What makes a great pot?

[Notsureaboutplantnames]

I have been looking at pots just as much as the plants and I have tried to determine what makes pots exceptional compared to okay.

I don't mean how it complements a plant, just how the pot looks. I also realize that an exceptional pot does not make an okay tree look better and will pull your eye to the pot and not the tree.

I guess it's because I see so many posts listing the maker ... "x plant in a so and so pot."

(I have been looking at trees for over 40 years, but I just started my first ceramics class .)

I have watched too many youtube videos on making pots to see what I like. Slabs, coils, smooth, rough, textured, ornamented in clay and painted.

Thanks to those of you that have shared your processes on this site. I have tried several.

 

[BrightsideB]

I’d say an exceptional pot would be made for bonsai and the outdoor elements. There are aesthetics and function to be graded. But first function is what makes the pot exceptional. Aesthetic is up to the one utilizing the pot for bonsai. That is much more trivial and personal. You can sit around and debate aesthetic for ever but if it cracks during winter it’s obvious what matters most. Although aesthetics are very important as well.

Properly fired ceramics that have less than 1% absorption is ideal. A pot with grog can make it more results to shock from what I’ve experimented with but isn’t necessary for an exceptional pot. Also properly placed wire holes (I call utility holes) and drainage holes. Also no cracks. Although cracks can be fixed and pots can last a long time with them. It wouldn’t be exceptional. It is considered a flaw in the structural integrity.

 

[Russ1]

Last few years I have been having a really hard time finding good pots. The prices are way up and quality, durability is way down.
I'm not sure what's going on whether it's greed or what, but like a lot of things these days everything is disposable but if a tree is going to live in a pot for 3,4,5 years or more then they should last at least that long.
I bought an unglazed pot last year and it didn't make it through one winter without cracking and a really big piece falling off the side. Yet I have pots 30 years old that are still in great shape.
The clay and firing are important then the style, aesthetics. Most of the glazed pots I see are ugly and poorly made. Pots really need to be able to stand up to our cold winters.

 

[rockm]

Function first. Flat bottom with adequate drainage holes and tie down holes

Construction is sturdy and the pot “feels” substantial and solid. Warped sides not great. thin walls are fine but have to be straight and/or even. Clean lines etc

PROPORTIONS should be thought out. Without thought given to what may be placed in a given pot, potters can miss the point of the pot. Avoid pots that scream “look at me”. Some western pots can be drastically divergent from classic shapes but good potters know how how to do it effectively without being clunky.

As for finishes. Glazes should be applied thoughtfully. Glazes should also have subtlety not overpowering. Subtlety is needed. Complex glazes should not crazy

All of this is negotiable (with the exception of of the construction)

Get out and look at pots at bonsai exhibitions or heck even ancient (Asian) ceramicsin museums (which can inform your work with shapes and glaze ideas). If you can handle great pots you can feel how different they can be from badly made pots.

 

[BrianBay9]

I'd like to add, for large pots, feet just high enough to provide space for your fingers underneath without getting smashed.

 

[rockm]

I'd like to add, for large pots, feet just high enough to provide space for your fingers underneath without getting smashed.

No joke. This is an issue with even medium sized pots. I’ve got 24” nanban with low feet. Takes effort to get a decent grip on it to turn or move it without getting a blood blister

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Last few years I have been having a really hard time finding good pots. The prices are way up and quality, durability is way down.

Agreed.

I wanted to start my list of "what makes a great pot" by stating "craftsmanship". Seems like anyone with access to a kiln nowadays is whipping out pots that I don't think would get a passing grade in a high school ceramics class I look for pots that are symmetrical, with clean, consistent, thick walls, flat bottoms, flat tops. Vertical or convex walls without waves or ripples or bends. No significant construction flaws. No fingerprints or tool marks - anywhere. If it is supposed to be round, perfectly round. If it is supposed to be oval, perfectly oval.

Probably less than 10% of all bonsai belong in round pots, and yet it feels like half of all pots being made are wheel-thrown circular pots. I have only a handful of trees that will fit in something smaller than an 8 1/2" x 11" rectangular pot... and yet most bonsai pots being made seem to be smaller than this.

Watch some of the YouTube videos of Japanese pros making pots - and try produce something as good. I was watching a video showing how some potters will construct a pot - and then send it out to a second potter to be "finished". The second potter focused solely on removing any blemish, finger or tool mark, and making the pot as close to perfect as possible prior to its first firing. I feel that far too many potters here in the US focus on garish glazes, over-the-top decorations like dragons, koi, frogs, etc, when I don't think they could even make a perfect round pot.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Tie down holes, a flat bottom or a sloped bottom that slopes towards the pot exit, it has to have the "structural integrity ring" when you tap it with a finger nail, if it has feet: more than 3, if it has a flat bottom or rim bottom: make sure the tie down wire isn't what the pot ends up standing on. FROST RESISTANCE.
More than once have I bought a pricey pot online, only to find out it had no tie down holes or that it ended up standing on the tiedown wires.

I'm not a ceramics enthusiast, a pot should be functional and not distracting, those are my aesthetic rules.
Quality wise, I have demands. If an emptied 4 dollar outdoor candle container made of terracotta requires just as much rework as a 40 dollar pot, the 40 dollar pot is actually worth 4 to me.
Over here, you can join community/hobbycentre pottery classes for about 80 euros a year, which allows you to make as much as you want within reason (and within the set evening get-togethers), and the kiln is fired every two months. I can do commissions there and their work is as good as some of the work I saw at the Trophy this year. Which is why I don't even want to get into ceramics: 35-60 euro for a commissioned pot is peanuts compared to what "bonsai" potters ask.

If a pot doesn't survive my multi-freeze-thaw winters, the maker is on the blacklist for me. I can't have that happen.

 

[shohin_branches]

I'm really judgemental about how the feet look. A lot of people will put together a nice looking pot but then half-ass the feet or not even cut or attach feet. That's one of the real markers of someone concerned with mastery of their craft is that all of the parts are well executed. I used to buy a lot more pots off the internet but now I like to hold them and check the quality before purchasing.

It's the first thing I noticed about my friend's pots when I picked one up, the attention to detail and how perfectly he carved the feet. He doesn't just make bonsai pots though. Johnny Menzel

 

[rockm]

Agreed.

I wanted to start my list of "what makes a great pot" by stating "craftsmanship". Seems like anyone with access to a kiln nowadays is whipping out pots that I don't think would get a passing grade in a high school ceramics class I look for pots that are symmetrical, with clean, consistent, thick walls, flat bottoms, flat tops. Vertical or convex walls without waves or ripples or bends. No significant construction flaws. No fingerprints or tool marks - anywhere. If it is supposed to be round, perfectly round. If it is supposed to be oval, perfectly oval.

Probably less than 10% of all bonsai belong in round pots, and yet it feels like half of all pots being made are wheel-thrown circular pots. I have only a handful of trees that will fit in something smaller than an 8 1/2" x 11" rectangular pot... and yet most bonsai pots being made seem to be smaller than this.

Watch some of the YouTube videos of Japanese pros making pots - and try produce something as good. I was watching a video showing how some potters will construct a pot - and then send it out to a second potter to be "finished". The second potter focused solely on removing any blemish, finger or tool mark, and making the pot as close to perfect as possible prior to its first firing. I feel that far too many potters here in the US focus on garish glazes, over-the-top decorations like dragons, koi, frogs, etc, when I don't think they could even make a perfect round pot.

Ditto. I also have noticed the exponential growth of mostly mediocre bonsai potters. Garish glazes awful construction etc are more common

It’s a feedback loop bad pots seen by novice potters that equals more inferior pots.

I’d your just starting out get your actual hands on work by Sara Raynor, Dan Gould, Max Braverman, Ron Lang, Nick Lenz. Just google for pics of their work I line or visit Sara’s website. Also Nao Tokutake and MJ Lai’s work is excellent to look at to see exemplary construction, design and glazes

 

[R0b]

It can be summarised by one word craftsmanship.

I mostly buy older Japanese pots and start to have a reasonable collection and spent more money on pots than trees, but even some I bought a few year ago would make me think three times now.

If I look at potters at the Trophy this year too many us boring high gloss glazes. So more matted glazes work much better for most trees.

Functionality with sufficient tie down holes is the other big gap.

 

[rockm]

I’d agree that matte glazes have been less used by new potters. It’s a shame. This one is a 24” drum pot by Bryan Albright. Got it back in the 90s from him.

 

[BrightsideB]

I used to have a problem selling some pots I made. I could almost say I despise the way a pot came out. But I don’t make them for me so I got over it. To many times I’ve seen a respected bonsai practitioner or professional say they love a pot and for another to say it won’t work for any bonsai lol.

Round pots don’t dictate direction. Basically any other shape has the ability to do that to one extent or another. We love direction, meaning, and intention in bonsai. Round pots can take that away with many bonsai styles. But there is something about them that we love. Don’t lie. lol

FWIW Usually my round pots take longer to sell hence why it seems I always have them lol. But half the time they sell to someone who is using it for other botanical needs. I believe that’s my primary market for rounds. And many people love to support domestic craftsmen/artisans. Everyone knows the extra cost goes straight to the craftsman.

 

[Notsureaboutplantnames]

Very enlightening thank you all.
To sum it up:
Clay - lots of grog. How much is enough?
Craftsmanship - both detail orientated and structurally sound.
Proper feet - height, location, not too many or too few
Wire holes - right location, proper number.. (Aside from not under the feet, how many must depend on the size of the pot.)
Dull glaze to no glaze (Won't an unglazed pot absorb water and potentially freeze cracking the pot or are they so dry after the first firing?)

 

[rockm]

Very enlightening thank you all.
To sum it up:
Clay - lots of grog. How much is enough?
Craftsmanship - both detail orientated and structurally sound.
Proper feet - height, location, not too many or too few
Wire holes - right location, proper number.. (Aside from not under the feet, how many must depend on the size of the pot.)
Dull glaze to no glaze (Won't an unglazed pot absorb water and potentially freeze cracking the pot or are they so dry after the first firing?)

The number of wire holes depends on the size of the pot, but also how the tree would be wired into it-rectangles might have more tie down holes on the "long sides," for instance.

From what I understand (I'm not a potter) but the clay absorbing water enough to crack the pot is a function of the clay and its firing to Cone 7 or so to make it "frost proof." The SHAPE of the pot has more to do with cracking in cold weather, however. Pots with inward overhanging lips, or pots with some form of taper where the inside walls pull inward over the soil a bit are more likely to crack. That's because soil -the water in it anyway--expands when it freezes. That expansion forces the soil upwards as it meets resistance from the pot's bottom and walls. That upward expansion is relentless and powerful. It's the same force that cracks boulders and rocks. Very often the tree owner may not consider that when filling the pot with soil. Leaving a half inch or more of space between soil and the incurve can prevent that (but all that is beyond the potter's control)

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Don’t forget proportions. This is very closely related to the concept of craftsmanship. It includes wall thickness, whether the shape needs a lip, foot size and placement, wall angle, etc. Many western potters don’t have that instinct for some reason, and it seems like the answer to that is to make round pots on a wheel. Don’t do that.

Study pots in Kokufu books and then check out some of @NaoTK https://www.tokutakebonsai.com/gallery pots. He gets it. Another well-known potter in the US has absolutely nailed glazes, but I struggle to appreciate the proportions. Study some works of the 3 greats in Japan pottery, all from Kyoto: Heian Tofukuji, Tsukinowa Yusen, and Heian Kouzan:

Heian Kouzan(平安香山)Part 1

There are 3 potters in Japan whose work is considered the pinnacle of Japanese design and aesthetics in Bonsai pottery: Heian Tofukuji, Tsukinowa Yusen, and Heian Kouzan; also known as the “B…

japanesebonsaipots.net

With these three, you’ll see some outstanding examples of proportions, clay body, glazes, and painting.

 

[rockm]

Very enlightening thank you all.
To sum it up:
Clay - lots of grog. How much is enough?
Craftsmanship - both detail orientated and structurally sound.
Proper feet - height, location, not too many or too few
Wire holes - right location, proper number.. (Aside from not under the feet, how many must depend on the size of the pot.)
Dull glaze to no glaze (Won't an unglazed pot absorb water and potentially freeze cracking the pot or are they so dry after the first firing?)

Also "dull" is not the right word. Subtle is a better one. This glaze is not "dull" it is complex, but subdued. It won't overpower the tree put in the pot. Tokutake pot.

 

[NaoTK]

Also "dull" is not the right word. Subtle is a better one. This glaze is not "dull" it is complex, but subdued. It won't overpower the tree put in the pot. Tokutake pot.

View attachment 593026

How'd you even get that? I will have a big spread at Nationals

 

[rockm]

How'd you even get that? I will have a big spread at Nationals

Your spouse posted a FB note about availability of a few leftover pots from a sale at Hardy Bonsai.

You should come to the Potomac Bonsai Association show and sale in DC next year. I have it on pretty good authority the top staff at the Bonsai Museum love your work.

 

[JeffS73]

Exceptional is a high bar, are you asking what would make an exceptional pot now, or which ones already in existence are exceptional?

A new potter should focus on the practical considerations, good craftsmanship as many have mentioned. Try and get your hands on some pots from Tokoname, Japan, many lessons in those pots. Go to trade stands and examine pots.

A lot of existing exceptional pots do not meet those practical requirements though, and for a number of reasons; material availability, history, differing geography, or just artistic merit. Would I reject another pot by Sanshu Ichiyo, even though most of the ones I've bought were already cracked? Of course not, they're exceptional, and I would make concessions for them, like slip potting out of them and not expecting them to cope with freezing conditions. Enjoy the journey!