Mingei

So much has happened I don't know where to begin.
I am sitting in the Ebiya Gallery in Nihombashi, it is late and all the guests have left after the opening party. This is my sixteenth exhibition here, and now I have the gallery to myself. The last few weeks/months have been so hectic I haven't had time to scratch myself. It is only after the exhibition begins that I can catch my breath. I will be here for a week, so each night I will try to catch up on one of the exciting episodes that have occupied my time.
For tonight I would like to just talk about mingei, as it has been featuring significantly in my recent endeavours. Having studied under Shimaoka sensei both his and mingei's influence are unavoidably entwined in my work and philosophy. There seems to have been a great deal of discussion about the meaning of mingei this year, particularly its definition and place in modern society. So, let's start from there.
Mingei is a word which was invented by Yanagi Soetsu in 1926. It is a contraction of the phrase "minshuteki kogei" , which has been, I believe, unfairly translated as "folk craft". In fact "Minshuteki" means "Democratic", and I would translate "Kogei" as "Art", though it is labelled "Craft" by many, and the definition of "Art" is so blurry as to be almost meaningless; the "Craft vs Art" argument doubly so. Art embraces such a plethora of meanings that everything from War to Palmistry is considered "The Art Of....". There is a huge difference in the implications of "Democratic Art" as opposed to "Folk Craft", wouldn't you agree?
What then is "Art", and what is "Democracy"? My goodness gracious I have opened a can of worms! "Kogei" in Japanese I feel would be best literally translated as the "Skill of Making things". "Art", the associated words "Bijutsu" and "Geijutsu" are a much bigger discussion, let us deal with that another day.
"Democracy", a concept with which the ancient Greeks blessed the world, has more recently been defined in political terms as " Government of the people, by the people for the people". The man who said "All great art is political" was a politician, not an artist. I don't believe that Yanagi sensei had government in mind when he coined the term, so let us put it together as "The skill of making things of the people, by the people for the people". Cumbersome, but nevertheless relevant. If at this stage you feel that you don't fit into any of the aforesaid categories (ie people, people or people) then you may stop reading any time you like.
Simply put, Yanagi felt that the objects created by a traditional lifestyle (and that includes the lifestyle itself), not appealing to a critical audience for aesthetic plaudits, were made of necessity in the same way that nature dictates the forms of "things" as an expedient to their existential efficiency. No pretense or "Artifice", merely the most effective use of available natural materials to achieve a healthy and humanistic lifestyle. Nature makes things in the most efficient way possible, bound by the laws of physics, and they are always beautiful. In a traditional society humans live lives that are bound to the rhythm of nature. They do not distance themselves from those constraints but embrace them as common condition of existence. Consequentially they find solutions to problems of survival by utilizing those same laws in as efficient a method as possible with the materials at hand which are, as a matter of course, beautiful. They do not set out to make something beautiful in the Ars Gratia Artis sense, but as a result of shedding unnecessary adornment achieve a beauty of uncluttered and healthy efficiency. That is Mingei in its essential form.

The Mingei movement, as opposed to pure mingei, acknowledged that the "traditional" lifestyle and culture of the world was doomed to extinction by the global industrialization of society. The grand homogenization had begun and an urban society which ignored natural process and deified uselessness was robbing people of their humanity. The cumulative error of fashion and ephemeral, superficial gratification was creating an artificial culture where sameness was the rule and humans (who are by nature like nature and infinitely variable) were losing their sense of self and self purpose.
The objective of the Mingei movement was to consciously incorporate the aesthetics of traditional MINGEI into products which were relevant to modern lifestyle, thus rehumanising a rapidly desensitised society.

Cool.

The problem is that, a generation later, so called Mingei artists are now making "mingei-like" virtually useless objet d'art which is irrelevant to the needs of modern society. They are either mistaking regurgitation for tradition and producing things people neither need nor want, or are equating technique with tradition and producing work which looks fine but is unpleasant to use.
I asked Shimaoka sensei one day, when I was wedging clay for him in his studio, " What is the future of mingei?"
He said, "Euan, you always ask difficult things," and laughed.
"Mingei as such is finished. Traditional society is unable to compete with the luxury of materialism. It is the task of the mingei artist, however, to make work which reminds people of their individuality and their place in the natural world. To make work in line with the principles of mingei and a natural, traditional society, which people can use every day and be reminded of their own humanity and the beauty of life." Of course that's a translation of what I seem to remember he said in Japanese, so it's probably just my interpretation.
For me, the challenge has been to discover that which does not change, the things which all people in all cultures identify with because we are all human. I have discovered that it is as simple as asking myself, "What do I love?"
Regardless of culture, race, religion, language or education; every single person on earth can look at a sunset every day and be moved by its beauty. Though we individually may have preferences, we all love delicious, fragrant and wholesome food. There are intrinsic commonalities that bind us one to another, and we have more in common than we have that differ. Though the differences are obtrusive, they are superficial.
I am not a people, I am a person. All of humanity is made of individuals like me, like you. I will continue to use all of my skill to make things that I personally find beautiful and useful, of a personal nature, by this person, for the person I love. That's Mingei.

Something Fishy?

Easter snuck up on me again this year! You see it's not on the Japanese calendar and, as the dates change every year, it's a bit hard to make work schedules without clashing. It's also hard to explain that the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox is a holy festival to a non christian community. It does coincide with the "Koi Nobori" season, in which Carp shaped streamers are hung in the wind to celebrate having healthy sons and to symbolise them having a "swimmingly" successful life. So as of this year the Craig household began a new tradition, in which we hang the Koi Nobori on Good Friday, the day we traditionally eat fish for Easter. The Koi Nobori remain until "Kodomo no hi" (Boy's Day) on May 5th.

For similar reasons it is impossible to get Hot Cross Buns or Easter Eggs here, so Euan and Mika Bunny have to make them themselves.

Mika Bunny bravely took on the task of hiding eggs around the back yard, occasionally impaired by the added weight of Sean.

The kids excitedly hunted around the yard till all the eggs were discovered!

And what a collection they have made!

But wait...where is Euan Bunny? Ah, that's where the clash comes in. While the egg hunting was going on I was doing a wood firing workshop for a group of thirty Japanese potters in Mashiko. One of the participants from the kiln building workshop in 2007 organised his pottery guild to do a firing in the Euan kiln at Mashiko Pottery club on Sunday (Easter Sunday!) and then a workshop here it my studio on Monday. So Sunday I spent teaching them how to fire the kiln, which fired perfectly in just 12 hours, from raw to cone 10 flat.

There were also a couple if people from Israel and Australia who joined the fray.

The greatest challenge of the weekend was fitting thirty plus people into my spatially challenged studio! They particularly wanted to see the Euan Bunny in his natural habitat, so the studio became a mini amphitheatre, with rows of people squatting, standing, climbing on wedging tables and work benches.

So this Easter started with carp, but seemed to finish with sardines!

The Word about Pottery and Food in Japan

Over the last few years my collaborations with chefs has raised a lot of interest in the ceramics community both here in Japan and overseas. My greatest ally in these endeavours has of course been Touru Hashimoto from Toyoda in Nihombashi. I have gained invaluable insight into Japanese cuisine and culinary aesthetics through our friendship and have been able to share some of those experiences with many people all over the world. It also seems to have opened a few eyes here in Japan.

I received a copy of "The Four Seasons of Japanese Cuisine" (Nihon ryouri no shiki) which was officially released today. The monthly magazine for professional Japanese chefs produces this annual book every Spring. In this Issue, No.40, there is a five page article on Hashimoto san and my collaboration. It seems that this kind of collaboration has never been done before.

They came here to my pottery to do the interview with us, and the article is fantastic. If not before, then most certainly now, my work has been accepted by the professional Japanese culinary community. Hooray!

Also today the Nikkei BP website has launched the first half of a two part documentary on me and my work as part of a series entitled "Foreigners who inherit the Japanese Tradition" (Nihon no dentou wo tsugu gaikokujintachi).

I will always be Australian, but there is a commonality between human values that transcends nationality. I believe it is that common ground underlying traditional cultures that the Japanese community is recognising in my work now. Regardless of my country of birth, this is my home.

The Principles of Shino

Over the past few weeks I have been asked by several potter friends about the materials for Japanese shino glazes and their equivalents in the west. I haven't actually used a shino glaze for about fifteen years, but with some of the restaurant collaborations and requests from chefs, I may soon be revisiting the shino arena.

It is probably useful to firstly put shino into a frame of reference.

Once upon a time there was a tea master named Shino Soushin (1444-1523) who directed that the potters of Mino produce a white glaze. Their solution was to coat a low iron clay, either mogusa clay or gotomaki clay, with a local feldspar, occasionally mixed with some clay to make it more user friendly. The resulting glaze, wood fired of course, tended to be slightly grey in oxidation (Nezumi Shino meaning Mouse Shino) or pearly white with red flashing in reduction.
Generally Shino glaze is accredited to the Momoyama period (1568-1600), and, yes, some of the finest shino glazes come from that period, but it had its roots in the Muromachi period (1336-1573). Interesting to note the overlap.

So...what was the feldspar?!

The simple answer is Hiratsu Shino Choseki. Choseki is Feldspar, the Kanji "長石" means "long rock" referring to the rhombic crystalline structure of feldspar. This feldspar has a high Alumina to Silica ratio, combined with fairly high Sodium/Potassium content. It is in fact the Sodium and Alumina under reduction that give the distinctive soft pink and orange flashing of Shino. Which is why Nepheline Syenite lends itself so well to shino style glazes. Compare the analyses;

Hiratsu Shino Choseki ;

SiO2 65.4
Al2O3 20.5
Fe2O3 0.09
TiO2 0.01
CaO 0.14
MgO 0.03
K2O 6.89
Na2O 5.13
Ignition loss 1.59

Nepheline Syenite;

SiO2 60.1
Al2O3 23
Fe2O3 0.09
TiO2 0.02
CaO 0.37
MgO 0.02
K2O 4.75
Na2O 10.6
Ignition loss 0.47

Many recipes have been based on this material, especially with its high sodium content. With the addition of up to 40% Clay (Ball clay, Kaolin, Porcelain, Terracotta or Fire clay) a huge range of variations can be achieved.

The representative Ball clays added to the feldspar in Japan were either Gairome;

SiO2 49.72
Al2O3 34.55
Fe2O3 1.23
CaO 0.16
MgO 0.24
K2O 0.74
Ignition loss 12.8

Or Kibushi Nendo;

SiO2 48.56
Al2O3 33.48
Fe2O3 0.87
CaO 0.30
MgO 0.15
K2O 0.36
Na2O 0.63
TiO2 0.12
Ignition loss 15.76

Other recipes have taken note of the high alumina to silica and high Alkaline flux and have included Soda ash into the mix. Others depend on fluxes other than Soda, the most significant being Lithium. In the west many Shino glazes use Spodumene as the base, which is basically;

Li2O. Al2O3. 4SiO2

This is as rare as hens teeth in Japan, and the best replacement is Petalite;

Li2O. Al2O3. 8SiO2

Of course the Silica present in the rest of the glaze needs to be reduced to compensate. This can sometimes be done by replacing Kaolin for Ball Clay, but it is important to test with the materials one has at hand, as there are huge regional variations. Alternatively an addition of Lithium Carbonate and Alumina will compensate, but you will need to do the math!

It is this high alumina, high alkaline flux that gives my pottery its distinctive peach blush, as I am using a porcelaineous, high alumina, low iron, clay in a wood firing, from which the natural salts vaporise from the wood, with the addition of a small amount of soda ash at the end of the firing. Not Shino, but based on the same principles.

There are books that purport to tell the secrets of Japanese wood firing, with lists of "American" shino recipes and no examples of any actual representative Japanese ceramics whatsoever. OK, I can live with that. As recipes they stay within the parameters of the original Hiratsu Shino style, and if you are satisfied with that, fine.

But that is NOT all, oh no that is not ALL!

Japanese shino glazes are not all made with Hiratsu Shino Choseki, and not all flashing is Soda/Alumina. One must not forget our old friend Iron, who so happily serves the potter with a huge gamut of glaze effects.

"And so", said the Cat in the Hat, "So, so, so, I will show you another good trick that I know!"

As my sempai Ken Matsuzaki demonstrates so well, any feldspar can make a Shino, given the presence of Iron either underneath the glaze or within range of the external glaze surface. It is the nature of Iron oxide that in a heavy reduction atmosphere, between the temperatures of 1090 and 1130, over an extended period of time, it will volatise and migrate to the surface of the glaze. This must be done before the glaze cinters, sealing it and preventing the Iron from seeping through the porous glaze matrix. By painting a decoration in Iron under the glaze, or by utilizing a small amount of Iron in or on the body beneath the glaze an Iron blush can be created on the opalescent white feldspathic glaze. A wash of Iron inside a saggar surrounding the work can give a similar effect.

Maintaining a heavy reduction during cooling is essential, but in the end the micro fine layer of Iron will re oxidize to give the distinctive Shino blush. Merely seeing Iron through a semi transparent glaze is not Shino. There is a lustre and warmth that springs from the natural process which makes shino special. Colours that resonate with sunrises and sunsets, that remind us of the soft warmth of human skin.

The Japanese traditional teaching system does not put the onus on the teacher to teach; It is the responsibility of the student to actively learn. Shimaoka sensei told me that there are no secrets. You just need to ask the right questions.

MASHIKO

Being busy is a good thing, but even I have limits. Since my last entry I have had a successful three person exhibition at Takashimaya department store in Nihombashi, Tokyo, with Penny Simpson and Peter Seabridge; A three day workshop for the International School of the Sacred Heart; Completed the order for G'drop and I am right now in the middle of a solo exhibition at the Kyohan 6 Gallery in Mashiko. So please forgive me for the extended silence!


This is my first exhibition in Mashiko this century, having had a number of exhibitions here during the nineties. In fact it's my first exhibition in Tochigi prefecture in four years, the last one being at Gallery Ciel in Utsunomiya. I have been concentrating on exhibitions in Tokyo, Saitama, Miyagi and other areas of Japan as well as overseas, and I have neglected to do anything locally for far too long.

The Gallery is directed by Ikuzo Fujiwara, an exceptional architectural ceramicist and sculptor who studied at the Kawai pottery in Kyoto. I knew that he was going to write a comment for the invitation card, but did not see it until the cards actually arrived. Here is the translation.

Concerning Euan Craig

Quite some time has passed since I visited his studio and he showed me the kiln that he developed.
Very efficient, burning only recycled wood, these days it would be referred to as an “Eco-Kiln”. I was impressed by his ingeniously considered solutions, his uniquely rational way of reforming anything into a personal method.

His approach to “The Art of Function” is also unique. What kind of food will be served on his vessels? How his works will be coordinated as tableware? He takes steps to address these issues, to make work to fulfil those purposes and achieves a degree of total design that a potter would not normally undertake.

Vessels that come to life through the act of use; what simple and powerful works these are.
And yet, not stopping there, he turns “The Art of Function” into “The Function of Art”, striving to change the Art of Function into an even more positive force. A fine example of this is the unique flame colour of his work. His original porcelaineous body brings with it the warm flavour of clay.

By taking that extra step, his work holds the power to alter peoples’ lifestyles. This is what I would hope is the essence of the art of function.

When one thinks of “Mingei” in global terms, it can be said that his stance is pointing a way forward for the inheritance of “mingei” in the modern age.
By all means, I invite you to consider his work.

Ikuzo Fujiwara
Director
Kyohan 6 Gallery
Mashiko, Japan
February 2009

This is my twentieth year in Mashiko, and I came here with a hunger to learn and understand the Japanese tradition. I have learnt a great deal about myself in that time, and have come to understand that there are commonalities that we all share as humans that transcend race or culture. I am honoured to have been accepted here in the home of Mingei, not as a guest, but as a fellow craftsman.

G'DROP

Happy New Year everyone!

It has been a busy and exciting time since my last entry. My last big job for the year was an order for the wine bar and restaurant in Nihombashi, G'Drop. You may have read about it in Ceramics Monthly. From January 5th till the end of March the restaurant will be serving all of their cuisine on my dishes. The prices are very reasonable and the food is delicious. They are open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday.

Earlier in the year I began making prototypes for this restaurant, but we only nailed down the final designs and numbers at the start of December, only three weeks before we were to go to Australia! So ensued a marathon production cycle, which included an emergency increase in shelving.

It is hard to explain the sheer volume of work involved in producing a range of twelve designs for a sixty seat restaurant. In order to ensure 100% "A" grade work sometimes twice the number of pots need to be made.

I got the order finished and delivered on the day before we left, still warm from the kiln.

We then went to Australia for two weeks with my family and a great adventure for the kids.

When we got back there was a message on the phone... they had started using the pots and the response was great! But they needed to talk to me about the pots. So the day after we got home I drove the family down for lunch in Nihombashi.

The food was fantastic, and especially exciting for the kids as all the pots were made by Daddy! It turned out that what the restaurant needed to talk to me about was MORE POTS! The menu has expanded from the original plan and they need more pots for the extra course.

They would also like to do a signature dinner event in early February where our guests can enjoy the food and dishes with the Miyake and Craig families. More information as it comes to hand!

So it's back to the wheel where I belong.

Back in the kitchen

How were the results of the last firing? The colour was excellent and there were very few losses. I was really pleased with the evenness of the firing, with the black glaze coming out amazingly well from top to bottom. These dinner plates were from the top shelf and the bottom shelf. The difference is barely noticable, the edge of the glaze turning amber on the left hand plate.





You'll have to wait until I get the photos to see what the chef has done with them, but today was my first chance to try them myself. I always like to test the new work in my own kitchen first, it's the best way to find out the strengths and weaknesses. Lunch today was for three, as Rohan was home from school with a cold, so I tried out three of the new designs. It is interesting to compare the same food on different vessels. For Rohan, who is six, I chose this 7 sun (21cm) plate with slip trailing on the edge. "Sun" (the "u" is pronounced "oo" as in "foot") is the traditional Japanese inch, 3.03cm. Ten "Sun" make One "Shaku", the old Japanese foot. Many Japanese potters, chefs and craftsmen still use the old measurements.

I finely chopped some "Negi" from the garden, which is like a Japanese leek, and lightly fried it with diced celery in extra virgin olive oil. To this I added a small can of tuna and a half glass of light red wine. The wine was made by one of my friends from Yamanashi and he gave it to me at the exhibition opening to bring home to Mika....she let me have half a glass. I served her pasta on a 9 sun (27cm) celadon dinner plate.






After the wine had reduced to half I added black olives and a can of whole tomatoes, then simmered it down till it thickened. A pinch of salt to finish, then I served it on the pasta with avocado topping. (Avocados were cheap this week, 99 yen each!) My plate was a 9 sun "Hira zara". When we sat down to eat we added some freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of Parmesan. I'm not sure which plate worked best with the food, but it all tasted delicious!