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 !