Surprise from my kiln

The last one WOW..im speechless..keep posting..you're a very skillful and gifted person

Regards,
Alex

Hello Peter,

Did you keep any of these early works?

Excellent job!
Josef

Hi Alex,

thank you for the nice compliment.

Hi Josef,

these are pots I didn't want to sell because I liked them a lot.
I'm remodelling my showroom at the moment and because of that I must part with some of those pots.

Best regards
Peter

Peter,

I restate my earlier convictions...you are a master of ceramic bonsai pottery. If you are not, then please tell me one who is???

You know, in ceramics there are many avenues in which to explore and grow. There is a lot of different techniques and styles, everything from handmade, moulded, thrown and altered, and lets not even talk about art sculpture! We have many accepted masters of pottery, those who have spent many an hour in their beautiful craft. These artists and craftsmen are accepted as masters and have worked in their own vein with work to prove it. You, I think, are one of those masters. Wheel thrown or not, mastery is not measured by how well you use traditional techniques, but how well you work your own into the realm of the art. What has been achieved with innovation of YOUR techniques. You are constantly learning and that is part of it too...

So, for what its worth, in my humble opinion, think of mastery in regards to what you have done to the realm of the art in which one works. 30 years working in pottery should mean something, and looking at your work, it is clearly evident.

Using the potters wheel or not, does not make one a master. Having a portfolio of work with your caliber and using innovative (yet undisclosed) methods of construction should instead be considered.

So now I must ask, when are you writing a book on your 30 years of pottery!!!

At a loss for words....

Many times I tried to write something like Rob did, but each time I deleted it (- for being not native speaker, being shy etc. :-) )
I always just stood in silent admiration.

I bought another half ton of clay recently , but that´s a slow approximation to Your grandeur, Majesty...
I admire many craftsman and artists here too, but as Rob wrote, You are a true master among them.
I would like to see Your book too, once...

Peter,

I would like to thank you immensely for the fantastic retrospective of your work. A few stand outs for me are the first one, 03/1987, 12/1988,12/2001,06/2008 and 02/1990 the slip work alone is enough to show your mastery. I am curious why there is a gap of almost 10yrs with no pots, did the kiln lay cold? Nothing you liked enough to keep?

I had a chance to hold some of your pots in the late 80's and have never forgotten the work or your name (I forget my own name sometimes!). Since i have begun my own journey with clay, I constantly turn to your site and wonderful gallery of pots. I am surprised so many cant work out how you make your pots, what gets me is how you can produce pairs & sets that are matching in every way working the way you do. Maybe in another 30yrs I might be getting close... I can only hope.

Your mastery of the pot and humble nature are an inspiration and example for us all. The piece that draws me back is the dragons tearing the pot apart. Pure mastery of not only your craft but also, the telling of a story. I would love to spend days turning it over & around looking and feeling every little detail just for the shear beauty of it. The joy it would be to hold.

I always enjoy seeing your latest works when you post them and would also line up to buy a book about your journey with the pot.

Regards
Matt

Ps I would love to see your tool collection.

Hi Alex,
hi Rob,
hi Kitoi,
hi Tom
hi Matt,

Thank you for the beautiful assessment.



Hi Rob,
how many original old Chinese bonsai pots have you held in your hands so far?
I have seen about 300 old pots myself. Half of those belonged to my own collection. This collection contained real masterpieces, all by nameless masters, nobody has got any proof who the potters were.
These pots are masterpieces of craftsmanship. They are my antetypes.

Unfortunately I can not write to you in my own style, because Google does not translate it well.

Talking about the book:
If we want to create good pots, we must first study the history of the bonsai pot. Only then we can understand what makes a good pot.
The following questions must be mastered: What shape of pot do I use for which tree? (There are hundreds of shapes) Which clay and clay colour? Unglazed, or if glazed: which glaze? etc.
I do not know exactly how many articles I wrote about these issues, but I am sure all this would fill 10 books. Unfortunately no publisher would print a book like this, because the interest in such books is small.
For this reason I have my two websites to provide bonsai pot knowledge. One in German and one in English. These websites are not used commercially and there are no advertisements. All the knowledge is freely availabe to the reader.
My two translators Heike van Gunst and Stefan Ulrich also provide their services for free, for such an immense amount of work. There is no allowance or donation, or the like.
One must have a great passion for bonsai pots to do things like that.

Here are some photographs:
The yellow folders contain the finished articles and in the red folders are countless still unfinished articles.






And here is almost all my equipment and pottery tools, I do not need much more. This is what my working table looks like every morning. Not visible is the beautiful music I listen to during work.


Translation: Heike van Gunst

Best regards
Peter
_____________________________________________
THE WORLD OF THE POT: http://www.peter-krebs.de/

Like Kitoi I am also at a loss for words. In fact nothing needs to be said as Peter's amazing pots speak to us in a language that we all understand.

Peter

Enjoyed looking at the tools you work with Over time I have also reduced the tools I use to a handful that all have an important role

Again thanks for showing us an insight into your world

Kind regards

Andy

Peter,

Many thanks for your reply, the coffee and chocolate complete the picture.

Matt

Peter,

Thanks for the insight into your research methods and data collection. I have scoured your webpages and looked at many of your pots here and there is never a doubt in my mind that you are well read and well educated in the art of bonsai pottery. Your work shows many examples of styles and forms, from masterpieces of the past. In my mind, I believe it is your masterful attention to detail and great knowledge of bonsai pottery that you use in your work that makes you a modern day master of mostly traditional pottery. (I say mostly because I know that you do not always just copy what you have seen, but you also work in your own style too).

My point is that you are masterful in your process of creating pots AS they relate to the annals of bonsai pottery. You diligently choose color, shape form embellishments, etc., in a modern way. It is this knowledge and careful use of its elements that give you such credibility, and the western bonsai world is all the better for it!

One could say that you have definitely done your homework

Rob

Hi Andy,
thanks for the nice appreciation.
It is true, the longer you pottery making, the less tools you need.

Hi Rob,
thank you, You brought it to the point

Hi Matt
There are beautiful pots from each year, the photos I cannot show all here.

Here are my private collection reorganized.











Best regards
Peter
_____________________________________________
THE WORLD OF THE POT: http://www.peter-krebs.de/

Peter,

Thank you for sharing your private collection with us all... inspiration to fill a lifetime for one such as myself.

I notice a few spaces remain in the display, how you decide what piece to keep when all your work is beautiful must be very hard indeed.

Matt

Peter,
Thank you for the shots of the personal collection. That is surely a great collection of specimens from a lifes work!!

Dale

Looks like a Museum display!

Hi Matt,
hi Dale,
hi John,

thanks for the nice appreciation.

Best regards
Peter

Hello dear friends,

this pot was imported from China by Mr. Paul Lesniewicz (former owner of "Bonsai-Centrum Heidelberg") about 30 years ago.
Even the Chinese had no descriptions and comments about this pot by that time. The pot kept its secret patiently.
It was not so difficult to find out the origin of the pot and the techniques used for making it. The great secret was how to interpret the pictures and characters. Nobody could help me with that and so the pot stood another 10 years in my small collection.
A few days ago, a Mr. Hoe Chuah from Houston / Texas, USA wrote to me, who had seen my article on the "bonsaipots" website.
His explanation discloses the secret of my pot and restores its history.

This is extremely exciting for me and I want to let you participate.

Here now the complete history of the beautiful old pot:

http://www.bonsaipots.net/index.php?page=fingertraces

All texts translated by Heike van Gunst and Stefan Ulrich

Best regards
Peter

Great informative article Peter.

I am in love with the Higurashi pot that was used to hold the first Shimpaku. Beautiful color and I really love the brushwork. Especially the bamboo side

Hi Rob,
Higurashi is also one of my favorite pot
Best regards
Peter

Hello dear friends
If you just follow your path without looking left or right, this means to me there is no development. The ability to create and express something is in every human being, but not everybody realizes it. I am interested in many kinds of things beside pottery, as Asian arts, fancy music by Arvo Pärt for example, everything concerning fitness sports up to medical issues and most of all horticulture.
Sometimes people ask me what it has to do with ceramic and pottery. I think everything is connected with everything. All these things together determine the development of body and soul.
Men are always like little boys who like to play. I like to play in the garden. As it is not possible in an own garden which doesn't exist, I enjoy playing in other gardens and so it lead me to horticulture.

- PLACES OF TRANQUILLITY -
In a time when all things are meticulously planned, timetables standardized and even creativity becomes stressful, it is extremely important to visit places or rooms which exude tranquillity, relaxation and harmony and help you find peace of mind.
A garden for example can fulfill the needs of modern people surprisingly well. It can be a place of peace, a source of new strength for body and soul. To create such a hideaway for yourself, an exact analysis and preparation is essential. You need to be sure what you want to achieve with the garden. There are many ways to express yourself, from rococo to country garden styles.
It is new in our culture although it has been familiar to people for thousands of years - the meditation garden. If you talk about it many people think it is something mysteriously exotic which is at home only in Asia and defined by tradition and religion. If you take a closer look at the meditation- or Japanese garden it is surprising how familiar its architecture, design and contents are, the elements rock, sand, moss, plants, trees and water in their combination. All those elements ar not especially Chinese or Japanese. Viewing these gardens you inevitably reach a quiescent state of body and mind. This is the key to the mental gate of these gardens. They represent universal aesthetics. This aesthetics are understood by all people around the world. Everybody is receptive for these natural aesthetics, everyone can understand it in his own way and through his eyes enters a world whose representative he is in micro- and macrocosm, with his body and soul.
At such powerful places the human being sees all things of life reflected. He sees the tides in spring, summer, autumn and winter, life and decay all the same. Here he bethinks himself of these things which lead him to a wondrously calm inner state. In this timeless feeling the power of life starts floating involuntarily inwards from outside. Like in a deep recreative sleep, but completely awake and concentrated, body and soul can be recharged like a battery.
The meditation- or Japanese garden means also to experience nature in little space. Even on two square metres it is possible to create such a gem or recreation place. Inner courtyards are predestined for such a garden. But beware of just copying such a garden from a Japanese example. It could easily become an alien part in ones own house that provokes more rejection than admiration.
Among the great arts like music, painting, sculpture etc. is without doubt also horticulture. Like painting or making music, horticulture must be learned, intuition is a gift. The experienced horticulturist will include the environment of the garden. Landscape and house will form a unit with the garden to create. Knowledge about Chinese painting is helpful: "Looking down from above or looking up from deep down are important composing and space-creating methods in horticulture." The people living there must not be forgotten. Older people for example want a garden with little maintenance effort. Everything must fit.
Here are some selected pictures of large and very small gardens I designed in the last years. These gardens were built just by me and the owner, without heavy equipment.

Photo No. 4/5/6/9/10 Helmut Rüger

Best regards
Peter
_____________________________________________
THE WORLD OF THE POT: http://www.peter-krebs.de/

Truely inspirational

I love your gardens. Beautifull.

I also love Higurashi, and am excited by Junyao pot too. I have seen some other photo years ago.

I think I understand the other reply, about gardening and other activities, well. It´s good to mention here too.
I work as a gardener, by a coicidence.