Jingdezhen – The home of porcelain

July 12, 2015July 12, 2015 ~ Sebastian ~ 2 Comments

I think I posted this on my Facebook page but not here. This is a fantastic little documentary about the history and home of porcelain in China: Jingdezhen

The History of Porcelain

New Kodai

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 ~ Sebastian ~ Leave a comment

A new porcelain bowl. I’m experimenting with a new kodai (foot ring) form, that gently dips downward towards the bottom creating a concave section and a foot that tapers to a softened point. It has taken longer and presented new challenges with this bowl because I shaped the form to completion outwardly. I cannot carve the outside further. I think the end result is worth the technical “challenge” (if you can call it that). I guess it’s less a challenge than just an order of operations thing. You just complete the outside first and I’m used to leaving the outside mostly unfinished and forming for the interior.

Scrap Bucket

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 ~ Sebastian ~ Leave a comment

I took 1/2 the day off yesterday so I decided to throw a bit for 5 hours. Most of it ended up in the scrap bucket. That’s just how it goes sometimes. I’m not disappointed. Its just more practice.

I got a new wheel. A Shimpo VL-Whisper which I can say lives up to its name. Its as quiet as my kickwheel. Its a challenge to learn a new wheel. The centering is different. You can get an immediate center but within a second its out of center again and you have to do a second centering. A new muscle memory I have to learn. And the pedal is a new clunky thing that does not come naturally for me. I decided on getting this because I need to learn how to be proficient on any type of wheel and the majority of wheels are electric. This one is semi-transportable and can even be set on a tabletop for throwing while standing. The kickwheel is a 500lb beast and isn’t going anywhere, ever.

Throwing is as much in your mind as it is in your body. The state of mind will determine what kind of work you make. However good you are it will be there. It is, after all, your creation and creation comes from within. So even though a seasoned potter of 30 years might be able to bang out the same looking cylinder there is some subtle nuance that is contained within it. It is the jena se qua of pots. The one you hold that you like, and the other you hold and although it may be similar and pleases you visually there is something different about it. The one you like I think has that extra something, that intent embedded by the maker.