Mashiko

Mashiko is known for thick local clay and the mingei line. Now there are also makers here who brought technique with them from elsewhere.

What sits here was made by a potter with a studio in Mashiko, fired by Bizen method. He trained six years at a Bizen kiln, then moved to Mashiko and built his own. No glaze, straw wrapped, fired until the body tightens. So the surface is Bizen and the form is sharp and contemporary. These are not pieces tracing a local style, but what came of carrying a technique to a new place.

The red line where straw was wrapped is hidasuki, salt in the straw reacting with iron in the clay. There is no glaze, so oil and moisture from the hand work in and the color deepens with use. For the region itself, read Mashiko ware. Take these as a separate way in, apart from the thick mingei pieces.