Shuki: The Intimate Vessels of Sake

For nearly two years I have been working on curating an exhibition involving "shuki", or sake vessels. This coming November it will become a reality with the opening of "Shuki: The Intimate Vessels of Sake" at Vessels Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts. This is an exhibition of contemporary ceramic sake vessels from Japan and the United States, with seven Japanese artists and 16 American artists represented. Participating are Joe Bruhin, Peter Callas, James Coquia, John Dix, Judtih Duff, Ron Hand, Chuck Hindes, Osamu Inayoshi, Elizabeth Kendall, Dick Lehman, Hiromi Matsukawa, Shozo Michikawa, Richard Milgrim, Kristin Muller, Takao Okazaki, Shiro Otani, Jeff Shapiro, Roy Strassberg, Kato Takahiko, Mike Weber, Tsuruta Yoshihisa, and myself. One of the pieces I will be exhibiting is a sake cup titled, "Black Seto Guinomi". It was pulled from the kiln around 2400 degrees Fahrenheit and immediately immersed in water, a technique known as "hikidashi". The iron-rich Connecticut River clay slip that covered the piece turned black through this process. Here is a video showing this activity, which took place at Chris Gustin's anagama in South Dartmouth, MA.

Flash Point - An International Wood Fire Exhibition

The guinomi shown below was juried into "Flash Point - An International Wood Fire Exhibition". Juror John Balistreri selected an exemplary collection of 50 pieces for this exhibition.  It is being shown at Plinth Gallery, 3520 Brighton Blvd., Denver, CO. The show opens October 5th with an artist reception and awards ceremony, from 5:00 until 10:00 pm., and runs through December 1st, 2012.


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The Clay Cup: Icon, Vessel, Canvas

The two pieces below were recently juried into The Clay Cup: Icon, Vessel, Canvas. This exhibition will be held from September 17th – October 4th, 2012 in the George Caleb Bingham Gallery, located at the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.  Juror Pete Pinnell selected 99 cups out of 237 entries for the show. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 27th from 5:00 until 7:00 pm. There will be a Juror's Lecture on Wednesday, October 3rd from 4:00 until 5:00 pm.



Guinomi



Guinomi
Honorable Mention



Fifth Annual Lillstreet International Exhibition

The two pieces below, wire-cut and wood fired, were accepted for exhibition in Lillstreet Gallery's 5th Annual International Exhibition: The Perfect Plate. Juror Sandy Simon selected 48 works, from 32 artists for this exhibition. The show runs August 17th - September 14, 2012. There will be a reception on Friday, August 17th from 6 pm - 8 pm. Lillstreet Gallery is located at 4401 North Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago, IL. The gallery's telephone number is 773.769.4226. In addition, the exhibition can be viewed online here: The Perfect Plate



Sushi Plate



Sushi Plate



Sake Cups

Here are three guinomi that I had in Jeff Shapiro's wood kiln firing earlier this month:

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Hikidashi Guinomi

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Guinomi

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Guinomi

Here is an image of Jeff's kiln:

Reduction Cooled Iron-rich Stoneware Clay

I have had an interest in reduction cooled iron-rich stoneware clay since seeing the work of Lindsay Oesterritter. Recently I made a small number of works out of two clays that fall into that category. Tim Rowan, who does wood fire reduction cooling, was kind enough to let me fire them in his kiln earlier this month. Below are the results:

Guinomi (Sake Cups)

1



2

Incense Burner


1



Yunomi (Green Tea Cups)

1



2



3



 

4



5



6

7

These pieces are available. Please inquire via email:  lmkoonce@mindspring.com

Here is an image of Tim's kiln:

Functional Wood Fire Invitational

I am participating in the exhibition Functional Wood Fire Invitational, which runs June 30th - August 31st. Curated by Eric Knoche, it is hosted by Crimson Laurel Gallery, 23 Crimson Laurel Way, Bakersville, NC,  and showcases wood fired utilitarian ceramics. A reception is planned for Saturday, July 7th, beginning at 6:00 pm. You can see a selection of the total number of works by the exhibiting artists here: Crimson Laurel Gallery

Here are images for three of the ten pieces I have selected to be in this exhibit:



Incense Burner



Guinomi (Sake Cup)

 

Chawan (Tea Bowl)