Oribe Green Glaze Test

I don't know why I never just make test tiles, but I don't. Maybe someday when I have my own kiln... In the meantime, I just experiment on my own work. Here, I'm trying to devise a relatively authentic Oribe green glaze. I started with a tried and true clear glaze that fits our studio's stoneware body, Baccerra clear, and added 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12% copper carbonate to 100g test batches. I'm most satisfied with the 5%, however I suspect that I either mixed the 7% batch a little too thick, or dipped the test pot for a little too long, as it seems to be as dark (or darker) than the 9% batch.

Tokkuri and Ochoko

I'm working on a custom sake set for a customer, and I've been learning and experimenting quite a bit. The pieces above came out of the soda kiln today, along with a few other sake cups (ochoko). I'm planning to raku fire a serving tray, and then I'll also be making several more tokkuri (flasks) for her to choose from, as well as several more cups, fired in both wood and reduction firings.

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.

Raku Chawan

I've been learning quite a bit about Japanese pottery, and it's interesting that although I've known about raku firing ever since I became a ceramist, I knew nothing of Raku ware, or Raku-yaki (楽焼). You can read more in-depth articles about the history of the Raku family, and the origins of the tea ceremony for which the chawan (tea bowl) is designed for elsewhere, but I'll give a brief explanation...

During the late 1500's the Japanese elite highly prized unique and rustic ceramic forms for their tea ceremony. The great tea-master Sen no Rikyu collaborated with a potter named Chojiro, whose work was so admired by the emperor that he was awarded the name Raku, which means pleasure. Chojiro's method was to create his work by hand-modeling the clay without the use of a potter's wheel. And the firing method employed (which is the basis of western "raku" firing) involved a rapid heating of the pottery, culminating with the glowing hot pots being removed from a fiery kiln and rapidly cooled.

Over the winter holiday I hand-molded about 20 tea bowls (they are essentially pinch pots) and last week I fired the first batch of 10. I wanted to try to do things fairly traditionally, allowing the pots to air-cool, but my friend Junji ultimately convinced me to experiment with post-firing reduction for some of them. Although placing raku-fired pots in combustable materials like sawdust is a western technique, the results would likely appeal to eastern aesthetic, as the dark unglazed areas highlight the crackle of the glaze.

While some of these bowls will be given to friends and coworkers (my boss already claimed the one pictured above) the majority will be used and then given to students in my Manga Madness class when Junji and I teach them about the Japanese tea ceremony.

Junji Miyazawa Teapot

I recently posted about this teapot on my other blog, Urban Velo. It was a gift from my friend, coworker and pottery mentor, Junji Miyazawa. This past week I was really sad because his contract expired. Then just this weekend I learned that he's been re-hired as the new ceramics studio tech.

I'm ecstatic. Quite selfishly, it's in part because Junji's the only person at MCG who consistently wants to get Asian food for lunch, and definitely the only person who can truly appreciate Korea Garden, or who's ready to visit Lucy for bánh mì at the drop of a hat.

Click here to read more about the teapot.

Yoko Sekino-Bove

One of the first potters I met from outside the MCG studio was Yoko Sekino-Bove. She lives and works in nearby Washington, PA, and as you can see, her specialty is detailed underglaze decoration. Yoko was at MCG a lot last year during the Okudo residency, as we not only needed a Japanese translator, we needed one who was fluent in the language of ceramics.

I recently saw Yoko at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, and it was overwhelming to see an entire display of her work. One day I hope to own one of Yoko's pieces, but everything I really like is out of my price range.

Check out Yoko's work at pittsburghartistregistry.org/yokosekinobove.

Wabi-sabi Tea Bowl

A friend of mine asked me to make him a Hagi-style tea bowl, which led me to do a good bit of research on Hagi ware. Used in the Japanese tea ceremony, the rough forms and notched foot pay homage to the Korean pottery they're styled after. They celebrate the wabi-sabi aesthetic which is to say they're deemed beautiful because of their imperfections.

I sought knowledge and guidance from my coworker Junji, and created numerous tea bowls. I was attempting to recreate the look and feel of traditional Hagi ware, but I didn't really come close. Never the less, it was a lot of fun learning about the techniques and materials used.