Swanica explores Japan

2007-08-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

My son helped me with integrating this blogspot site and my website. So, I will stop using blogspot. Please, go to www.swanceramics.com

2007-08-01T22:18:00.001-07:00

SWANICA LIGTENBERG
exhibits at the TOKO GALLERY, Mashiko, Japan

Special-Judge’s award winner of the 6th Mashiko Ceramics Competition 2006, Japan,

SWANICA LIGTENBERG

exhibits her HORSEHAIR CERAMIC ART show at the TOKO GALLERY in Mashiko

from September 8 – September 20, 2007.

The Opening Reception is on September 8, from 6 – 8pm.

FOR FRIENSHIP AND CERAMIC ARTS!

Address of Toko Gallery is: Jonaizaka 2, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, 321-4218, Tochigi-ken

スワニカ・リヒテンベルグ展覧会
益子・陶庫ギャラリーにて

２００６年第６回益子陶芸展にて審査員特別賞受賞者

スワニカ・リヒテンベルグ

益子・陶庫ギャラリーにて『ホースヘアー陶芸展』

２００７年９月８日～９月２０日

レセプション：９月８日午後６時～８時（益子陶芸倶楽部にてパーティーあり）

陶庫ギャラリー：〒321－4218　栃木県栃木県芳賀郡益子町城内坂２

swanica@ligtenberg.com; www.swanceramics.com

2007-08-01T22:05:00.001-07:00

Some pieces for the upcoming show in September.

Cosmos Horsehair Plate
17,5"/44cm x H4"/9cm,

Diamond Horsehair Vase
9" x H9"

Mandala Horsehair Plate
15"/38cm x H2"/5cm

Pod Horsehair Vase
11" x H15"

Shiratori Horsehair Vase
11" x H21"

2007-08-01T16:19:00.001-07:00

I am finally back to continue my lifestory.

I had a good 2 weeks in Holland and saw my family, especially my middle son, Maarten, who turned 22 years old. We went sailing that day and had real Dutch weather: heavy clouds, rain, wind, thunder, and luckily also some sun.

Then to America, San Diego, to see my oldest son, Roland, to celebrate the 4th of July, National Holiday. And a couple of days later, back home to Los Altos where my youngest son, Arjan, was vacationing for a little bit. He is now in Europe preparing with the US Junior National Water Polo team for the World Championships this August in Los Angeles.
The team became #6. They never had been that high. My guy is the tallest one in the picture. Congratulations to the US team!

I started working right away when I came home and with my husband, Adriaan, we made some special devices.

We made this pully, so, I can lower the can over the hot plate, so it won't cool off too fast and will perhaps not crack!

Another pully is attached to the lid of the electric kiln.
It is especially handy, it makes it easier and lighter to open the kiln. You can open it up half way to have less heat loss and it will stay in that position without falling back.

This is the wire with two bars in between which can slide. The length of the wire is about 6 feet or 2 meters.

We are preparing the wire so not to waste any time when we open the kiln for heat loss. The kiln is between 1100-1300 Fahrenheit or 600-700 Celsius degrees. The horsehair will still burn nicely. You get an array of colors spraying the ferric chloride. And of course less thermal shock.

Then we open the kiln and lower the wire and put around the plate with the bars going on each side underneath the plate.

You put the two loops together and are able to lift the plate out of the kiln.

I put the plate on a wheel covered with refractory bricks.

Then I lower the can over the plate and hope for the best not to hear a crack sound.
I had some big losses. That goes with this kind of risky work.

You want to minimize the thermal shock: the stress when its surfaces are exposed to contrasting temperatures at the same time, which can mean cracking as a result of rapid temperature change. Ceramic objects are particularly vulnerable to this form of failure, due to their low toughness, low thermal conductivity, and high thermal expansion coefficients. If you would like to read more about it, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_shock.

Lowering the can all the way.

Then spraying with ferric chloride. I want to glaze this plate, so, I don't put on any horsehair at this point. Glaze will not stick on the horsehair. But I want brown color underneath the glaze, because only spraying on the glaze doesn't give enough color. It will give a beautiful iridescent sheen.

I lower the can again and may repeat this several times.

This all happens really fast, because otherwise the plate cools too fast to work with it anymore.

A last touch up.

I wear a mask for the dangerous fumes of the ferric chloride. My arms are covered with old socks. Of course, you can wear a long sleeved shirt. We wear big gloves for the heat and underneath I wear this plastic glove to be able to start working right away with the ferric chloride and not to get it on my hands. The bottle will leak. We also put a fan nearby to blow away the fumes when I spray.

This is the final result:

Sun Horsehair Plate.
17,5"/44cm x 2,5"/6cm

(Click on image)

2007-06-18T07:48:00.001-07:00

In 8 hours a taxi will take me to the Kamakura train station for my trip to Holland for 2 weeks and then for 3 weeks to America.

This is partly the result of being able to work here at home in Japan for a couple of weeks and in Sato-san's workshop. I still have 2 glaze/horsehair firings and 1 bisque/horsehair firing left.

A nice start for my show in Mashiko in September.

2007-06-18T07:37:00.001-07:00

The pond at the Hachimangu Shrine looks magnificent and wonderful with those big water Lily plants.

Do you see the coy fish and the turtle?

Unfortunately, they don't have flowers yet and tomorrow I leave for Holland and America. So, flower pictures have to wait until next year.

Completely filled up with the leaves and beautiful green color.

2007-06-09T04:57:00.000-07:00

Last year, I went to this national historic site: the Meigetsu-in. This temple is especially known because of the Hydrangea flowers. But then I was too late and they had already trimmed all the flowers.
Now I was here in Kamakura and it is an overwhelming sea of Hydrangeas: so beautiful!
How powerful a flower can be!

The Hydrangea is a symbol of expressing love, gratitude, and enlightenment. It is said that the observer can easily get lost in it's abundance of beautiful petals, and thus gets lost in one's own thoughts – propitiating higher thought and reaching enlightenment. Due to it's versatility, and beauty, the hydrangea makes an excellent thank you gift.

The main stairs toward the temple.

More Hydrangreas along some other stairs.

The Meigetsu-in was founded in the year 1160 as a burial place. In 1256, this site was chosen for the construction of a Buddhist temple, which, through the centuries, endured some changes, but belongs now to the Kenchoji Branch of the the Rinzai Zen Sect.

The rock garden of the temple with stil the blooming Azaleas. The garden expresses the Buddhist view of the world.

Then, you can have a look through the temple to the back garden filled with Irisses.

This is a view from the other side. And you can look through the circle of the temple room at the rock garden.
Again, what a beautiful garden. We had a nice stroll in between the Irisses.

In Greek mythology, Iris is the messenger of the gods who, cloaked in a robe of dewdrops reflecting the stars, communicates messages via the rainbow, the bridge between heaven and earth. Thus iris is the symbol of communication and the name itself means "rainbow".

2007-06-08T06:17:00.001-07:00

My husband got me information about this amazing little museum in Kamakura. We live now for a year in Kamakura and you think you have seen it all, but there are still so many things to discover in this historic town.

This museum is a refined, elegant Japanese-style house which is in a quiet, residential area. It was the house of Kaburaki Kiyokata, a great painter of the modern Nihonga, Japanese-style painting.

First, he was an illustrator, but later turned to painting in the Japanese style and created many works focusing on graceful young women, and the lively life of the common people in town.

A woman in the snow.

A woman with a drum.

In 1946, he came to Kamakura. He spent the rest of his life here until his death at the age of 93 in 1972.

A woman with a fish in a bowl.

In 1994, his bereaved family donated his artworks, and his residence and land to Kamakura City for other people to enjoy his beautiful artwork. Thus in April 1998 the memorial museum opened.

A woman with a flower.

2007-06-07T15:41:00.001-07:00

I want to show you the new workspace at my house.
This is the view through the door from our diningroom. The cloths are drying in the seawind.
In the room we only have a table, some chairs and the printer. And sometimes, we eat here.

I can do a lot of preparation and hand work (no wheel). Then, I bring my work to Sato-san for firing on my bicycle or yesterday, with the taxi (my bike had a flat tire). But greenware, dried clay, is very breakable, so I had some little casualties.

I work at this table and have a beautiful view at the sea and hear the waves all the time mixed in with the sounds of traffic.

Another view at the sea when I sit at the table.

The room slowly gets filled up.
Is there still space for a wheel?

2007-06-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

We went to a Signature Dinner from Euan Craig at Toyado Restaurant in Nihombashi in Tokyo.
At the same time, he had a ceramics exhibition at the Ebiya antique store across the street.

The chef specially prepared a menu to go with Euan's dinnerware and Euan designed his ware to go with this food. A nice collaboration.

This is Euan's show and dinner invitation.

Euan.

I can't quite remember which dish came first and the first couple of dishes I forgot to photograph, but the dishes were beautiful and the food was marvelous.

The main dish with the pot as plate upside down.

He fires his ware only one time in an wood/soda kiln. The lines on his dishes are a kind of rice stalks.

If you want to know more about Euan, look on his website: http://www.d1.dion.ne.jp/~euan/
and on some former blogs of 7/11/06, when I had my visiting workshop in Mashiko and 2/26/07, when Euan gave a workshop in Mashiko.

Here, he turned the dish back up and used it as Soba dish; a Japanese noodle.

The desert in a triangle cut thrown dish.

2007-05-29T16:10:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, we went to the Zojoji temple in Tokyo to watch the Noh theater.

This is the Main Gate "Sangedatsumon". It is majestic and magnificent and remains the only architectural reminder of the early days of the Edo Period, 17-18-19th century, when the original Zojoji was constructed on a prodigious scale.

Zojoji was founded in 1393 as an orthodox and fundamental seminary for Jodo shu in the Kanto (east Japan) region. In 1590 the shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa relocated it to Tokyo to establish his government and Zojoji became the family temple of the Tokugawa family. It continued to be the center to govern the religious studies and activities of Jodo shu, as it is still today. In those days, its precincts covered an area of 826,000 square meters with the big cathedral temple and 48 smaller ones, about 150 grammar schools, and 3000 priests and novices resided here. Zojoji was profoundly affected by the anti-Buddhist movement and World War II in the 20st century, but the cathedral and some temples and buildings have been rebuilt.

The cathedral temple.

The Amida Buddha statue inside the Zojoji.

One of the small shrines to pray for children.

All the statues wear knitted hats and bibs with colorful fans.

The open air theater from the back. In the back of the picture is the big front gate.

A view from the other side shows the big cathedral temple.

Tokyo Tower at night with the Cathedral.

2007-05-28T19:08:00.001-07:00

The Noh theater played on the grounds in the open air of the Zojoji temple in Tokyo.

The early origins of Noh theater were mostly folk-type forms of rustic entertainment.
In 1375, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the powerful dynastic shogun and ruler of all Japan, experienced an early form of Noh performed by Kanami Kiyotsugu and his twelve year old son Zeami Motokiyo. It is due to Yoshimitsu's patronage and interest in early Noh that this dramatic form was able to develop into the highly refined, serene theater.
Zeami, a dramatist, is the prime figure in Noh, having written 100 of the 204 plays, many of which are still regularly performed to this day. He also wrote a very famous treatise in 1423 on the skills and methods necessary for a Noh actor, and that document is still valid study for young actors. What Zeami, inspired by his father, managed to create, was a theater of the Muromachi period (1336-1573), written in the upper-class language of the fourteenth century, but which looked back to the supposed Golden Age of the Heian Period (794-1185), by basing plays on people, events and even poetry of that era creating texts of astonishing richness and opacity. Noh exists today in a form almost unchanged since Zeami's day.

One of the blessings before and for the Noh plays.
The blessings were half an hour long.

Three priests accompanied the blessings on their instruments: very interesting sounds.

One of the most striking aspects of the Noh is that the shite, the main actor, may wear a mask, as may his companions, or tsure. This occurs when the main character is an old man, a youth, a woman, or a supernatural character. Tsure accompany the shite in certain plays, and if they represent one of these groups, they will also be masked, but the shite will not wear a mask if his character is an adult male.

Masks are carved from wood, often cedar, which is then painted, and include some of the most moving works of sculptural art in Japan, The masks are carved in a subtle way, so that with small changes of inclination they appear to show different emotions.

This is the mask from Yo-Kihi "Yang Kuei-fei".
The emperor is mourning her dead and a magician brings proof of her being on a magic island by a bejewelled hair ornament and then the magician/Yo-Kihi dances for the emperor.

The bejewelled hair ornament.

The magician/Yo-Kihi dances.

The other ubiquitous prop is the fan, which in a symbolic theater such as Noh, can represent all manner of other objects, such as bottles, swords, pipes, letters walking sticks and so on.

The costumes are adaptations of those of the 15th century. Some, particularly those of characters representing the nobility, are sumptuous, with gold and silver thread

The play will be performed on a stage open on three sides, and a pine tree behind. A sort of walkway, called the hashigakari leads onto the stage right position from an entrance doorway at right angles to the backboard. Along the hashigakari are three small pine trees, and these define areas where the actor may pause to deliver lines, before arriving on the main roofed stage, which is about six metres square.

One of the small pine trees.

Ranged along in front of the back is a group of musicians whose instruments include a flute, a shoulder drum, a hip drum and sometimes a stick drum. The musicians are responsible for the otherworldly, strange music which accompanies dance and recitation alike. At the right angles to the back, there is the chorus of eight to twelve chanters arranged in two rows and it is their job to take over the narration of the story, or the lines of the main character if he is engaged in a dance. These elements all contribute to a cohesive whole which creates a richly textured background against which the play is enacted, and since no scenery, few props and only a small cast appears, the imagination of the audience is left to roam freely.

In general, Japanese Noh plays are not very dramatic, although they are beautiful, since the text is full of poetical allusions and the dances, though slow, are extremely elegant. It is this very beauty which makes Noh a living art form still, over six hundred years after it developed.

This represents a magical lion in the last play, who dances among peony flowers before a stone bridge, which leads to a paradise.

Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures during the performance. Those are photos from a brochure.

2007-05-27T16:34:00.001-07:00

Because I walk every where,I found another fire fighter cover in a sidewalk near the Zojoji temple in Tokyo.

2007-05-24T03:40:00.001-07:00

Today, I hang a new found scroll on the wall in our living room. I call it the "Mystical Morning" summer scroll: a beautiful Sumie brush painting on paper.

This is a close-up. And by clicking on it, you can enlarge it.

This scroll we have hanging, when you come up the stairs to the living room: delicately painted "Coy" or "Koi" fish on silk.

According to Japanese legend if a Koi (or carp) succeeded in climbing the falls at a point called Dragon Gate on the Yellow River it would be transformed into a dragon. Based on that legend, it became a symbol of worldly aspiration and advancement, the ability to attain high goals and courage.

Also, in the Buddhist Religion, the Koi Fish is symbolic for courage. Humans 'swim' through the 'ocean of suffering' without fear, just like a fish swims through water.

Owning Koi has been a pleasure to pond keepers and water gardeners for hundreds of years. Known as “Living Jewels” by the Japanese, these colourful carp are highly sought after. Hardy enough to live through all but the worst winters, they are the favourite choice of pond dweller in many different climates.

In general, Koi are associated with good fortune, luck and happiness.
(Click for enlargement)

2007-05-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

Last week, from May 15 - May 20, the Tokyo Nippon Tougei Club had their major show in the Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi store.
This was their 40st anniversity charity event for all kind of good causes in and outside Japan to help needy people.

Two pieces of mine were accepted and sold right away the first day!

A "Horsehair" Vase and
a "Feather, Horsehair" Vase.
(Click on the picture for enlargement).

Nine "Ningen Kokuho", Living National Treasures, like Shimaoka Tatsuo were asked to participate: a beautiful Sake set with his rope impressed design.

And special Japanese Award winner, Imaizumi Imaemon.
A beautiful decorated porcelain vase.

Some other work:

Some plates with a gold leaf flower design.

A beautiful little Chalice.

2007-05-17T03:14:00.000-07:00

Elephants in Thailand hold a revered place in society, because of their symbolic importance to monarchs, religion, and the nation as a whole.

A ceramic sculptured elephant.

Thai tradition abounds with examples of the elephant playing an important role in the workings of the Kingdom. Most significant of all, perhaps, is the white elephant, prized because it is a rare animal judged fit only for royal duties.

A ceramic glazed elephant.

According to ancient royal Thai traditions, a white elephant is a noble beast of special importance, exemplifying a king's honor and glory. Known in Thai as Chang Samkhan, a white elephant is a gift fit for a king and to acquire one during his reign, will bring about prosperity and happiness throughout the kingdom.

A terra cotta clay elephant.

Elephants are of immense importance in Thailand. They are smart land mammals and hard-working beasts, providing transportation for mankind. At times of war, elephants played an indispensable role in the war machine of Thailand and other Asian countries.

A wooden carved elephant.

Commanders fighting duels on elephant back, documented throughout Thai history, required strategic planning and great skills to lead armies to win wars. Elephants in battle played a sterling part in maintaining the sovereignty of Thailand in past war periods.

A stone carved elephant.

The elephant appears in many Thai proverbs and sayings and is an emblem on regalia of national importance such as prior national flags of Thailand, royal emblems, and royal decorations. Undoubtedly, the elephant holds pride of place as the national symbol of the Kingdom of Thailand.

A wooden elephant.

2007-05-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

I saw some beautiful pottery in some museums and in temples.
Especially, the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum and the Jim Thompson house in Bangkok had some wonderful pieces. But also, often you were not allowed of course to take pictures. So, I got some pictures from catalogues.

This is Banchiang Prehistoric pottery. It is iron oxide painted. They also had beautiful cord marked pots.

This is a prehistoric artifact from China probably from the Sung period.

A beautiful Chinese porcelain tea set with all Kanji signs. H.M.King Rama IV+V were very impressed by their ceramic ware that they even named gardens, canals, gates and roads after ancient Chinese ceramics.

A pentachromatic, 5 color, porcelain bowl, called Bencharong. It was made in China but decorated with Thai designs.

A Bencharong porcelain box I saw in a hotel.

Some other beautiful plate and little box.
I think it is also made in China.

2007-05-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

On our way back to Japan, we made a stopover in Thailand.

It is unbelievable what a human can make!
Here is just a tiny small example of what we saw. It is all so beautiful and so intricately made.
The colored pieces are almost all ceramic used as tiles and little pieces of ceramics for flowers. They use crystals and mirrors/glass in their mosaics and when the sun shines on it, it blinds your eyes. Very tricky!

This is the Grand Royal Palace in Bangkok.
Click on the picture for enlargement. Garuda birds are sitting on the top and corners of the roof.

Those are pagodas completely covered with ceramics tiles and ceramic little pieces to make a mozaic.

This is the roof top of the Marble temple "Wat Benchamabophit": nice ceramic roof tiles.
On the top and corners of the roof you see the Garuda bird. In the Buddhist mythology, the Garudas are enormous predatory birds with intelligence and social organization. They combine the characteristics of animals and divine beings.

Roof decoration with little Buddhas.

The reclining Buddha in the "Wat Po" temple. He is 30 meters long and all the walls in this temple are completely painted with all stories and scenes from their mythology. It is amazing!

Like this painting. But this one is in the Grand Royal Palace and is being renovated with gold paint and is on the surrounding wall off the palace and may be is a mile long. And all with those paintings 2 meters high.

This is a small Buddha in one of the temples I visited with a beautiful ceramic porcelain vase next to it with Lotus flowers.

Another beautiful porcelain vase.

In one of the temples a beautiful pot with waterlilies in it and a big dragon on it.

2007-05-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, back to writing a new blog.

I'm back in Japan, but this red work I prepared in the US in April for the "Hot" 3D show coming up in the Gallery House in Palo Alto, CA ( www.galleryhouse2.com ) from May 29 - June 23, 2007.

The glaze is not an easy glaze and can give lots of craters. Of course, this happened to me 2 days before I would leave for Holland. Luckily, I know the solution by spraying on a white glaze I have and when I opened the kiln, I got some nice results.
So, I was in time for the show!

A S-line red vase.

A little chalice.

2007-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom in the beginning of April in the Tokyo area. It is a beautiful sight!

Cherry blossoms, SAKURA, are the most beloved flowers by the Japanese. They symbolize the transience of life which is meshed well with the teachings of Buddhism, because of their short blooming time and fragility. Also, since cherry trees blossom en masse, they have also been used as a metaphor for clouds.

This is the Dankatsura Main Street in Kamakura, a path adorned on both sides with cherry trees.

Close-up of the "Sakura" flower.

The falling of the blossoms resembles the falling of snow and signifies being blessed in life. So, people sit in groups of family, friends or companies on blue tarps on the ground having a good time with each other with food and of course beer and sake. When the wind blows the little blossom leaves will fall on them.

This is in Ueno Park in Tokyo. So many people coming out to see and enjoy the "Sakura" flower.

A branch heavy from all the flowers.

2007-04-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

I made this "Oribe"plate at the Nippon Tougei Club.

In the mid-sixteenth century, the taste of ceramics changed from Chinese ceramics to domestically manufactured wares, or "wamono".
Sen no Rikyuo refined this change: the aesthetic of "wabi-cha": the spirit of simplicity of the tea ceremony. This unique world of "chado" (tea ceremony) used ceramic vessels and utensils rooted in Japanese aesthetics, especially Shino and Oribe ware from the Mino kilns.

Oribe ware was technically exquisite in its use of colored glaze, design, and shape. A variety of innovative ceramic wares, were manufactured, and an overglaze polychrome enamel was created that combined the new copper-green glaze, the most characteristic glaze of Oribe, with the traditional iron glaze.
In addition to the traditional round shape, we see objects with geometric shapes or those based on traditional designs, such as fan shapes and shapes that are purposely distorted.
The designs reflect those of mainly textiles: classical Japanese designs that were popular during the Heian period.
Oribe ware was fired in a multi-chamber climbing kiln, "Noborigama". This type of kiln made it possible to fire ceramics more effectively.

2007-04-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Some new results from my work in America.

Glazed horsehair, fumed,crazed Raku bowl.

The other side, front or back of the glazed horsehair Raku bowl.

The foot of the glazed horsehair Raku bowl.

Glazed, fumed decorated horsehair bowl.

The foot of the bowl.

2007-03-06T05:48:00.000-08:00

This will be my last blog before I return to the US for 3 weeks.

The roofs in Japan are spectacular. The tiles are made of clay and quite a couple are glazed blue.

You see a blue glazed tile roof in this picture,
black clay roof and a treasure house in the back. It is a little house made from very thick stone for protection of earthquakes and of treasures during wartime.

A house with a blue glazed roof in the Odawara Soga Plum "Ume" orchard.

A modern style house with a blue roof.

A green glazed roof.

A temple roof with the curled up corners.

A lot of houses also have the original black clay roofs.

View from our balcony on all our neighbor houses. The electric wiring is above the ground.

You hardly see similar looking houses. They are as different as the people. Funny, in a land where everything and everyone is so controlled by the group. Luckily, they have an outlet to express their individualism.

An old tiny house with a plate iron roof.

2007-03-06T04:41:00.000-08:00

The covers of sewers or drains in the streets of Japan can have some very special designs. Very original.
This one is in our street. This is near the beach. Clearly visible in the design.

This is the tower of Kamakura station.

Mashiko lillies.

Banner standards for the Mashiko fire department.

Himeji has still the original castle from the 16th century which was not bombed or didn't burn down. A lot of the castles are renovated and built again with concrete walls, like the Osaka and Odawara castle.
The castle is completely white and hence looks like a white egret.

Again the white egret from Himeji.

2 Street covers from Yosokusa and Machiko. Obviously, the covers hide a waterpipe for the fire engine.

Yokosuka with the cherry flowers "Sakura".

And the American Navy is stationed in Yokosuka.

The bridge from Yokohama, a connection between 2 islands.

A lid in one of the streets we road our bicycles on, of the village Hayama near the sea, where you can sail and see beautiful flowers and birds.

2007-03-06T03:53:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I did my first oil kiln firing in the kiln from Mr.Sato.

This is the motor with the flu. Here you can adjust the amount of oxygene, so the oil will burn well and to its fullest. When you see black smoke coming out of the chimney, you increase the air/oxygene.

You also control the increase of temperature by partially closing the chimney.

The oildrum, the fuel.

The pyrometer shows the temperature.

The kiln is filled so that you can easily take the pieces out of the kiln.

Taking a little peek.

Taking a piece out.

A tissue outside and inside burning for smoke effects.

Putting the horsehair on.

Spraying the ferric chloride.

The end result. It takes some days for the colors to develop.

2007-03-06T03:38:00.000-08:00

Some results from the horsehair firing in an oil kiln.

Tall s-line vase.

A bowl plate.
The colors of the ferric chloride developed well.

A round little vase.

"Cloudy sky" bowl plate.

Square Vase.
You clearly can see the smoke from the burning of the horsehair in the slip.

2007-03-06T02:01:00.000-08:00

When we went to Odawara to the orchards we saw those beautiful sewer covers and drain lids and tiles in the road, because we walk and bicycle everywhere. They make wonderful lids, especially the ones about the "Ume" flower for which Odawara is famous.

This is a small cover with an plum "ume" flower in Odawara.
(click on the image to increase the size).

Here they put some tiles from the Odawara castle in the road. Just somewhere close to the castle.

Here are some waterlilies in the castle's moot.

This is the castle. It is near the sea and has a beach.

Some more "Ume" flowers.

Lots of water in Odawara.

Another branch with "Ume" flowers.

2007-02-26T00:41:00.000-08:00

Euan Craig gave a workshop in Mashiko at the Tao International Tougei Center of Furuki-san on Feb 22-24 for the student and parent potters of the International School of the Sacred Heart from Tokyo. This was organized by the head of the art department Steve Tootell.

http://www.d1.dion.ne.jp/~euan/

Euan started out with how to wedge clay and then how to throw cups and bowls. Then the girls and parents started to wedge clay and throw pots. There were beginners and some who already knew how to throw. Kusakabe-san was also there and we helped where we could.

The next day, Euan showed how to trim the cups.

Euan had brought a plaster mold from a face and showed how to make slabs and put one in the mold. The moisture of the clay goes in the dry plaster mold. The clay slab releases and you have a face mask.

They made a mask from Jill's face. First, you put on a lot of vaseline on your face, so, the mask will not stick when you take it off. Then you put wet bandages, big and small strips, with plaster of Paris on the face. You leave the nostrils open.

After 10 minutes you can take off the mask and go clean up your face.
This is a negative of your face.

After the mask is completely dry, you fill it up with clay, take the plaster bandage mask from the clay and you have again a positive of your face.

Here, Jill cleaned her positive face and corrected and modeled it, so, it would be ready to make the plaster mold.

You build a wooden box around the head and fill the cracks. Then you pour the plaster in the wooden box on the clay face and let it harden.

This face mold is again a negative of your face. And from this mold you can take a lot of face masks.

With another project Euan showed how to build a face stand.
First, he filled a bag of newspaper with sawdust, which he can shape in a hollow form. He put a precut slab on the newspaper and started building the sides.

He filled the inside with sawdust and put the second slab on the sawdust, which kept the shape. The slab will not collapse. When it is hard enough to put it up, he will empty out the sawdust.

He put the face on the stand.

It was a great workshop with a wonderful group of people. It felt good to be back in Mashiko.

You can watch this video made by Steve Tootell about the workshop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqxBT0dOIBo