phenomenological ecologist, or ecological phenomenologist?

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I am desperately trying to keep away from the kiln while it is cooling. I have recently been asked to give a lecture about my life’s work in ceramics to the students at Seoul University. The professor is interested in my unusual DIY, organic, self-reliant, ecological approach to ceramics. Apparently, it’s the road less travelled here, and I can see why. Having spoken to all of the recent and current residents here, plus staff members, it’s almost impossible to conceive of what Janine and I do. Almost everyone lives in high rise apartments. There is no ‘spare’ space to put a potters wheel or a hand-building table, never mind a pug mill or re-cycling bucket and plaster tub for drying. As for a kiln! ?

So I’m not too sure what I can offer these students, other than an exotic glimpse into an almost impossible to conceive foreign world. Will it be useful to them? Showing them something that they can probably never achieve? Maybe they wouldn’t even want to live like this? Perhaps I can inspire them to live as sustainably as possible, within their societal limits? I’ve been told that I’m a phenomenological ecologist. Wow! I can’t even spell that, never mind be it. It sounds difficult!

Apparently I’m someone who explores the meaning and significance of my lived experience without trying to explain it?

I looked it up, and am no more the wiser. I read that Martin Heidegger proposed that truths are contextually situated and dependent on the historical, cultural and social context in which they emerge. That seems fair enough to me. Why not? The only other thing I know about Martin Heidegger is that he was a boozy beggar who could think you under the table! That is according to Bruce from the University of Woolloomooloo (who was also in charge of the sheep dip). The Philosophers Song in Monty Python! if you have lived on another planet, and don’t know it. Try googling it. It’s very funny.

Am I a phenomenological ecologist, or ecological phenomenologist? And there was me thinking that I was just living an honest life with good intent, and minimal disruption to the natural rhythms of nature, using home grown and hand collected materials from my local environment, to make my creative living as gently as possible. I call it being a Potter and Post Modern Peasant!

I have in the past, described myself and what I’m interested in, as being a gardener, potter, artist, a conservationist, practicing minimal consumption. ie making everything that I can by myself using home grown, or found materials and recycled stuff. I try to live like this, quietly, and without being a nuisance or being obsessively annoying. 

For instance;

I built my own truck body, by myself, from recycled aluminium. It’s isn’t maybe the best truck body, but it is very strong and has proven durable over the past 22 years of use, and still going strong. I made it almost entirely from re-cycled aluminium off-cuts, that I had collected and stored for such a possibility. I think that it is an almost invisible triumph of creative re-cycling. No one thinks of a truck body as being sexy or even interesting, let alone being environmentally friendly. It all depends on its historical, cultural and social context. However, it exists and only Janine and I know its meaning and history. When I die, it will probably go to the wreckers, unsung!

I re-built our new pottery studio after the fire using steel rather than wood. A strange choice you might think for a conservationist? But as the last 3 workshops have burnt down in fires, which is a total waste of the world’s resources. I decided that steel, although energy intensive and polluting in its creation, will be longer lasting in the long run than wood and is also endlessly recyclable. In an effort to minimise my carbon foot print with this steel studio, I only used new steel in the frame, to comply with council and engineering regulations, and used all recycled steel roofing sheets to clad and line the building, taking a year to collect and sort all the steel. The excess that I had over after the building was completed, I gave to my friend Andy, so that he could build his wife’s studio, and so it goes around. All good outcomes. There is also an added benefit of using recycled iron. It can have a very beautiful patina of age about it. Something that the Japanese Zen Buddhists have words for, but which doesn’t translate easily into English. Words like ‘wabi sabi’.  ‘The beauty of imperfection’. or ‘the nostalgia of age’.

We also used the recycled bricks that we collected from demolishing the old Mittagong railway station, built in the 1880’s from hand made, local, sandstock bricks. We built our house from these and the left over bricks from that project were used to clad the West facing facade of the new pottery to make it even more fire resistant. It also had the effect of uniting the two buildings, the house and the pottery, aesthetically. That and the use of the big arched window in the facing facades.

I have made all my own kitchen chairs and tables from home grown trees from our land, and lined the new pottery studio room with timber boards that we grew and milled, on site. After seasoning for a year, Janine and I planed and sanded them smooth before making the lining boards and also all the cupboards and shelving in the gallery. These trees were burnt in the fire and would have been destroyed, if we hadn’t intervened and saved them for a new life as furniture and lining. It was an expensive exercise, but cheaper than buying plantation wood, which is environmentally destructive. So win win.

We spent some time, making and seasoning our own red hardwood floor boards for the house, as well as the windows, french doors. Also the ceramic tiles for the kitchen, laundry and bathroom, as well as all the roofing trusses. It took a few years, but cost very little and allowed us to have a mortgage free home at the end that was not just sustainably built, but aesthetically unique and very beautiful. 

One distinctive feature of our house is the big arch window in the kitchen. It would have cost an arm and a leg to have it custom made in the local window factory, but I made it myself over a few months for the cost of the wood and glass, still expensive to me, at the time, or so it seemed, until I met the window factory forewoman, who came to the pottery to buy some pots and enquired where the window was made. She was surprised that it was home made, and told me that it would have cost many thousands of dollars if she had made it. However, she hastily added that she wouldn’t have made such a good job of it, as to cut costs in the factory, she would have taken the fast track and routed the arch curve out of straight pieces of wood. Whereas I had steamed and bent each piece of the arch before glue-lamming it all together. The true craftsmanship way. That window is still working well after 40 years, and has recently just been given an up-grade when we installed double-glazed panes into the frame.

So in the end, a house like this would cost in the millions of dollars, but we did it on money saved from our part time job wages. ie, next to nothing, but with hundreds of hours of labour. I think that the house is the biggest artwork that we have created?

Phenomenological ecologist, or ecological phenomenologist? I don’t know! I’m far too busy being me and making a frugal living in a small, quiet, unimportant life, creating things that I think are both beautiful and meaningful, as well as growing my own food and creatively recycling.  What more is there?

Thinking about how I will present myself and what I do over a 2 hour lecture at Seoul University has kept me busy. I’m thinking  powerpoint with some add-libbed descriptions of my process? Even then, writing about all this stuff that I don’t really understand, that is to say that I haven’t planned my life, it has just happened in this way, but that is because of the very deliberate choices that I made at each turn and with each opportunity. Flexibly directing my life along this creative road less travelled. 

Anyway, It has successfully kept me away from the cooling kiln for another day. I did go up to the site, to cart and stack some dry pine from the wood store to the kiln site for the next firing. I made use of a break in the rain for a couple of hours, I’m glad that I did, as it is hammering down again now, and I needed the exercise.

So now, although I’m no wiser. Still just me. I am not at the kiln scratching at the door bricks to get an early peek. Tomorrow is make or brake day. Will there be any work worth showing? I’m hoping for poetry – as long as it isn’t doggerel! 

Please not doggerel. I’m hoping for something more akin to haiku. Deeply meaningful whilst also being elegant and restrained.

However, elegance and restraint are contextually situated and dependent on the historical, cultural and social context in which they emerge from the kiln?

Poetry and Madness 8.

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I have spent the last two days firing my kiln here in the Porcelain Residency. 30 hours of my life that was hopefully well spent? Starting at 4:00 am on Tuesday and finishing at 9:00 am on the following day – Wednesday.

I put a bit of time and effort preparing, splitting and stacking wood, so that everything would go as smoothly as possible. But, as always, the best laid plans…

One of the things that I have no control over is the weather. It rained heavily for a lot of the time. The monsoon has arrived! ‘Uji’ in Korean. Luckily, the kiln shed is well built and water proof, as far as it goes, but it’s an open, well ventilated shed. The kiln is situated on the edge of the building and the heavy rain can blow in sideways. There has been some discussion of adding a verandah to this side of the building. It will probably happen in due course, but I dare say that I won’t see it in my lifetime. It will have to be presented into next year’s forward estimates, be considered by the city governors. Proceed through the various stages of process, eventually approved for quotes to be sent out in 2028, then contractors selected, contracts developed and then reconsidered, re-drafted, re-estimated, re-quoted, new contractors selected. Approval granted for fiscal year 2030! 

Delays, holdups, bankruptcies, heritage listing investigations, archaeological contingencies. All this just for an awning!

You may laugh. But I was first asked to come here and build this little kiln 8 years ago. Later, I was even sent progress shots of the foundations being dug. But the catastrophic bush fires in 2019, then covid in ’20/’21, and various other events intervened and the kiln was eventually built in 2024.  Such is life.

Anyway. I’m here now, in the here and now! Good thing that I began this project in 2016! 

Like climbing ladders, it’s the sort of thing that it is not recommended that old, fat, balding, grey haired guys over 60 should be doing. They should know better and get it out of their system in their mid-life-crisis years! However, at 74 I’m still climbing ladders as well as building wood kilns in foreign climes and doing 30 hour wood firings, well past my use-by date. What went wrong?

I have a friend, who I admire enormously, who has only recently given up doing 100 hour wood firings in his mid 70’s, but he did have helpers!  

Janine and I usually fire more or less alone, with Janine’s assistance coming and going through the day. We have developed a firing schedule where I start the kiln off at 4:00 am and Janine comes down with some toast and coffee at 8 or 9. We fire through the day and into the evening, through into the night. I have found that I can do a 15 to 18 hour firing this way without missing a nights sleep. Working from early till late, and going to bed on the same day as I woke up, so that I don’t feel ‘wreaked’ the next day. With luck, I can see myself being able to continue potting and wood firing in this way for a long time.

Because these 14 to 18 hr firings are relatively short, compared to what some other well known potters do, there isn’t the kind of ash buildup with the glossy, runny ash glaze, that some people attribute to wood fired pots. So I have developed a range of clay bodies and glazes that look their best in these shorter, and more manageable wood firings. Ideally suited to domestic wares, with colour variation and flashing on the surface. Interestingly, even some of the pots from my friends 100 hour firings, the ones at the very back of the kiln, come out with surfaces not too dissimilar to my 15 hour pots. Only a very well educated eye can tell.  Having said all that, the pots at the front of the setting in my short firings do get a lot of ash on them, but that space in the kiln is relatively small in my kiln, so there are not too many of them in my repertoire.

This is a pot from the front of the setting that was in my last firing here of just 14 hrs. This is as much ash as I need to see and deal with in the cleaning of the foot and rim.

I tried 30 and 50 hour firings in my youth, but decided that the returns aesthetically for my kind of domestic pots weren’t worth the bodily wear and tear on me – even then! So this firing is a major effort for me. I can only do it here in this kiln with assistance from some of the other residents. I really need someone to keep me awake through the night. I was fortunate to have a two helpers to look after the kiln for a couple of hours between midnight and 2:00 am. Hours 20 to 22,  so that I could have a nap to get me through the night. Thank you!

Luckily, the truck load of oak wood turned up just in time. One arrived the day before and another during the firing. It is very fresh! to the point of still have birds sitting on its branches 🙂

I say luckily, because we ended up using about 2/3 of it. Along with some well seasoned old pine. Blending about 1 to 4 pine to oak. When I tried burning just the oak, it was too slow to burn well. It needed the very flammable pine to keep it burning fiercely. After 1150oC, wet wood isn’t a problem, in fact it is even better for reduced firings. 

The chemistry is too complex to deal with here, but in essence, Water dissociates to a hydrogen ion and an OH radical. These both eventually reform, back to water, along the way having cleaned up the atmosphere a little. The energy required to crack the water is such that the fire needs to be above 1100 degrees Centigrade to get a positive return. The chemical action still takes place below this temperature, down to about 800 C, but there is a negative energy return.

Using water vapour to create an energy rich and highly desirable hydrogen gas from carbon monoxide is called the water-gas shift. It takes energy to do the shift, but the return is equal to or greater than the input. from 134 btu per cu. ft.  of gas to  156 btu per cu. ft.  of gas produced under ideal conditions. Enough!   I don’t want to loose readers by boring you with too much reality. One person I spoke to was amazed. Having been told that wood needed to be seasoned and very well dried for up to 5 years before burning in a kiln. And that is true for some wood in some kilns, but it is clearly not universal.

So this truck load of wood was very freshly felled and full of sap, This made it slow to combust until we got it up to 1000oC. Which we did by using a bit of dry pine mixed in. No problem, because I had sorted, split and stacked enough dry pine – just in case – a couple of days before. I was very pleased that the air temperature dropped down with the rain over night and made the conditions more comfortable, although it was quite humid, it was also quite cool. As we only need to stoke the kiln every half hour. There is a lot of sitting around doing very little. I’ve heard it described as ‘Laid Back Wood Firing! in French as ‘Le gran feu au bois sans effort’. and Korean as ‘ Pyeon-anhan jangjagbul piugi’ – relaxed wood firing!

I spent the ‘dull’ time teaching my helpers some chemistry and physics – in disguise of course! I made it invisible and more palatable by dressing it up as anecdotes about growing a forest and my choice of fuel, stoking, identifying atmosphere, pitfalls of temperature measurement and glaze colour development. I don’t think that they noticed. Notes were taken, kiln logs recorded, references ‘googled’, images examined and techniques demonstrated. The time passed quicker and I stayed awake. Everyone wins.

The kiln at full fire in reduction. No one can tell!  I’m very pleased about that. Silent and clean.

We fired through the night with the rain until 10 am. Then amazingly, it cleared up for us, just in time to get back down to the residence for a well earned shower and some desperately needed sleep. 

Poetry and Madness 7

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I finished throwing all of my left over re-claimed trimmings into smaller jars, just to use up the clay. I forced dried them out in the sun and wind, thrown one day turned the next and into the kiln on the 4th day. This other batch of sericite is very forgiving!

I bisque fired all my jars last week and loaded them into the Museum’s truck for the slow drive up to the wood kiln area, a few hundred metres up the hill from the residency. I can walk there direct, cross country, a much shorter route, but the truck has to take the gentle road more traveled.

Everything arrived intact, with me sitting in the back cuddling the rear row, to stop them rolling out the back. I glazed them all in one day and then packed the kiln over 2 days. It was very nice to be there on my own, taking my time, thinking it through as I go. I stopped and unpacked parts of it twice to get it right, or at least better – hopefully?

I didn’t get everything in, but about 2/3 of the big jars and half of the smaller ones. I have booked the kiln for another firing for next Tuesday. I won’t have enough to fill the kiln, but about half. I will share the space with the other resident artists.

I bricked the door up in the evening and got it all sealed and slurried over ready to fire yesterday. Today I spent time splitting pine into some quite fine sticks. The size usually associated with side stoking. For the non-potters reading, that means split into very thin sticks about 50mm sq. I will need this small size of wood to start the fire gently, eventually building up to using larger pieces and then logs.

I went out early this morning to water my garden and do a bit of weeding, as it wasn’t raining. I picked my green leaves, chilli, tomato and red radish for my salad lunch. When I gazed down the road, I saw a truck parked in the village driveway with what looked like a load of oak firewood. I was hoping that it was for me, as I was promised it in time for tomorrow’s firing. Later on in the day it disappeared?  I was hoping that it was moved up to the kiln area and tipped off into the kiln shed. I had to walk up there this afternoon in the rain to check, and, Yes, it is all in there. So everything is ready for the 2nd firing tomorrow. I will have a couple of the other residents calling in on me to keep me awake through the graveyard shift.

I spent the middle of the day cooking 3 meals to pack away into plastic food containers for the firing, as it will go all day and over night, I’ll need food, as it’s my firing. I’m not at home now. So can’t just slip into the house to make a cuppa and make a sandwich.

I’ll need to be here with the kiln most, if not all of the time. No time to go back down to the studio to make a meal. I made chick peas in tomatoes sauce, brown rice with tuna, and stir-fried veggies with brown rice and tofu. I also have 2 bananas, an apple and an orange. That should see me through. People who drop in the watch the firing often bring stuff. last firing, Uhkwan dropped in with a box full of ice creams for us all to share. Most welcome on a hot afternoon in front of the kiln.

I’m always so surprised, when I cycle into town along the road through the valley. to see just how economical and thrifty the local farmers are here. No useful space is wasted. They go to the trouble of hand cultivating the small gap of soil along the curb and guttering, to squeeze in just a few more plants. This is all hand weeded, as there is no room for a cultivator in these narrow beds.

They all have bigger crops of rice and soy beans in the big paddocks and paddies, but can’t bear to see a good piece of dirt go un-cultivated. These are nearly all grandmas and grandpas doing all this work. The average age of the Korean farmer is almost 70 years old. As it is in Japan. That compares to 58 in Australia and the USA and 59 in the UK. Whereas it is 45 in China.

It seems that with the Korean economy doing well, all the kids want professions in the city? Not too many young couples are staying on the farm and even less are having children. The population is shrinking. They just aren’t that many children about. For instance, the school at the bottom of the hill that I cycle past on my way to the shops has only 10 students this year. I can’t see it staying open for much longer with those numbers?

Poetry and Madness 6. – First firing unpacked

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We have just unpacked the first of the wood fired kiln firings. It didn’t turn out well. I was disappointed, but well prepared for the result. I had spent the first month here making pots from one particular clay body, it turns out that it isn’t at all suitable for my purpose. Everything that I made from it either cracked in the bisque firing, or if it survived the bisque, it either had invisible, hair-line cracks that I couldn’t see, or new cracks were formed which opened up in the glaze. So everything that I made in the first month has gone to the kiln gods, all cracked, sometimes spectacularly so in the glaze. A tragic combination of several things combined .

I’m reminded that a bad workman blames his tools!  I can’t get away with that. I’m fully responsible.

I had to make an installation of ‘3 inseparable pots’!  

However, there were some nice pieces in the kiln, but not enough to justify a show. I had 6 large jars and 12 smaller ones, half of each cracked. I’ll need a better firing next time round to get the bulk of the work for a show. Luckily, all of that ’sus’ clay is now gone. All my remaining jars are made from a different batch of sericite. It turns out that I’m the first and only user of that first batch of clay. There are only 3 bags left. No one else will touch it now! Bummer batch. 

Although this is a set-back, it wont stop me trying to get a good result.

You have to concentrate on the positive, look for the up-side, even if it is a little difficult to see in a dark place. I’m lucky to have got what I have. The forms are good, elegant, open mouthed, small footed, well rounded, and the glaze well melted. The glaze is a mix of the local sericite porcelain stone of the clay body and ash. A believe that it is a very authentic approach to a cultural icon. My interpretation of an ancient concept of aesthetics. My pots are not pure white and unadorned, but rather boldly showing their wood fired heritage. A good but limited outcome. No hammer needed here just now.

Only half the work in the kiln was mine, as I shared the space in the kiln with the other residency artists. They were waiting for me to arrive to fire the wood kiln, as they were keen to have the experience included in their time here. No one else here at the moment wood fires. Just me. They have all seen the kiln standing there and wanted to experience a firing of it. Most of them are making hand built sculptures, some quite delicate. They wanted to limit the firing to lower stoneware temperatures, in case their work slumped. I want to fire a bit higher and longer. We agreed on cone 8 over, starting cone 9. We only reduced lightly to minimise the smoke and the chance of bloating the larger dark, irony clay sculptures. I stopped at cone 9. Next firing will be all my work, so I will fire hotter and longer. Hopefully using local Korean Oak hard wood. That is if it gets delivered before I have to leave? If not, it will be another dirty pine firing. I only have 3 weeks remaining, so fingers crossed!

I just managed to fit this firing in for the previous residents. One left the next morning and hasn’t seen the results, only photos that we sent to her. 2 others waited the extra days to stay for the unpacking and then drove off with their hot pots. Only one of those scheduled to leave that day stayed on to help with the cleaning up. Always the same person! There are just 3 of us left here now, with the new residents arriving in the next couple of days. I leave in just 3 weeks, along with the artist from Taiwan who is next door.  Almost a clean sweep.I have plenty of work to pack the kiln again, but there isn’t any ‘Korean oak’ hard wood in stock. I’m waiting for a new delivery. I don’t want to fire with pine again. It’s filthy, it isn’t the life I want to live. I can’t be proud of firing like that. Making huge plumes of black smoke from my kiln. I know that it is my particular problem. I own it. No one else here that I know thinks like this, everyone who wood fires makes smoke. But I’d feel better if I fired with minimal smoke. At home in Australia, I have also fitted a scrubber to wash out a lot of the PM 2.5 carcinogenic carbon particulates as well. Again, it’s my philosophical issue. I won’t call it a problem again. It shouldn’t be thought of as a problem. It’s an issue. An issue that needs to be recognised, accepted, and dealt with. Eliminating pollution should be normalised at every point of our day to day experience. I can only do my bit and promote my research to as wide an audience as I can reach. The solution lies in community action, and whole of society engagement.

I am fully aware that potters kilns are not even equal to a pimple on the arse of World War Two, when it comes to the amount of carbon pollution we generate. But nevertheless. It all adds up. Getting rid of the ever increasing number of diesel 4WD SUV’s would be a lot more effective. They are scheduled to be phased out in the next couple of decades, starting in 2035, or so I’ve read. 

Janine and I have never owned a diesel, and don’t ever intend to. We replaced our petrol engined cars when they came up for renewal with electric models. We now drive as well as fire all our electric kilns, on our own solar. 

I’ve been telling people here that this is how we live and they stare at me as if I’m lying to them. “NO! That isn’t possible!” Well actually yes, it is, and I’m doing it. Here are my photos. This is my web site. Here is my card. That is my book in the shop over there. Check it out. It is possible. One resident said “No Way!” my reply was ‘Yes Way!” He laughed.

Don’t let people who are poorly informed by facebook, with no real knowledge, or worse, possible ulterior motives, dissuade you. Look for yourself. Do your research! False information and lies are being disseminated by questionable actors in the media all the time, saying how we can’t stop using, coal, oil and gas, even while many countries are now successfully producing over half of their energy from renewables. There is steady progress. Until a few years ago, they were still burning coal briquettes here in this little village for cooking. Progress is happening, but it is glacially slow. No one wants to make the change until it is forced on them. Because change may affect profits? Analysis that I’ve read says that not doing anything will cost us all way more than fixing it.

Children and the elderly are currently dying of heat stroke in France and Europe. Flash floods in Spain, fire storms in California. Glacial melt causing a massive landslide obliterating a Swiss village. All made worse by carbon pollution and global heating.

Crisis, What crisis? We need to do more faster. If not now. When?

So the smoke from my kiln is probably immaterial in the bigger picture, but I still believe that every effort matters. We all need to do what we can.

Korean Moon Jar interview transcript.

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<Interview Questions>

Q1. You are known around the world not only as a potter, but also as a kiln builder. What fascinates you most about building kilns?

Initially, I just wanted a way to get my pots fired. But kilns are very expensive pieces of equipment, so I decided to learn how to build my own, as I couldn’t afford to buy a commercial one. I learn a lot over the first few years, and found that I could build very good quality kilns for my self. However, my friends and colleagues all wanted me to build kilns for them, too so I started a kiln building business as a side project to help me to pay the mortgage. I’ve found it hard to make my entire living from just selling pots its too unreliable.

As time went on, I realised the carbon debt that I was building up, so I decided to try and find ways to minimise the damage that I was doing by making my ceramics and selling kilns. So I have spent 50 years developing my low emission/no smoke wood firing designs. One other aspect of wood firing besides the aesthetic qualities that are specifically inherent in the process, Which I love and admire so much about the fired surface, is that wood fuel is a carbon neutral fuel. This is so important these days in our carbon constrained, globally heated society. In a very small way, I’m trying to make the world a better place through my work.

Q2. Tomorrow, your new works will be loaded into the kiln here in Yanggu. What thoughts and emotions do you have before a firing?

I am always a bit anxious. There is so much at stake. So many hours have been spent making this work. I always hope for the best, but I am also ready to accept that there will be some disasters as well. There is two months of work at stake here. Am I mad? or is there some kind of poetry being created here? I’m hoping so! However, Nothing is perfect. Nothing is ever finished, and Nothing lasts!

Q3. You have worked with clay from many places around the world. What makes Yanggu clay special to you?

I was so impressed when I came here for the first time 10 years ago, to find a place with such a strong unbroken tradition and history of porcelain making going back 700 years. However, the main thing that struck me was the amazing quality of the porcelain clay that is found here. It is so responsive and beautiful to work with, but also it can be so beautifully subtle when it is glazed and fired.

Q4. After spending time as an artist-in-residence at the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum, what has inspired you most here?

Besides the clay. It’s the people! The management, the staff and the other residents. It is such a collegiate environment. Everybody working in together but while also working independently on their own projects.

Q5. You have often expressed your admiration for the Korean Moon Jar. What first drew you to it?

I first saw images of moon jars when I was a ceramic student at Art School and was impressed with their beauty, but didn’t really understand them and their inner meaning and symbolism until later. I was brought up in a family strongly influenced by Buddhist/Quaker values. A very thoughtful and spiritual environment. As I matured and found my own way in the world. I developed an interest in living not just an organic and wholesome life style, but an environmentally sustainable one as well. It was at this time that the spiritual side of making art came into focus for me. It was about this time that I re-discovered the Korean moon jar, and finally understood their special place in the world as a symbol of not just beauty, but also spiritual content. So I started to read up on Confucian philosophy and found that I already had so much in common with this way of thinking and being, from my childhood upbringing.

Q6. What do you think the Moon Jar can teach people today, in our modern and fast-paced world?

I believe that all the tenets of Confucian philosophy are just as important today as they ever were. If not more so! We need to slow down, and consider our actions and their implications for the world as a whole and the others in it. We are desperately in need of a more ethical, calm and considered approach to life. Modern politics has failed us in this regard. It has been corrupted by commercial interests.

Considering the simplicity, restraint and elegance of the Korean big white jar helps to create a state of mind where the really important things in life become more evident. Because the most important things in life are not ’THINGS’!

Q7. Your exhibition will open at the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum this October. What do you hope visitors will feel when they see your work?

I would like to think that they might feel the sense of respect and calm that I have tried to embed in the making of these simple, elegant objects. However, I am reconciled to the fact that most people will rush past them without really seeing them, just as I did, before I stopped to consider the essence of living a well examined life. I have tried to live a life of minimal consumption and ethical values. I try and do everything that I can to be independent, self-reliant, organic and sustainable. Whether of not any of this is conveyed in the final work is probably doubtful, unless they read my artists statement.

Poetry and Madness 5

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I think that I have made my last big jar. There may be a few more smaller size jars to come, to use up my leftover turnings, after I have re-cycled them. As I will have to clean out my studio, back to spotlessly empty in a few weeks time. I can’t leave anything behind. So waste not!Recycling turnings as a thick slurry out in the wind, before pugging.

I have been finding that it is just too dangerous for me to keep flipping 10 to 15 kg bowls over, whilst held out in front of me, doing the top-hatting technique. Too much stress on my lower back, arms, shoulders and solar plexus. I was afeared of getting some sort of hernia. 

Earlier, a week ago, I had a minor miss-hap on the bike. Riding down into the village of Bangsan, (2km.) to do a little shopping in the micro-market. So called because it’s much smaller than a mini-mart. They stock nothing fresh, just dried and canned goods, but they do have fresh milk.

I was just coming to a gentle halt outside the shop, when my tyre got caught in an invisible, perfectly sized, small groove in the gap between tarmac and curb. I was almost stationary, but as I arrived at a slight angle to the kerb, it flipped me off my bike sideways, causing a rather nasty stretch of my solar plexus muscles and around to my rib cage side. I thought that it would just mend itself and go away if I ignored it and didn’t stress it any more. And it has – very, very, slowly. I can do everything except lift heavy weights out in front of me, or swivel sideways!

So I have made the last few big jars by coil and throw technique. Years ago, I developed my version of this technique, a form of throwing without water. A sort of hand building on the wheel method. I needed another way of making larger work back then, After I damaged myself during the re-building the burnt-out pottery that we lost in the 1983 fire. My wrists and arms were so damaged from jack hammering out stone from the footing trenches, and then followed that up spending a few months pounding 4 inch nails into solid hardwood frames. My wrists have never been the same since!

So I’m back to the gentle basics of coiling. Something more appropriate for an old man with a worn out body. I pinch on the coil, evenly, all around the rim. Then with the wheel turning very slowly, I allow the coil of clay to pass between my fingers and thumb, very gently and slowly thinning it a little and coaxing it up wards. I repeat this slow, gentle, thinning process, until the clay is ’thrown’ into the correct shape. Finishing it off with a metal rib to smooth out my finger marks. If I use a heat gun to warm it, and have it rotating in the door way in a gentle warm breeze, I can add up to 6 coils in a day and finish the jar off. As there is no water used in the process, the clay stiffens quickly and is ready to take another coil every hour or so, if the weather is warm. Which it has been here.

Not the traditional way here, but my way, and the one that works best for me at this time. Creative variation?

We had a demonstration here yesterday of moon jar making by a well respected maker. I did notice though, that he only used 6 kgs of clay, kept the demo small, and only made a very vertical version of the shape. All well thought out and considered variations to make the demo easily achieved with little chance of a collapse or any failure in public. He was definitely not pushing any boundaries! he was beautiful to watch, very skilful and assured.

This demo was all part of the 20th birthday celebrations here at the Yanggu Porcelain Museum. There is something happening every day, all week. I don’t go into town for everything. I have too much to get done here in the studio, but I sometimes go in there for the afternoon session. 

I had just about run out of coffee, and was thinking of how to buy some more. It’s a problem here. Everyone drinks instant. Just a few of us want percolated real coffee made from roasted beans. The problem is that no one sells coffee beans! You can’t buy roasted ground coffee, or roasted whole beans. not here in Bangsan from the micro mart – not too surprising for such a small village shop. BUT, I can’t find it in the near by city of Yanggu either. Not even in the big supermarkets there. You can only buy whole roasted beans online from Seoul. I can’t buy online from Seoul, as I don’t have an on-line account. I can’t get an account without a bank account. I can’t get a bank account without a resident visa. I can’t get a resident visa…..

So I asked my neighbouring artist in Studio 4, to buy it for me, and have it delivered. Everything arrives next day here. It’s an amazingly efficient service. But, My lovely neighbour has now left. Her time was up and she has gone. She was so busy in the last few hectic days here cleaning and packing up, that she forgot to order the coffee for me. So what to do?

Fortunately, the artist in studio 2 is back. She has been away for the past few weeks. It just so happens that her mother is a chef and has run a restaurant, so her daughter has borrowed her mini coffee bean roasting machine. She gets the raw beans from her Mum too. She suggests that we do a batch together and share the result. I’m in! It is such a very cute little machine. I want one! It sits on top of a portable camping stove. It has a tiny motor to keep it rotating slowly. It takes 2 cups of beans at a time. We roast them until the outer ‘paper’ shell cracks and get blown off with a gentle ‘popping ‘ sound. We continue until there is a continuous crackling/popping sound and smoke starts to come out of the opening. Then it’s off with the gas flame and pour the smoking dark beans out of the roaster and into a food sieve or woven basket, and shake and pour the hot beans from one to the other through the air, blowing on them to cool them down. It takes a few minutes and smells so amazing. I always say that the best part of coffee is the smell of the freshly ground beans in the morning! This is it, turned up to eleven! We have to do it outside on the verandah, otherwise the smoke would take us out.

My garden is growing very well, I have been harvesting lettuces, rocket, sweet basil and cucumbers, so far. And I have my first tomato turning red.

I planted this garden for all the residents. So salads are on the menu everyday in this hot weather. My cucumber plants have climbed up their stakes and reached the fence, from now on they can grow along the fence rail.

Everything has grown so much faster than I imagined it would. I have planted more seeds to take the place of the vegetables that I harvested. as soon as a space becomes available. It’s the smallest garden that I have ever tended., but its quite appropriate. It’s such a cute little garden, It’s so poetic !

Poetry and Madness 4, The Firing

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I have just done to first of my two planned wood kiln firings. We packed the kiln with a mix of all the residents work on Tuesday. Everyone turned up with their foam boxes of precious wares to be committed to the kiln. It’s always a bit of a dilemma packing other peoples work into the wood kiln, or any kiln for that matter. I have an idea of how I would like to pack the kiln, and if it were just my work, it would all go to plan – more or less. However, when working with a group, there is such a diversity of shapes and sizes, all bets are off, and we just have to make the best pack that we can with what has turned up.

I think that we did pretty well, combining my big round moon jars with 4 foot high sculptures and shelves of domestic items. I have to keep in mind how the flames will pass thorough all this work, so I’m constantly mindful of not just the shapes of the pots, but equally, and perhaps more importantly, the shapes of the gaps between the works that will determine how the kiln fires with regards to even heat distribution. I think that we did pretty well. 

The chamber was all packed with pots by early afternoon. There was a little delay before finishing, as the film crew that made a documentary about me and my interest in Moon Jars, when I was here last year, have returned to make a 2nd doco about my residency here. I didn’t know anything about this until the day before, when I was told that they’d be here. They spent half a day filming me at work in the studio last week and are now back to get footage of the packing, then firing. I can only suppose that they’ll be returning to film the unpacking as well? I’m not involved, only to the extent that I’m in the film. It has all been organised by the Porcelain Museum Director and the Residency Manager, as a way of promoting Museum? I gather that it’s for television and local promotion for tourism? Not too sure? I’m completely in the dark with so little language. I just do what I’m asked to do on the day. 

So this brings me back to the kiln packing. The kiln was almost full when they arrived, so I had to unpack the top shelf and repack it for the camera – 6 times! All from different angles, close up and distance. “That’s great, just one more time please!” etc. Then there was the interview. My talking head close-up, and then “could we just repeat that with a distance view? Now we’ll use 3 cameras, left, right and just off centre. No don’t look at the camera,  just straight ahead over there. Talk to the wall! OK, but the truck just drove past, so we’ll do that again.” After an hour of this I had completely forgotten what I had planned to say and I really don’t know which parts will be cut together, so I hope that it makes some sort of sense in the final cut?

While they were filming, my colleagues were measuring and stacking wood for the firing, then wheel barrowing it over from the wood store to the kiln site. They all worked hard and made up for the lack of attendance the day before. The last bit of filming was me bricking up the door and smearing the clay slip over the cracks to seal it and make it more or less air tight, ready for firing. We arranged to start the fire at 6 am the next day.

I woke up at 3:45, I knew that i wouldn’t go back to sleep, so got up and made my way to the kiln and lit it by 4:00 am. I really like the quiet of the very early morning, pitch black and silent, an hour later, there is a pale glow in the sky and the bird song starts up. minimal at first, just a couple of tweets, but slowly builds to a crazy racket of intensity, then it subsides again as they all depart for their day of foraging. 

One by one my colleagues turn up. First is Yoju, from the studio next to mine. She is a night bird, and has been up all night working. Then the others drift in. We have all brought something to share for breakfast. There is some discussion and a general plan for the day is developed. As we plan to fire through to about midnight. Yoju and I will take a break in the middle of the day for a quick snooze, so that we will be OK for the late finish. The firing goes well and I feel that it is in safe hands when I depart at 2:00. I sleep for 1 1/2 hours and wake refreshed. So good to go for the late night finish.

We ran out of oak 1/2 way through, as we knew we would, so fired on 2/3 pine and 1/3 oak until we ran out, then finished on just pine. The pine made a lot of smoke at times. Not at all to my liking, but what else could I do? I didn’t want to oxidise to reduce smoke and ruin 2 months of my work and of the others also. So we made smoke just like a local! Far from Ideal. Mr Choi the Residency manager turn up for a lot of the 2nd half of the firing. He told me that he had finally got a reply from the wood supplier, that the new delivery of oak will be here  next week. Hopefully in time for my next firing? No one else has these philosophical issues about smoke, pollution, global warming, etc. PM2.5 particles are more or less unknown here. It’s my issue and I have to deal with it. So I do as much as I can without being difficult to my hosts and boring to my colleagues. I state my concerns and leave it at that.

The firing finishes up at 10pm. 18 hours total, 2 hours earlier than I had scheduled for. But the kiln was firing easily and going up well with no real effort. Perfect. Just the way I would like it to be. So I didn’t interfere. I could have closed the damper and stalled it, but for what? Everything seemed to be good and 18 hours is long enough, 20 wouldn’t make a lot of difference, as most of the work is glazed. My next wood kiln firing in 2 weeks time will be only my work, as 3 of the residents are leaving here tomorrow, and another is away. So the next firing will only really be my work and mostly unglazed outside, so I can do what I like.

After we burnt down and closed everything up, opened the air damper in the chimney, and cleaned any left over wood from around the kiln, we all adjourned to my studio for a bottle of Champagne, some nibbles and a de-brief on the days events. We finished up at 11.30.

I slept very well.

Call for residency applications.

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The Yanggu Creative craft Residency is calling for applications for the coming year 2027.

The Residency has 6 studios, 2 or which are open to international artist applications for a period of 3 months. The residency is free of charge, but you must pay for your own expenses like food, transport, electricity etc.

I will attach the flyer below;

모집공고 Call for Artists_Yanggu Craft Residency ProgramDownload

http://www.yanggum.or.kr/contents.do?cid=c8d07a5bc7cb4c1da76469936c511cf2

Call for International Artist:
Yanggu Baekto Village Craft Studio
Residency Program

  1. Residency Overview
    A. Eligibility
  • International applicants: University with a 4-year or higher major in art
    B. Length of Residence

C. Number of recruits
8 international artists in total
D. Residence
Yanggu Baekto Craft Creation Studio – Private Studio : 37.44㎡ per artist – Kiln Room: 72.72㎡ – Laboratory: 53.10㎡ – Common corridor and terrace

  1. Application Period and Submission

A. Application Period
June 10, 2026 – June 30, 2026
B. Submission Method
Email: dldrkdl@korea.kr
※ Please write the “Yanggu Baekto Village Craft Studio Residency Application Form

  1. Required Documents

Applicants must submit the following documents:
Residency Application Form
Residency Work Plan
Artist Statement / Self-Introduction
Consent Form for Collection and Use of Personal Information
Certificate of Graduation (or Expected Graduation Certificate)
Portfolio including:
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Approximately 10 recent artworks
Artwork descriptions
Artist statement
Any additional relevant materials
Certificate of Foreigner Registration (if applicable)
Submitted materials will not be returned. Additional documents may be requested if necessary.

  1. Responsibilities of the Artist in Residence

Selected artists are required to:
Use the studio primarily for artistic creation and research.
Maintain and care for studio facilities and surrounding environments.
Comply with residency regulations and contractual obligations.
Donate approximately one artwork upon completion of the residency, subject to review and approval by the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum Collection Committee.
Utility Costs: Each resident artist is responsible for paying their individual electricity expenses.
Residency Fee
There is no residency fee.

  1. Selection Process

Document Review
July 2 – July 10, 2026
Results Announcement
Applicants will be notified individually by email during July 2026.
Residency Agreement
Residency agreements will be signed during July 2026.
As the residency program is organized into four separate sessions, selected artists will be admitted according to their designated residency period.

  1. Provide support

A. Use of kilns and equipment
B. Opportunity to participate in exhibitions organized by the Yanggu Ceramics Museum (based on the review of the Advisory Committee)
C. Supporting the firing of traditional wooden kilns
D. Provided by Yanggu White Clay
E. Access to research materials on white clay and white ceramics
F. Utilization of Museum Equipment and Facilities

  1. Additional Information

A. If the submitted information is found to be false, the period of residence may be canceled.
B. The applicant is responsible for any errors or omissions in the application form or any penalties caused by failure to contact them.
C. Application timeline is subject to change. Applicants will be notified individually of any changes.
D. Inquiries: Yanggu Ceramics Museum Office ☎ +82-33-480-7237
이메일 : dldrkdl@korea.kr

Yanggu Baekto Village Craft Studio
Residency Program Application
Application

Pursuant to the public notice for the artist residency program at the “Yanggu Baekto Village Craft Studio” established by Yanggu-gun, I hereby submit my application and agree not to raise any objections to the outcome of the selection process.

Date: 2026. . .

Applicant: (Signature)

To: Governor of Yanggu County

※ Submitted documents will not be returned.
Work Plan for the Residency Period

Please provide a detailed and specific annual work plan. Applicants may use a separate or self-prepared format.

Examples:

Creative Activities: Working with White clay to explore and expand the material’s unique characteristics.
Exhibition Plan: Scheduled for 0000 at 00 Gallery, Seoul – aimed at expanding the discourse on 00.
Activity Plan: Planning and conducting cultural art lectures at the museum; engaging in exchange with 00.
Others: Another exhibition scheduled for 0000, aiming to deepen the dialogue on 00.
Personal Statement

※ Writing Guidelines

Please write freely in the given format, ensuring to include your academic background, professional and research experiences, and notable achievements.
The statement must be written using a word processor and should not exceed two A4 pages.

Date: 2026. . .

Applicant: (Signature)
Artist CV

Consent to Collection and Use of Personal Information

Data Collection Organization: Yanggu Porcelain Museum Scope and Purpose of Collection:
Name, Date of Birth, Address, Email, Contact Information

Purpose of Use: Verification of submitted supporting documents

I hereby apply for the Yanggu Baekto Village Craft Studio residency program and give my consent for the collection and use of my personal information.

Date: 2026. . .

Applicant: (Signature)

To: Governor of Yanggu County

※ Submitted documents will not be returned.

2026 Yanggu Craft Creation Studio
Resident Artist Agreement
Article 1 (Contracting Parties)

  • Provider: Yanggu County (Yanggu White Porcelain Museum)
  • Resident Artist:
    Article 2 (Contract Period)
  1. The contract period shall be as follows:
 From , 2026 to , 20___.
  2. The initial contract start date for Resident Artist is , 2026.
     - Domestic Artists: The contract is valid for one year and may be extended for up to two years upon review by the selection committee.
     - International Artists: The contract period shall be three (3) months.
  3. If the result of the review or the renewal date falls within the designated move-out period after contract expiration, it shall be included in the extension period. (However, if renewal is not approved within the move-out period, the artist must vacate within 10 days from the date of notification.)
    Article 3 (Facility Usage Fee)
  4. Facility rental for the operation of the Yanggu Craft Creation Studio shall be provided free of charge.
  5. All operational costs and material expenses, including utilities (excluding water), shall be borne entirely by the resident artist.
    Article 4 (Cooperation Obligations)
    Resident artists must actively support and cooperate with various programs planned and operated by the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum, including:
  6. Development and operation of programs necessary for the advancement of Yanggu Baekto Village.
  7. Development and operation of educational programs in collaboration with local residents and students.
  8. Participation in programs for the promotion of regional ceramic culture.
  9. Other related support and cooperation activities.
    Article 5 (Obligations)
  10. Must reside at the studio for at least 20 days each month.
  11. Must maintain decorum appropriate to the use of public facilities.
  12. If a violation of obligations is discovered, residency may be revoked, and various supports may be restricted.
    Article 6 (Facility Management)
  13. Responsible for the maintenance and care of all equipment and furnishings in the used facilities.
  14. Must thoroughly manage all ceramic production equipment provided and installed by Yanggu County.
  15. Must ensure proper environmental maintenance around the facilities.
    Article 7 (Support Provisions)
  16. Support for repairs and defects in buildings or facilities used by the resident artist.
  17. Support for selling resident artists’ works or products through the museum shop of the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum.
  18. Access to equipment owned by the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum.
  19. Provision of research materials related to Yanggu White Clay and Yanggu White Porcelain.
  20. Yanggu White Clay may be provided for a fee (up to 210 kg per year). Unauthorized transport outside Yanggu is prohibited; violations will result in confiscation and future restrictions.
  21. Participation in exhibitions planned by the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum may be granted following deliberation by the advisory committee.
  22. Additional support necessary for studio operation may be provided through prior consultation.
    Article 8 (Artwork Donation)
    Resident artists may donate one piece of work annually or upon completion of the residency period. Donated works shall be subject to acceptance by the Yanggu White Porcelain Museum’s acquisition review committee.
    Article 9 (Contract Termination and Departure)
  23. If the resident artist wishes to terminate the contract.
  24. If the artist violates the terms of the contract or becomes incapable of fulfilling obligations.
  25. If the Governor of Yanggu deems contract termination appropriate.
  26. Resident artists must vacate the premises within 10 days of receiving notice.
  27. Upon departure, all facilities and equipment must be restored to their original condition.
    Article 10 (Responsibility for Disputes)
    Yanggu White Porcelain Museum shall bear no responsibility for any civil or criminal disputes arising between resident artists or between a resident artist and a third party. Any such disputes shall be resolved by the parties concerned at their own responsibility and expense.
    Article 11 (Contract Execution)
    This contract is prepared in duplicate, with one copy retained by each party. It takes effect from the date of signing.
    
Date: _, 2026
    
Resident Artist
    Name: ______ (Signature)
    Address: ______
    
Yanggu County
    Name: Director, Yanggu White Porcelain Museum (Signature)
    Address: 5182, Pyeonghwa-ro, Bangsan-myeon, Yanggu-gun

Poetry and Madness 3

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I am now just over half way through my sojourn here in Korea. 5 weeks to go. How am I going? 

Well, I’m only certain of two things, and that is Death and Taxes. I’m hoping that nether of them catch up with me here to spoil my stay!

Amazingly, I am just about where I would like to be in terms of my progress. I have almost finished all the throwing. From now on it will be all about drying, bisqueing, glazing and wood firing. Thankfully I don’t have to cut, split and stack all my own wood!

So far I haven’t really left my studio/flat for more than a few hours in 6 weeks. I work all day, everyday, and its starting to pay off. My making skills and my ability to see in advance what is happening to these massive lumps of spinning jelly-like, floppy, sericite paste, as it slowly degrades under the force of gravity back down towards the wheel head. I have learnt to feel what is about to happen and what I need to do in the precise moment and order to get the outcome that I want. Knowing when to stop is a key lesson. Perfection is out of my reach at this level, ‘good enough’ turns out to be the highest level of things that I can achieve at this time. But I’m OK with that. I’m just so glad to be able to be here and have this humiliating experience of failing at almost every turn. But I hope to achieve just a few elegant jars to leave behind, that I can be proud of.

Making a ‘good-enough’ Moon Jar is quite demanding for various reasons. Firstly, they are huge, needing 10, or 12 or 15 kilos of clay to make just one half. Secondly, They are made from porcelain clay that is quite floppy and non-plastic, compared to stoneware or earthenware clays. Thirdly, the shape is a very difficult one to master, even with good plastic clay. The aim is to make a very open, wide, fully rounded, bowl shape with a very small foot. This is the shape most likely to squat down and collapse if not made carefully. That is why it is made in two pieces. But even then, it’s not easy in porcelain.

So when these three elements are combined, throwing large lumps of floppy clay, into a very wide shape, but with a tiny foot, there isn’t much to hold it up. I can only offer ‘good will’ and the little bit of skill that I have to help it along.

I’m in awe of those early Korean potters here who managed this impossible feat of throwing, while working on a wooden kick wheel with absolutely no momentum, working these huge, beautiful rounded, flowing forms, while kicking with both feet, one towards, and one away, alternately, to keep the wheel moving. Keeping both feet in action while holding your hands steady in space is something akin to ballet. BUT, not just holding those hands steady, Actually applying considerable pressure to the clay the slow it right down as well.

I could have made more progress, if I’d worked alongside somebody who knew what they were doing. All I’ve got up my sleeve is what I’ve retained from watching some good Korean throwers here in Bangsan in 2018, eight years ago, during a Moon Jar conference. Not a lot was learnt, and most of it forgotten, What I’m learning here now is invaluable, as every mistake and failure is painfully burnt into my memory banks. 

You really have to have your wits about you. I’m learning how to best approach this difficult task. The order of moves, the thickness of the clay in different parts at different stages of the lifting and opening of the evolving shape. If it were just a simple ‘vase’ shape, coming up off the wheel in a straight line up and out, like an inverted cone, it would stand up more easily, but two of these straight sided vase shapes won’t make a sphere. A sphere needs to have a small elegant foot ring, then opening up and out in a curve, away from the wheel head towards the horizontal, then curving around and back, upwards to the rim. An ‘ogee’ line of curve. A completely impossible shape to be self-supporting in soft, floppy non-plastic porcelain.  Who was the genius who first thought of this extravagance in white porcelain?

I’ve dropped a few shapes while getting it right, but I have a better appreciation of the way to best get it done now. Added to the above is the tendency for the non-plastic porcelain clay to absorb water and dry out on the surface causing your fingers to ‘stick’ or ‘grip’ every so often. All throwers have experienced this at some point, but with small pots made from plastic clay, it is recoverable. If this happens while making a moon jar, it is the end of that pot. A stretch and wobble in the form that cannot be corrected is established and there is nothing that can be done to recover it. I’ve tried. Best not to waste any time on it. Just stop, wedge it up and start again. I’ve learnt to hold a wet sponge in my hand between my fingers, and to give a little gentle squeeze more or less continuously, to keep the surface lubricated, but only just so, to avoid any ‘sticking’, but not too much so as to saturate the surface and cause the form to go weak at the knees, resulting in slumping and collapse.

Another lesson was learning to ‘condition’ the new wooden plywood batts. Fresh batts appear to be OK, and would be for every other purpose, but not for large porcelain moon jar bowls. I lost two in a row before I realised that the fresh wood didn’t allow the clay to ’stick’ to the surface well enough. So that when I flipped the bowl over, up-side-down to place it on top of the base bowl, it just peeled off the batt onto the floor. Hard lesson, well learnt. I scrubbed the batts with clay slip and saturated the surface before using them again. success two days later. But so many little set-backs, one after the other, leading to losses is disheartening. But good life lessons in perseverance!

I have also come the the conclusion that 15 kgs is my maximum limit for lifting and flipping over large bowl forms. Any more might lead to a hernia?

I’ve also learnt to be very careful in staging my drying and stiffening technique to make the best connection between the two halves. I’ve had a few crack along the joint in drying. One from not taking enough care to get the consistency and stiffness just right at the time of joining. Too soft and the shape distorts or worse, collapses. Too dry and the pot stands up to the stress of joining and paddling, but the joint can be too dry and fail in drying. I learnt to stiffen the body of the form, particularly the lower section that will have to take all the weight, while keeping the rims soft and moist for adhesion. This is not just about drying it out, but allowing the natural tendency of clay to ’set’ as some kind of thixatropia sets up between the clay particles. Letting the form sit quietly over night aids this. So making a large jar takes time and patience.

However, if the rims are kept too soft, there is a good joint, but as the pot dries, the wetter rim part shrinks more than the rest of the pot, pulls in and the curve flattens out at the mid point of the sphere, making a flat spot. I’ve seen hints of it in a few of the old Moon Jars in Museums, but also on many contemporary moon jars. A successful join, but a compromised form.

So far I’ve made beautiful round spheres with cracks in their joints after drying, as well as well joined bowls, that didn’t crack, but with less than successful round forms, lacking elegance. They both met my hammer.

Another issue that I have had to come to terms with is picking up the joined form, which is now 20 kgs or more, leather hard, slightly soft and a little bit slippery and then turning it over, up-side-down, so as to be able to trim the foot. This kind of weight should really be a two person job. But Janine’s not here! So I have developed a way to do it on my own, slowly and carefully, but it is at the limit of my capacity now at this age. I’m not the man I once was. so I have to look after myself. Fortunately I have developed a large tummy in my advancing age, and this has turned out to be very useful in supporting the shape while I lean back and very gently manoeuvre it up-side-down with my hands. Note to self! Don’t wear a shirt with buttons!

A good Moon Jar is a complex piece of work, requiring sound throwing technique, staged drying, good timing, humidity management, correct joining and compression, careful turning and slow, even drying. And all this before we even start to think about glazing and firing! Yes, there certainly is some madness! But when it works, there is poetry!

I have made about 25 good large jars now, another dozen medium sizes and about 40 smaller jars. a couple of days ago, I had my first bisque firing with half of my work in it. I used the large trolly kiln up in the other studio area, up the hill. I booked the Museums truck to drive them up there, instead of walking up there and back 20 times carrying one jar at a time! Nothing broke or chipped on the way thankfully.

When I arrived here it was the end of winter and the fields were being ploughed getting ready for the spring planting. They have to wait until may around here to be safe from the last frost. I watched them prepare the paddies, plough them twice, to mulch in the previous crop stubble, flood them and then rotary-hoe them again a couple of times. They spend a lot of time working and reworking the walls of the field by hand with a shovel. Building up the edges above water line and then patting the surface down, compressing it with the back of the shovel. It takes hours. However, they save time elsewhere, by avoiding the back breaking work of planting out the rice seedlings. Forty years ago, I was in Japan and watched women doing this back-breaking work. These days they have very cleaver machines that they load up with trays and trays of seedlings. The machine then proceeds slowly across the paddy planting 10 seedlings every second at a spacing of 200mm, apart, doing 2 metre wide rows with each pass. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. So fast and efficient.

I’ve also watched the landscape change from brown to green as the frosted, burnt pasture responded to the warmth and light. There was a tall pasture that had over wintered here, shooting up to a flowering head. At first I assumed that it was a grain crop, but soon realised, as they mowed it down, that it was a fodder crop for making hay. I walked down the lane to get a good look at it, it turned out to be rye, which takes the cold well and is over-wintered here. The smell from the paddock was so sweet, almost sickly sweet. There was so much sugar stored up in those emerging flowering heads. Harvested before it set into grain and turned to starch. They make huge round bales and plastic coat them. I’m assuming that with some residual moisture, it must be some form of silage? Stored for next winter’s fodder?

I miss being able to harvest my own vegetables from my own garden. So much so, I planted one just outside the studio. A mixture of some seedlings to get things going quickly and some seeds in-between to fill out the space as the first plants mature and are harvested. This garden isn’t really for me, as I will be gone in 6 weeks time, before most of the produce matures. I created it for the other residents that will still be here after I leave.

I have also found time to build a wood fired pizza oven. Using a lot of broken bricks that were sitting around in small piles here and there, up around the wood kiln area. I built the oven up on top of a retaining wall, just opposite my wood kiln, so we can cook pizzas while we fire through the night. Again, this little side project isn’t really for me, but my contribution to the creative community that will be living, working and creating here for years to come into the future.   At a time when a lot of the world is in so much conflict and every thing that we thought was stable is starting to come apart at the seams. I am so lucky to be an Australian, Sitting out on our own in the Pacific, we are missing out on so much of that conflict. However, when the pooh hits the propellor, nowhere is safe!

Here the Koreans are technically still at war. There are still landmine warning signs in various places around here, as there was never any really complete clean-up of the mines after the conflict ground down to a stand-off. Something they take for granted around here, but I found it quite shocking when I first encountered one of those land mine warning signs on a strand of wire, not too far from here. on something almost like some sort of old disused fence. Luckily I had my phone and its translation app to tell me to stay well away. We are only a few kms from the final DMZ line here.

As the social norms that we thought might sustain us are broken, the rule of law is degraded and there is a huge up-sweep in the far right of politics, based on miss-information, fear, lies, xenophobia, hate and miss-trust. These events can lead to some feelings of insecurity and alienation. I want to counter that, by creating things that bring people together. Every Friday, I bake bread there in my tiny studio to share with the other residents. A wholesome mixture of wholemeal and rye, that you can’t buy around here. I have also started to host a weekly pizza night in my little space. Last week we also shared a kimchi a pancake night, made by the lady next door, using my huge bag of kimchi that I was given when I arrived here, while I contributed banana pancakes with a little ice cream and cinnamon on top.  I have also made rock cakes to share at morning tea and marmalade, as such a thing doesn’t exist here. I like to have a little on my homemade toast, whenever I feel a little twinge of nostalgia for home.

I want to help create a sharing, supporting community out of these individual artists. We are mostly here for a short time, so there is a constantly changing group dynamic. I replaced someone. Another person left after I was here just one month, I only met her once! Two more artists will leave at the end of this month, and I will leave and the end of next. 

However ephemeral life is, I want to leave a positive trace behind – at least for a while. I want to leave this artists residency in a better, more inclusive, comfortable and fun creative state than it was when I arrived. 

One pizza at a time!

One Month of Poetry and Madness

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Sometimes I feel that I must be mad to be here. Relocating to a foreign land where I don’t know the language, or many people at 74, just to satisfy my curiosity about an ancient ceramic iconic white jar ceramic form. The result of which will most likely have no bearing on my career at all.  As, while I’m here studying Moon Jars with some intensity, there is a show of Moon Jars on in Sydney from which I was excluded, even though I have shown my Moon Jar inspired forms in that gallery in the past, and sold them there. But for some reason, unknown to me, my work isn’t thought to be good enough or appropriate for this show. I can’t pretend that I’m not feeling left out from a show I feel I should have been represented in.

But shit happens and life goes on. If this is the worst that can happen to me, I’m incredibly lucky! I know that I am!

I also know that stuff happens to us all at times. We just have to knuckle down and get on with it. Life goes on. Next?

I’ve been here in the Porcelain Village Residency for one month now. Actually, it was one month last Monday, but I was too busy to write anything down till now. In fact, as of now, its only one more week and I’ll be half way. Tempus fujit! This is my 10th visit to this place. A decade of my life circling and returning, just like the moon and earth. The attraction always pulling me back. I always think that this will be my last visit, but…

I’ve just made my 40th Moon Jar, so that’s good. Actually, I’ve made more than that, but smashed a few up. Especially the earlier ones. As they were not up to scratch. They got slaked them down for re-use, as the unique sericite clay here is very special and hard won, so not to be abused or wasted on inferior pieces. If there is no hint of poetry, then they get the hammer. My most important pottery tool is not my hand crafted stainless profile tool, that I would be lost without, nor my kidney shaped modified special throwing sponge, or my razor Sharpe tungsten turning tool. No! My most important tool is my hammer as it turns out. Can’t allow any feelings of attachment for a bad form. No matter how much effort I put in to it. Even if has taken 3 days to make. If there is no joy or love conveyed in the form, no sense of warmth and communication. If there is no sense of flowing, complete lyrical form and balance. If it isn’t speaking to me. In essence, no poetry, then where is my hammer?

I have to feel proud of the pots that I make and take responsibility for them, as many eyes are on me, simply because I’m the foreigner here. The only non-Asian resident. It could be said of me that I shouldn’t really be here making my weird tributary jars based on the traditional Moon Jar form. Which aren’t really Moon Jars at all, as I’m not Korean, and don’t fully understand the culture. I have been told that there was some ‘chat’ online by ‘important’ people, that for ‘others’ to even think of making something and call it a Moon Jar, is some sort of cultural imperialism and miss-appropriation of cultural identity and some sort of theft of an iconic national ceramic form? 

I haven’t seen the discussion, as I’m not on any social media, but it did make me think about what I’m doing here and why. I interrogate myself fairly often about how I live and what I consume, and how I might be more conscientious about my choices. I quizzed myself deeply over a period of some months, before I eventually applied for this position. For several reasons, not only the cultural theft angle, but also the carbon debt incurred in international flights. Added to that the fact that my presence here has robbed some young and talented artist of a place here and a chance to learn, go on and make important work. I don’t brush this off, or take it lightly. I was quite conflicted. Should I be here?

What helped me to decide positively was the remark, made last year, from the director of the Porcelain Museum in the nearby town, when he saw what I was making back in Australia. We exchange emails periodically. In my early exploration of this iconic form. I was calling what I was making an ‘homage to the Big White Jar’. As I’ve always had a fascination for them, but could never bring myself to make a ‘copy’ of one – even for my own use and satisfaction. But after a decade of visits here, getting more deeply connected to this place through its special 800 year sericite history. As it was the stuff of the soil here that brought me here way back then, as part of my 15 year, ‘5 Stones’ ceramic adventure. 

The Museum Director said to me that what I was doing was different from anything else being done there, and that it would make an interesting addition to the canon. So there was an invitation to follow up on. “Why don’t you apply to come and do that kind of work here?”

Because I’m from Australia, I’m in the opposite hemisphere. I live in the opposite seasons, I live apparently up-side-down on the bottom of the world. It got me thinking that the way to look at the Big White Jar, was from the opposite point of view. So I made them black with a coating of black slip. The dark side of the Moon Jar?

Because I have been doing a lot of sgraffito over the last few years, and because Koreans have a long history of the same technique, which they call ‘Buncheong Ware’, sgraffito seemed appropriate! The significant difference for me, as an antipodean, is that I do it in reverse. The Korean wares are made in dark clay and white slip is applied. I was making white pots and applying black slip then carving back to create my images. I think that it might have been this that caught The Directors eye? Who Knows? I don’t!

Emboldened by this positive response though, I decided to apply for this residency. As I understand it, The Director of the Porcelain Museum is not on the board here, or on the committee for the selection of artists for this residency. So I had to convince several other academic and cultural advisors who actually are the ones making the decision. I was quite unsure as to my suitability for this placement, as the application form clearly stated that applicants should ideally be under 40 years of age, and have at least a 4 year degree level. ie masters or better. I fail the first part, but fortunately I was OK on the last bit. I also had to supply 10 images of recent work, not made in an educational institution, or as part of any course of study.  I could tick most of the boxes.

Now since I’ve arrived and started work here, more things have transpired. The Director of the museum has offered me a show in the Museum’s Art Gallery. He feels confident that I will make significant work while I’m here. No pressure! I feel a little awkward about this, as other residents don’t get this offer. They get to show their work here in the Porcelain Village, where the residency is situated. We have a smaller on-site gallery here specifically for our use. The Porcelain Village Residency Gallery. I feel that it has created some sort of barrier between us. Why am I getting special treatment? And I can’t answer that, but I carry a twinge of guilt about it, even though I have made no overtures to be treated differently.

The Director has explained to me that because of the smaller, clean firing, low smoke, wood fired kiln that I built for the Porcelain Museum 2 years ago. There has been some interest in this aspect of the Museum activity. There are now 5 other versions of this kiln built, or in the process of, in Korea as a result, with more in the planning stage. He told me (through his ‘Chat GPT’ interpretation software) that it has had an effect on how some people view the institution now. I assumed that he was talking about the environmental aspects of cleaner wood firing? The Director has his own version of the kiln at his home studio, and has recently had a show of 300 wood fired porcelain bowls in a posh big city Art Gallery. So he is fully onboard with the concept of heavily reduced porcelain created without much, if any, smoke.

He intimated that the fired results from the wood kiln that I built here are significantly different from the traditional kilns. Heavier reduced, with quite a sweet grey/black carbon inclusion that works perfectly against the white porcelain, showing subtle hints of pink to orange flashing, and yet these effects are produced with virtually no smoke. Not many people have seen work quite like this around here before now apparently. 

Two years ago, when I built the kiln. I fired it using the local pine that everyone uses around here, and managed to fire it with a little smoke, however, keeping a clean, smoke free reduction using pine took a lot of concentration, and a lot of effort. I suggested at that time, that my kiln would fire cleaner with the use of hard wood instead of pine. Eyebrows were raised! So we sourced some local oak tree timber. This is not considered suitable for kiln firing here and is therefore a lot cheaper, and as it turned out, It worked very well. I also suggested that the local Acacia species that grows on the hill sides around the pottery, in fact, right outside my studio window, would also be worth trying, but this suggestion has not been taken up – yet!

The use of local oak instead of pine, has allowed us to virtually eliminate smoke, while still creating beautiful reduced effects on the porcelain surface and a lovely ash deposit. These are aesthetic qualities not usually embraced in the traditional Moon Jar aesthetic. In fact there is some push-back from conservative thinkers about this black surface on white porcelain. The Shock Of The New!  They’ll get used to it! 

It is quite lovely in its own right. Not the usual traditional look, but still very beautiful!  I’d like to see some of my large white jars come out of the kiln like this. The Director has encouraged me to follow this route, rather than the black slip train of thought that I started with. So I am now making work that I hope will come out largely flashed with grey to black carbon inclusions, but without slip. Time will tell.

He tells me that as I have created the conditions for this new surface quality to be created. This surface belongs to me when I’m here, so I should make use of it and take delight in making my version of the iconic Korean Moon Jar with an Australian wood fired surface.

So I’m set free from my worries about cultural theft and imperialism. I’m invited, even encouraged, to follow my own interests and ways of working, thinking and making. while adapting to local materials and fuels in my efforts to make the big white jar of my crazy dreams. Whether or not there is, or will be, any poetry in these pots of mine is yet to be discovered. The hammer will decide.

When I arrived here at the end of winter. I was wearing a T shirt, a shirt and a jumper, and feeling a little bit under-dressed. Now a month on, the weather is changing weekly, even daily. One month on, I’m now down to bare feet, shorts and a singlet. I’m told that the rainy season is about to start, half way through June through to half way through August, it will rain almost every day and the humidity will be 100% for most of July. Nothing will dry, everything starts to go mouldy. The only way to dry washing reliably is to use a dryer.

I’ve taken this onboard and decided to make the largest size of jars first and then work down in size to the smaller sizes last. This is totally the opposite way around for me at this time. Usually, I’d prefer to make a lot of smaller pieces first up, so as to get a feel for the sericite clay bodies that they offer here, and get to learn all about their shortcomings. Like photo-sensitivity – cracking if exposed to direct sunlight! Sounds impossible, but it is true. I’ve had to change my habits a bit to cope. The first one that I put out in the direct sunlight one afternoon, split open like a ripe fruit! It isn’t some hitherto unknown life-form, just that if the clay is exposed to direct sunlight, the clay dries out more on that side too quickly, and hair-line cracks form. Sometimes large cracks! This stuff isn’t clay of course. I have to keep reminding myself. It’s ground up rock dust that appears to be plastic in the same way as clay, but actually isn’t. 

Amazingly, I can manage to throw 10 kg lumps of the stuff into 450mm dia. bowls with a small foot, two of which are joined together, one on top of the other, in what potters call ‘top-hatting’. Once joined by pinching the two parts together, I then use the hammer and anvil technique, incorporating a wooden block on the inside of the form and a wooden paddle on the outside, to beat the joint together, compressing it. This should make a secure joint if done well. Or, a horribly distorted wobbly pot if not. It takes a little bit of nuanced practise to get it joined securely, but not altered from its intended form.

A bowl of 450mm. is considered to be the ideal size to throw, or so the potters around here tell me. This should give a finished jar of approx. 400mm dia. The size of some of the ancient archetypes. So that is what I’m doing. 

Throwing larger lumps of 15 kgs can result in a larger jar to impress people. I’ve had a go at it and lost a couple to slumping at the end of the throwing process, this stuff is rather floppy and doesn’t hold up well. I have completed one larger jar of 550 mm dia. to my own satisfaction.

Making really big ware is for the younger testosterone driven youngsters who need to impress to get noticed. I used to do it, but I’m neither young, nor needing to make an impression any more.

These days, I just want the satisfaction of making something elegant and beautiful that I can be proud of. Because, lets face it. All these pots will be staying here. I won’t be carrying a dozen 15kg jars home in my hand luggage on Jetstar!

The other residents here, Museum staff, and Korean friends will be the beneficiaries. My contract states that the Museum has the rights to the first choice of anything that I make here to add to their collection. After that…

I don’t know if my work will be for sale at the exhibition at the end of my stay? I haven’t counted those chickens yet!

I’m slowly filling all the shelving available to me in my studio, then the corridor outside, and finally in the kiln room. 

It’s a race against the on-coming monsoon rains, to get all the big work done and more or less dried in time, before the rainy season. At home I know my clay and its short-comings, as well as its strengths. I have a certain confidence with it. I have a tendency towards the ‘go fast and break stuff’ sort of work schedule. I do usually stop before I break stuff though, but I do get a lot done! Here however, everything is different, from photo-sensitivity, through kidney shape warping if there is a breeze blowing through the studio. and there usually is, because there are no windows in the studio. Just big doors at both ends, so there is usually quite some breeze flowing through. I’ve learnt to leave the freshly potted big jars on the wheel, running on slow to keep the pot rotating and keeping it from drying out on one side only while the initial drying takes place. Also Being a 200# mesh fine porcelain paste body, it has a capacity to blow up if heated too quickly, and then to crack later on in the firing if fired too fast! Temperamental!

If any of these big jars actually survive, I’ll be proud of them.