Modern tsuba

[Brian]

Just thought I would share the pics of Ford's latest tsuba. This one we all played with in Tokyo, and it is really striking in hand. There seems to be extremely few modern tsubashi working in Japan, and this one was extremely well received there. It really needs to be seen in hand to fully appreciate it, but thought I would post to show that there are some excellent craftsmen still working today, and not all in Japan

 

Brian

 

http://followingtheironbrush.blogspot.com/

http://picasaweb.google.com/tsubaman/Or ... FDXmQRYFI#

[Bungo]

awesome !!

what happened to his beard ?

 

milt

[John A Stuart]

Amazing work. The picassa site when you click on pics came up really pixellated. Given the time, Ford, to make something as detailed as some of your pieces are and the work involved can anyone have commercial success anymore in this field? or really a labour of love? I mean commercial metalwork relies on mass production of work, where the designer/artist creates a piece and then it is replicated en masse to fill demand. I mean in general, not personally. John

[shan]

To be Honest,From what i have seen, All of fords work has an air of elusivness that to me bestpeaks of a calm inner self.

All of the work i have seen has an almost ephemeral feel to it,Like its there to look at and admire the cratfsamanship and May make you feel you want to touch it, but if you do, it might just dissapear in a wisp of smoke,into thin air and be gone forever.

(Probably can`t explain it very well,sorry)

Great work Ford , i like all of the other works as well as the Tsuba you make.

I would be proud to own anything you had crafted,tsuba included.

[Ford Hallam]

Thanks Gents, for your kind appreciation

 

John, if the images are pixellated It probably means they haven't fully loaded. You may need to give it a moment if your connection speed is a bit slow. Sorry.

 

In terms of your question as to whether this sort of work is actually viable today in a commercial sense I'd have to say that it would depend entirely on the quality of the final product and getting in front of the right audience. Funny enough ( in an ironic way ) that audience generally isn't fittings collectors. There is no contemporary tradition really, just a very small group who make, perhaps, a single piece a year. There is nothing really new coming out in terms of the designs or expression either so I think there isn't much confidence in newer work. Having said that I've been fortunate enough to have sold quite a few piece to collectors, some of them through this forum ( Thanks Brian ) but I couldn't support my family that way.

 

It's a little disheartening at times that I can't follow my first love ( tsuba) despite years of absorbing the tradition and working out a coherent and authentic expression of my own. I've have experimented with the netsuke format ( kagamibuta) and have found a fair bit of interest there but that too is a fairly small market. I'm beginning to work towards a sculptural format that I hope to present to the wider art market and I think it pays to try and explore different avenues. Thankfully though, there are always people who can afford and appreciate the finest things that are available so there is always the motivation to keep pushing ones abilities.

 

Shan,

 

thank you for your very eloquent compliments. Perhaps one day you'll be able to test out your impressions....and get to see if the really are all that ethereal . I'll let you know when I'm next back in the UK.

 

Thanks again all,

 

regards,

 

Ford

 

p.s. Milt, the beard is just a disguise for here, and a desperate attempt to be taken seriously ( I mean...IF I was much older AND Oriental... I'd be laughing ) The way I seem to upset delicate sensitivities I also thought it wise to adopt at least some sort of disguise.

[hybridfiat]

I am deeply, desperately impressed with this art form and your expression in it Ford.

 

Id like to try a tsuba perhaps in copper, to start with a simple carving.

How do I get instruction?

[Brian]

Steve,

Best place to start is on Ford's forum (see links in his signature)

Lots of info and advice there.

 

Regards,

Brian