Soda-fired Hakeme Plates

I made a few soda-fired plates with hakeme decoration with the intention of them being the serving trays for sake sets. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, one of them warped severely in the soda kiln, and will only be useful as a decoration. Still, I'm rather happy with the results.

Hakeme Bamboo Tumbler

Hakeme is a Korean technique of painting white slip onto stoneware with a rough brush. The technique came about as a response to problems that arose from dipping dark clay forms in white slip. The dipped ware often became saturated and either deformed or fell apart, or the thick slip cracked upon drying. So the Korean potters began painting their slip on. Some Japanese potters, Hamada for example, took to this style and used it as an expressive means of decoration.

I actually made this tumbler a while back with no knowledge of the technique, only thinking that the white slip with obvious brush strokes might make for a nice contrast for my carved decoration. And much like the Korean and Japanese potters, I intuitively chose a translucent celadon glaze. The result is simple, yet beautiful.