Norcal Shino

Like many Japanese pottery traditions, shino is as much about place as it is about the aesthetic qualities of a pot. Shino pots since the Momoyama period have been made in the Mino region of Japan, from locally harvested clays, glazes made with local feldspar, and a making tradition that is almost 5 centuries old. As I’ve explored this tradition from afar in Northern California, I’ve tried to better understand traditional shino, but to also, by necessity, make pots that honor those traditions through use of materials that are local to me. This pot, in my opinion, is the best example of that truly local exploration, and is what I am calling a Northern California Shino. It’s made from a locally produced Bay Area clay that I’ve enhanced with local minerals and sawdust from my workshop. It was fired in my gas kiln in Los Gatos, CA with a firing program designed to emulate some of the characteristics of the big, wood-fired anagama in Mino. Perhaps this pot is the first of a new local style…