Description
The work is decorated using a technique known as “itchin” in which the artist fills a cylindrical container with a dropper or similar object, pushes it out and paints on it like a cake decoration. Each piece is unique, as it is painted freehand without drafts. The blue glazed pieces are glazed with natural wood ashes, which gives them a different appearance in the firing process, with occasional crazing and crystals appearing where the glaze flows and accumulates.
Shinichi Takashima – Born in Kyoto, Japan
Profile
Shinichi Takashima is the third generation of the Koharu Kiln in the Hiyoshi area, which is renowned as one of the leading ceramic production areas in Kyoto, and is a traditional craftsman of Kyoto-yaki and Kiyomizu-yaki.
He studied under his father, the second generation Koharu Takashima, and opened his own kiln in 2005. He produces a wide range of items from tea ceremony utensils to everyday tableware using the kojiki technique with its vivid colours. The fine patterns characteristic of kojiki are produced using the ‘ichin’ technique, in which clay is squeezed out of a cylinder and lines are heaped up and drawn. Coloured glaze is applied along the lines and fired at a low temperature to produce the unique colours of the kojiki. The company is active in a wide range of fields, including boldly tackling new areas such as the production of interior materials using traditional techniques, and is highly regarded as a top young leader of Kyoyaki and Kiyomizu-yaki pottery.
