WINTER BRANCHES

Last Sunday I learnt of the death of Alistair Whyte (1954-2023), one of Australia's highly regarded ceramicists. I first met Alistair Whyte through Laurie. In 1989 they were both studying at Monash University, Laurie doing a BA in Japanese Studies and Alistair a Masters Degree in Applied Japanese Linguistics. Earlier, after completing a Diploma of Ceramic design in Bendigo, Alistair spent five years in Japan, first undertaking postgraduate studies in ceramics at the Kyoto University of Arts. He then studied for two years in the studio of Katsuno Hirokuni, a Master Porcelain Potter in Kyoto, before returning to Australia.

Laurie and I had the good fortune to visit Alistair at his Warrandyte studio a couple of times, and over the years have acquired some examples of his work. His style was very refined and varied in form and surface treatment. Below are some examples of ikebana I have created over the years in three of his vessels.

This is a very grainy photograph I took at a class where the exercise was to take into account the colour of the vase. I chose only white flowers because of the intensity of the red glaze, see below.

I distinctly remember seeing this vase sitting on a high shelf covered in dust in Alistair's studio. He explained at the time that he had used this glaze to show his secondary school ceramic students what the glaze would do in the kiln. As it was not what he was working on at the time in his own studio work, he had put it aside.

Laurie bought this elegant black-glazed vase from an exhibition we had gone to in the City of Melbourne. I made this ikebana at a demonstration I gave at one of the garden clubs in Melbourne in 2007. It may have been the first time I used it for ikebana.

This photo is from a workshop given by Yoshiro Umemura in 2012. The exercise was to make an ikebana with an emphasis on asymmetry.

I first posted this photo in May last year. Our neighbour had given me the fruiting branches from a Kentia Palm Howea fosteriana, with the instruction "you can do something with these.". The extreme heaviness of the branch meant that it could not support its own weight.

This photo is from March 2015 when I was asked to make ikebana for an event organised by the Japanese Consul-General's Office that was to promote Japanese Sake.

As you can see, this particular vase is very versatile and has a strong presence that needs an equally strong design for harmony.

  

This third of Alistair's vessels is large, and we bought it at the time of extending the house at Torquay. It has a sprayed-on Chun glaze with patches of orange-red showing through from a second glaze containing iron. A special place was made for it at the end of a corridor leading to the new building. The photo above is of an omukaebana, welcoming ikebana, that I made at the residence of the Consul-General for the reception marking the Emperor's Birthday in 2020.

This week's ikebana in the large urn-shaped vessel includes branches from Elizabeth's Magnolia that was pruned a couple of weeks ago. I have secured two branches together then added four Arum lilies and three leaves, that I harvested from the creek behind the house after donning my gumboots. Having passed the shortest day of the year last Wednesday/Thursday, this qualifies well as a Winter Ikebana.

Vale Alistair Whyte.

Follow this link to a tribute by fellow potter Steve Harrison

Greetings from Christopher

25th June 2023