50. Amy Clark, begging bowl

 50. Amy Clark, begging bowl 

For Clark, see item 48.

Dark brown clay, glazed in brown and cream colors; bottom left unglazed. Weight: 362 g (13 oz). Rim (and maximum) diameter 12 cm (4-3/4 in); base diameter: 7.5 cm (3 in). Height: 7.3 cm (2-7/8 in).

Clark herself labeled this a "begging bowl." In Japan monks in neighborhood temples stand in front of parishioners’ houses and chant, holding a bowl much like this one. The housewife emerges and places food—rice or vegetables—in the bowl.

Hand-thrown. This sits directly on the base. The artist’s mark, “Ocean Fire Pottery York Maine” is stamped into the base. The walls rise outward and upward from the base in a gentle arc to a height of around 4 cm (1-1/2 in) from the base; from that point they rise in more or less a straight line to the rim.

The glazing is reminiscent of the Tenmoku glaze often seen on Japanese pottery. The colors range from a rich brown through tans to cream. The surface of the glazed area is randomly speckled with many “oil drops.”

Purchased at the artist’s studio, Ocean Fire Pottery, York, Maine, September 2019.