Home Again... An Update

I realize it's been much too long since I've posted anything, but needless to say, returning home made for some busy times. The jet lag subsided after a week or so, and even though I still miss being at Shigaraki, it is nice to be home. As some of you probably know, not long before leaving for Japan I moved to a new apartment, got married, we aquired a puppy (and more recently two kittens), and I'm also looking for a new job. Though I'd probably prefer to be doing ceramics full time, this isn't the best economy for that, and the idea of a steadier income is certainly pleasant! So, there has been plenty to do and plenty to adjust to since I've been home. I think the worst part about being back is not having access to such a great studio area and time for my artwork every day. Nevertheless, new pieces are already in the works...


Earlier today I started to edit pictures of each of the pieces I made at Shigaraki. I want to open up a forum for discussion of each piece individually, so once I'm done editing, each piece will be featured in a seperate post that can be commented on - I would love to hear any thoughts you have about the concepts I've been working with!!!



In other news...

The pieces I shipped home still have not arrived, but I'm determined not to worry until at least 2 months have passed. Nevertheless, I'm anxious to know they are safe and unbroken.

Something else to be anxious about - I should be hearing back from the Ceramics Biennale in Korea within a few days.

I will be exhibiting some of my pieces from Shigaraki during the 43rd Annual NCECA Conference in April, 2009. Details coming soon...

Last Day, Already

It's hard to believe a month has already passed. And, at the same time, it's amazing I've accomplished so much in just a month. I can only imagine how great it would be to come here for 3 months, to have time to test glazes and adjust to new clay and try different kilns and make so many things. I've been asked by a few members of the staff if I will come back again sometime and stay longer, and I have told them all that I would love to. Because, of course I would! This is such an amazing place to work.

So, yesterday I bought boxes, and packing materials, and more glaze to bring home. After I fired Tuesday, then again yesterday I took pictures of all of my finished work. There's a sort of "photo studio" set up outside under the awning... it's just two platforms painted white, which were from Nel's earlier displays, but they work remarkably well for photos in the daylight. I used some of the photos to apply to the 5th World Ceramic Biennale of 2009 in Korea (at the very last minute, too - applications were due on the 30th!), and packed up those pieces. The staff met this morning and decided which one of the others they'd like to have for the museum - I felt bad they could not choose from them all, but I've already sent in applications, and what would I do if a piece got accepted, but it was in the collection here? They chose the one which I've been calling East/West II, and I think it was a good choice. I'll be happy to know it is here. So, beyond all that, I've just been trying to finish up more photos, more packing, more paperwork, some cleaning... This is my last day, and there's all these little things to do. I'll ship a couple of boxes of work home later today, clean up my work space and my room, and leave early tomorrow morning. It's amazing how much faster time flies by when there's some kind of deadline involved!

I'm amused, looking back on this blog, to see how much longer my posts became as I got busier and actually sat down to write here less often. It's become a bit of a photo journal, really, but what I've been doing is so visual, of course words could not suffice to explain it all. Ah, well, back to work. I'll try to say a bit more here later, before I go home. I also have every intention of continuing to post every once in awhile, even though my residency will be over. With any luck, there will be updates about exhibitions, the safe arrival of the work I've shipped home, and other news related to all I've done this month! Besides, I suppose I should post some of the final photos of the pieces, shouldn't I?!

A little more work, a little more glaze, a little more fire...

Even though I should've been done making things long before... I got bored on Saturday. I kept looking at all my extra clay, and thinking about how much I'd like to be using it rather than leaving it behind, and I was just going to be watching a movie that night... So...

INVASION!!!

The tiny things took over my table. It was fun, really, and since I put them in the drying room that night they were dry in time for my bisque on Sunday (I had just one of the bigger pieces that hadn't been dry enough for the last bisque, so I ran the tiny electric test kiln.). Sunday night, by the way, was very much fun. There was a going away / welcome party for the 3 of us who are leaving this week, and for the two new guys who recently arrived from Laos. It was great, of course - everyone fixed different dishes, so there was a huge variety of delicious food, some of the staff, including Takae-sensei, came and joined us, there was music, sake, even some dancing! I think I was up until 2a.m. (not just because of the party, but also because my kiln finished late) and I think I was still one of the first to go to bed!

This, by the way, is the piece I forgot to take a picture of before bisquing:

And some photos from the party:

Serving curry, and Takae-sensei holding Matsunami-san's baby.


Just talking...


I thought this was a very cute picture of Kyoko (she's the one holding the baby... he got passed around a lot again, of course).


Oishii!! ("Tasty!")


Ah, well, maybe dancing doesn't come out so well in photos... At one point, there were about 10 of us out there making fools of ourselves :)

So, anyway, as of Monday evening everything was finally bisqued and sufficiently cooled, and since I'd asked to fire the raku kiln again on Tuesday, I spent the evening glazing. I think I explained before that I decided to go ahead and use some of the commercial raku glazes they had here so that I wouldn't need to worry about testing anything. However, I don't know if I ever shared any pictures of the glaze room...

This is it!


And the closet full of various glaze materials for use.


And the shelves of glazes and cabinets full of colorants and other interesting powders.


And the next batch of my work, in the midst of being glazed!

On Tuesday morning, then, I loaded my last kiln full of work. It was a rainy day - most of the last week or so has been rainy, unusually so for September here - but the staff set up the kiln under the awning, which is pretty high, so it wasn't a problem. Then, a few hours later, voila! More finished pieces. I was particularly happy with how some of these turned out. But, I guess I can really say I'm happy with how all of my work has come out here. It's been an extremely productive and enjoyable month! Unfortunately, I didn't get to take very many pictures of this firing.

I think we went through 5 or 6 thermocouples before one seemed to be giving the right reading (or in some cases, any reading at all!).


They never said why they started out using this burner (which is actually the one they used to light the oil-drip burner last time)... except that the staff seemed to be running a little behind that morning, and it would suffice for the first few hundred degrees.


Finished!


And some more!


I think raku always draws a crowd. It's so quick! So fun!

At Last, Raku!

I finally fired yesterday - so exciting! There were really remarkably few differences from the process I use at home. The oil-drip burner was fueled with kerosene, and had an electric fan. Their kiln is much wider and shallower than the one I use at home, so I was able to load all of the pieces I had ready at once, and finish them all in one firing. I have more that will be ready to fire Tuesday, but some are taller, so I'm not certain if I will be able to put them in without laying them on their sides. The firing itself took about 4 hours, which is much longer than the hour or so I usually take, and they only went up to about 850 degrees Celsius which is only about a cone 014 or 012, or around 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. The glazes I use at home fire to around cone 06 or 04, which is closer to 1800-1900 degrees Fahrenheit. We started the firing around 11a.m., and took everything out around 3p.m., and most of the time in between, I had nothing to do and was pacing like an anxious mother. When the firing was finished and we went to take everything out of the kiln, I found out that they usually sit the pieces out in the air to let them cool for a few minutes before putting them in the reduction, while I would usually put them directly in. They do that to let the glaze solidify, so it will not pick up any texture... on the other hand, most Americans seem to want that texture from the reduction materials! They use rice hulls for the reduction whereas I use sawdust, and they do not cover the pieces, instead just sitting them gently on top. We probably left them in the reduction for 2 or 3 hours - after 30 minutes or so, they told me I could take them out then, but if we left them in longer, they might get a better color. The results were certainly satisfactory after a longer time!

I took as many pictures as I could, even though it was a bit difficult since I was an active participant in the process. I also took a video when we were pulling everything out of the kiln, and even though it is not a very good angle, you should be able to get an idea of what is going on :)

When I arrived at 10a.m., everything was nearly set up.


All loaded and ready to go!


Lighting the burner.


A closer shot of the burner.


The digital pyrometer and thermocouple... I think every kiln I've seen here has these. How nice! But I fire my raku by sight at home, so they wouldn't be too helpful with that, at least.


At around 400 degrees, I walked by and noticed there was no more fire... because there was no more kerosene! The kiln probably dropped 100 degrees before they filled the tank and re-lit the burner, but it didn't seem to cause any problems.


844 degrees, ready to go!


The sound isn't very good here because of the lawnmower sounds and such in the background. But, you can see everything coming out of the kiln. You can also see when the lip broke off one of the pieces as I tried to pick it up - no worries, I saved the broken piece and it will glue back on nicely.


Waiting... waiting... waiting...


Voila!


All nicely reduced.


And the finished products, still needing some cleaning of course. I'm going to take some better pictures of them tomorrow, before I ship them home.


As soon as my pieces were out of the kiln and into the reduction, the staff loaded the kiln again with some of their own work.


I was surprised that they often glaze the entire piece, even the bottom, but they do make little clay stands to set them on which break off easily after the firing. I was also very surprised that they stacked these tea bowls, but there didn't seem to be any damage to the finished product.


And if you put a few little branches in here like this...


The kiln does this!


Admiring their finished work.

So there you have it. And, by the way, sorry for the delay in posting this. There were some problems getting the video to work, so even though I wrote this all out Sunday, I think it may not show up until about Tuesday or so.

Kyoto - Raku Museum

Since all the staff members who would be helping me raku had the day off Friday, I wasn't going to be able to fire until today, Saturday. Having finished whatever glazing I could do, and not being able to build anything so late in the month, there would be virtually nothing for me to do here, so I decided to go to Kyoto for the day. I wondered around Kyoto Station, the Imperial Gardens, Gion, and a couple of shopping arcades, just glad to be in a different, busier, and more exciting environment for a change. It was a very enjoyable trip, but most of it was not at all related to ceramics. However, I did spend part of the afternoon at the Raku Museum, and that is worth telling about here.

The Raku Museum in Kyoto is a wonderful, tiny little museum that shows a bit of the history and process of raku. You can see the museum's website here - www.raku-yaki.or.jp - it has pages available in English as well as Japanese, although the English is just a little awkward at times. When Andrew and I were staying in Kyoto before I came to Shigaraki, we went to the Raku Museum, and saw their usual displays - one piece from each master of the Raku family, a variety of other raku implements, and a display of items used for the very traditional ways making raku - saggars, bellows, tools, etc. I was so glad to have a chance to see all this, and when I decided to spend another day in Kyoto, I naturally wanted to go back to view it all again while it was so convenient.

When I arrived yesterday afternoon, though, I had a bit of a surprise - the exhibits were completely different! The Raku Museum is currently celebrating their 30th anniversary, and in recognition of that, they are displaying a special selection of items chosen by Kichizaemon, the 15th Raku family master. As you might guess, I am SO glad I went back. There were different works on display from the masters, as well as important works (mostly tea bowls) from other family members and ceramic artists, and other pieces of important tea-ceremony ceramic ware. They also had acquired a screen painting by Toeki Unkoku, which I believe had once been displayed in one of the temples in Kyoto.

As if that wasn't enough, as I was leaving there was a tour group of foreigners just arriving, and they were being shown a video in English about raku and the Raku family - a video which I hope I can find somewhere and purchase for myself! I was able to join them and see most of the video, and I learned so much about the processes the family uses. What is even more interesting is to see the differences between the Raku family's methods, and the process we used for today's firing. (And yes, I will be posting photos from that very soon!)

Wednesday's Adventures

Wednesday began with what appeared to be me wondering aimlessly around the studio and adjacent rooms. It was, in fact, me wondering around not so aimlessly, trying to find the right people to talk to, the right glazes to use, a way to get everything bisqued in time, and in the meantime, trying to figure out just how I wanted all this to work out, so that when I found the right people, I would know what to ask them for.

It was a rather uneventful morning, unless you count mentally.

I did find out that there are raku glazes already here in the glaze room that I could use, and I saw the test piece as well as a few teabowls with those glazes. Also, a trip to the Research Center had been planned for 3:00 that afternoon, and perhaps they would have some recipes I could use. Or I could mix the same glazes that I use at home, but I was anxious to try the Japanese style of raku, with some of the glaze they would typically use.

Around 11 or so, I got a call saying Takae-sensei (he seems to be everyone's boss or teacher, but I don't think he's the director here, so I'm not sure exactly what his position is) was waiting for me upstairs, and would like to see me. So, I went up to the kitchen, and found he was with a woman who spoke very good English and Japanese, and who was here to turn in her application to work here at Togei no Mori next year. I later found out her name is Celina, she has stayed at Togei no Mori twice before, she is from Bolivia, and is in fact the only artist from there to ever work here, and she has lived in Japan many years. Anyway, it was very nice to speak with the two of them for awhile, because she was able to make up for my deficits in speaking and understanding Japanese, and I found out Takae-sensei has been very interested in my work, but of course, has had difficulty talking to me since my Japanese is out of practice and seriously lacking vocabulary, and his English is minimal.

After we talked for awhile, Celina invited me to go to the local library with her, since she was going anyway and perhaps she could help me find a couple of good books on raku. Takae-sensei had said he had a meeting, but as we were leaving he pulled up beside us in his car and asked if we would go to his house with him since he had a little time. How nice! So, we followed him, and went to visit his home. I found out that his wife is also a potter, though she also has gardens and takes care of the house. Takae-sensei used to be the director of the Research Center here, and was for many years, and his father was also a teacher. After Takae-sensei retired, he came to Togei no Mori. He has done all kinds of amazing things with glaze research and develpment, including creating high-temperature luster glazes (I believe it had something to do with slowly cooling the kiln, and many of them were based on tenmoku glazes), glazes that completely change color in different light, low-temperature glow-in-the-dark glaze... And he is also interested in raku, and reduction with oil. There must have been at least 6 or 8 kilns at their home. It was great to get to know him a little better, and to see the amazing things he has worked on.

So, after a very nice visit, we proceeded to the library, and Celina helped me to find a couple of books with information on Japanese raku. One was called, in translation "Raku Technique" and though it is written entirely in Japanese, I am very anxious to get a copy for myself. There were numerous pictures, some glaze recipes, and all kinds of information that I could only begin to understand now. I would love to translate this book into English someday, because it is really rather difficult to find extensive information on Japanese style raku in America. Celina kindly translated a few recipes for me, and I'm anxious to take them home and test them. However, I decided that for now, here, it would be best to use the glazes that are already available and that the guys who are helping me are already familiar with. I don't really have time to test anything new, even though I would certainly like to! But I will soon, most definitely.

So, after an already busy and interesting day, at 3 a group of us went to the Research Center with Minori and Takae-sensei, as well as another man helped to translate for us. It is really an amazing facility, with every bit of machinery you can imagine for making, mixing, shaping, or analyzing glaze or clay. This, I believe, is where Takae-sensei developed most of his ideas, and there are all kinds of interesting works in progress there that we could only understand a bit of. For instance, have you ever thought that a sponge soaked in clay would burn out in the firing, and the result would be a block of some great insulation material? They have. That place has such an interesting mix of art and science. There are students learning how to throw, and upstairs, researchers testing the endurance of roof tiles. They have an entire room full of shelves upon shelves of glazes that have been developed there, and the recipes are all available. Simply amazing. I'll post some of the photos from the research center. I wish I'd had my camera at Takae-sensei's house, but I really only thought I was going to the kitchen, so I had absolutely nothing with me.

A room full of machines for making or mixing clay.


Takae-sensei explaining a kiln with a special fixture on the top for neutralizing the gasses (well, that's the simplified version we were given).


More odd machinery for... um... Looks interesting, doesn't it?


A student who is learning how to throw.


This is a microwave kiln. I'm not sure exactly what that is supposed to mean, or how it works, but that is what they said it was.


Remember how I talked about the sponge idea?


Roof tiles.


Clay and glaze test tiles. They had numerous boards full of these.


Crystaline glaze applied in little lines. I think they look like little furry caterpillars. Below the plate you can see a sample of really a brilliant blue crystaline glaze.


Takae-sensei had dozens of little teacups like this at his house, with such beautiful spots of luster. Some had larger spots, and some were almost completely metalic-looking.


More of his luster glazes, but I think these were low-fire.


More glazes Takae-sensei developed.


And his raku glazes.


Samples of materials used for glaze and clay from all over the world.


Look! It glows in the dark! And it's ceramic!

More new work...

Since everything is built now, I figure it's about time I post pictures of the last few pieces. However, one of the three is being bisqued right now and I forgot to take a picture before I put it in, so I'll have to post that one later. Here's the other two...