The process of ceramics is long and time consuming, yet at the same time slow. The thing is, you create something, let it dry, trim it, fire it, glaze it, fire it and youre done. But its not like you can fire twice in one day. So, today I messed with my creations from yesterday. Right now there are 3 bunnies, and 3 pots. The pots are more like cups and consisted of my main focus for the day. I trimmed them, added a handle to some and then put them ready to fire. After that, I was pretty much done, so my day at the studio ended at 3.
Takao helped me with the trimming today and then I watched him decorate some ornamental pieces. Basically, he had to delicately place thin gold leaf paper on an already glazed piece. The catch is, you cant touch the gold with your hands. You cant year gloves, its all done with specialized tweezers and paper. The gold is so thin, that is misplaced or put on incorrectly your work is ruined.
So I had a typical Japanese lunch with my ceramics family. It was delicious, though I still dont know what the green stuff I didnt like was. I also got to see the stock room, and some more of the house. Moto also told me that out of the hundreds of studios in Kyoto, only 7 of them work with Raku firing.
Took too many pictures today. Mostly of the place. Will post next.
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As a senior at Greenhills School, it is required to spend the last few weeks on a project that inspires you. Mine, is ceramics. With the right connections I was able to fly to Japan and meet with Japanese Ceramics masters who are considered to be National Treasures. This blog explains my day to day interaction with Japanese culture in addition to keeping my progress in learning the art of Japanese ceramics.
