Past the cherry blossoms of the temple, up the hill of a quiet residential area, lies Saijo's studio.
Many of Saijo's works depict plants, with cherry blossoms being particularly striking. Saijo's love for cherry blossoms is evident.
Vibrant and Bold Gold Expression
Saijo boldly uses gold powder. She applies gold over the underglaze, similar to a (*)kinrande ware, a technique called "Usugin." After applying Usugin, the piece is fired once, and then the stamens, vines, and leaf veins of flowers are drawn with lines and dots.
To create raised gold designs, the painting plate is tilted, and the gold is used from where it has accumulated. The contrast of colors visible beneath the gold and the raised lines are exceptionally beautiful.
To use gold powder, an extra step of kneading it with fingers is taken to create an even finer gold paint. A liquid solution of gelatin is mixed with it to create raised gold designs.
This process of mixing and warming with fingers, repeated many times for 15 minutes to an hour, allows the gold paint to blend finely with the gelatin. This method is called "yubidoki" (finger kneading).
This is a traditional method, and it is said that very few artisans incorporate it nowadays.
Process
A picture is drawn on bisque ware, It is painted with a paint called "shiromori" which is used to create raised designs on bisque ware. It is fired once, colored with Western paints, and then gold is layered and fired again.
When layering and firing this gold, if the temperature is too high, the gold will sink into the paint, and if it is too low, the gold will peel off.
Therefore, kiln temperature control is very delicate and requires many years of experience.
Inquiring about the Charm of Iro-e Painting
"I want to create works that are vibrant, beautiful, and bold. I've loved cherry blossoms since long ago and have studied how to paint them by looking at works depicting them.
I want to create pieces that make viewers feel the season and appreciate them."
It's a shame that we can't introduce Saijo's pink cherry blossom paintings in this article, but they truly have the color of cherry blossoms and are very lovely.
We highly recommend seeing her many paintings depicting seasonal flowers and plants in person.
(*)Kinrande (Gold Brocade Ware): A decorative technique, or the porcelain itself, where gold accents are applied over red or polychrome (iro-e) designs.
