if the rock was buy it now for that price it would be a bit scarier. I hate to say this but I honestly think Mago prices the pieces a little bit lower than he expects them to actually sell for simply to drive interest and get people to start bidding so the price can be driven up. With the SO, while we do go through a lottery system, you know you are getting a piece, and you know what price you are going to be paying for the piece (once the photo's are released).

[Chip]

Again, I just passed on information I was told. Eiichi was NOT going to make more ROCKs. I was certainly not misleading anyone on this point. I cannot control the Hagi market nor artisans as camw metions above, NOR DO I WANT TO. This happens all the time. SO 4 Biwa. This was the first Biwa ever in this shape, since then it is everywhere and in various sizes (and price points). I guess I take this as a compliment.

Regarding the pinch versus wheeled, my point here is that full pinch requires more time and is more difficult. Prices for full pinch (which actually are fully exclusive having never been done before and not since) are going to be higher whether or not anyone likes them more or less.

This ROCK SO almost did not happen because they came in at an even higher price than I mentioned/targeted of $85. I had to negotiate all over again with Mago. A 10 USD differential is nothing in Hagi terms, similar pieces can sell for greatly varying prices.

And as I mentioned as did Adam, the minimum bid for an ebay item is not what Mago is hoping to sell a piece for. Setting of a minumum ebay price is a bit of a science unto itself. It should not be confused with a set price.

And as camw mentioned, the recent piece sold for almost 100 USD. This was very common for ROCK auctions. Perhaps 1-2 did sell for less, but such is an auction and perhaps they were less desirable. So the 75 USD starting ebay price is meaningless, irrelevent.

Bottom line, I endeavor to put together SOs Hagi and TA that will be very different, unique and often never done before. The ROCK was a bit different in that here we had an item that was already being sold, and members asked for it as an SO. But the amazing ROCK certainly was worthy of SO status.

[Stentor]

It did not bother me at all that there were new cups of this style on Magokorodo. I was a little surprised. However, when I took a look and thought that they were not in the same league, I noticed that they were of lesser quality than the ones made for the SO and didn't mind it at all.

I think that these new Rocks that have shown up recently are not as good as those from the SO. Hence the ones from the SO are worth more money. It's almost as if these new ones are leftovers from the SO deemed not good enough. (To me anyway...)
It could be that some of you like them better (I think two new ones have been posted on eBay recently?) but I very much prefer those from the SO.
I am very happy with mine (LOVE LOVE LOVE it.) and I am sure that Shibuya Eiichi's pieces will be very expensive in a few years.

Also, it's the starting price of an auction, not a "buy it now" price...

[Chip]

the auction says this one was from a cancelled order, so there may be more to the story about why they are for sale.

Thanks for pointing this out! This makes a lot of sense. Both of these ebay "new pieces" were cancelled orders.

I suspect he had these on hold for someone and the person never paid. These may have even been from before the ROCK SO.

I am betting there will be a few more ...

[hopeofdawn]

Putting in my own two cents worth ...

As an artist myself, I think that it's a bit unreasonable to expect a ceramics artist to put all the work into crafting a unique style and/or glaze for a particular series of pieces, and then demand that said artist never use it ever again. Especially for the (more-than-reasonable) prices we paid. I am certainly not an expert in the ceramics/sculpture end of things, but I know that many artists can spend YEARS trying to establish a distinct style of their own--something that will make their work stand out from all the others. I personally feel that the ROCKs are unique enough to fit that bill, and I think it's entirely within the original artist's rights to decide whether or not to explore a particular style further--especially if (as the Teachat SO has proved) it is one that people are eager to buy!

Shibuya Eiichi may not yet be a master ceramic artist in his own right, but that doesn't mean his work isn't worth the prices Mago is asking--and more to the point, the more he develops his own unique style and creates new works, the more (potentially) your own ROCK might be worth. It's also worth remembering that it's not as if he is creating Xeroxed copies of SO pieces--each ROCK cup is still a unique, hand-crafted piece, even if there are other pieces done in the same style.

And as a side note--I've seen some of the other ROCK-styled pieces put up as well--and I still think the piece I received through the SO is more well-formed and beautiful than any I've seen put up on Mago's site so far. Of course, your mileage may vary ...

[lkj23]

It did not bother me at all that there were new cups of this style on Magokorodo. I was a little surprised. However, when I took a look and thought that they were not in the same league, I noticed that they were of lesser quality than the ones made for the SO and didn't mind it at all.

I think that these new Rocks that have shown up recently are not as good as those from the SO. Hence the ones from the SO are worth more money. It's almost as if these new ones are leftovers from the SO deemed not good enough. (To me anyway...)
It could be that some of you like them better (I think two new ones have been posted on eBay recently?) but I very much prefer those from the SO.
I am very happy with mine (LOVE LOVE LOVE it.) and I am sure that Shibuya Eiichi's pieces will be very expensive in a few years.

Also, it's the starting price of an auction, not a "buy it now" price...

+1111111111111 I love this ROCK and I would like to buy one but this that are being sold on ebay I don´t like............

[debunix]

Working on better photos of my Rock yesterday--think this is the best yet



Still very light crackling after use 2-3 times weekly for several months.

[lkj23]

Working on better photos of my Rock yesterday--think this is the best yet



Still very light crackling after use 2-3 times weekly for several months.

This piece is perfect. At this moment 2 are being sold on ebay, but none can be compared to this.

[AdamMY]

A constantly used Rock gathers no stains.

In all honesty, has anyone's rock shown any sort of serious staining? After the first few uses there was very light stains on the inside. While the outside had some stains from production. But I have used the Rock quite a few times and it still has relatively minimal stains.

I have come to know that every piece is unique, and even pieces from the same SO can stain radically differently, some look hundreds of uses old after a single use, while others can appear brand new after hundreds of uses. In short I guess I am wondering by design are the rocks stain resistant, or is someones rock weathered?

[IPT]

Mine has stained up quite a bit. It looks awesome. I will try to remember to post photos when I get home.

[debunix]

Mine came 'prestained'--there were crackles that already were relatively dark right out of the box, before the preliminary soak, even:



But there has been essentially no progression since then.

[IPT]

Mine had a few crackles too when I got it, but there are a lot more now and the existing ones are darker than they were. I have to take photos.