Even Bonsai Potters like to do something a little different...

A while ago Dale posted some pictures of other crafts he does, wonderful knives etc, along with his Bonsai Pots. I have been taking break now and again and making other ceramic ware so I can express myself in other forms. The funny thing is whilst doing "Other Stuff" I find that I sometimes employ new ideas and ways of thinking when I go back to the Bonsai Pot forms.

The past few months find myself fascinated and absorbed by the form of the Yunomi and Chawan, tea bowl, and the way the Japanese throw them, "Off the Hump". I made some Yunomi about two weeks ago, using this technique and I was pleased with the results.









I also did some Raku Jewelry, influenced by a good friend of mine who does alot of her native African designs on her textiles that she creates.

Hi Andy,
All your ceramics you succeed very well, beautiful tea cups

Regards
Peter

Teacups are beautiful Andy and the jewelry is nice as well!!!

Real nice cups my friend, pm me about the price of a cup, I only drink japanese green tea (houjicha),brewed in a tokoname teapot.
But still missing a fine cup to drink it of

Peter

Peter L

The Yunomi will be avaliable soon from my website. I will have more Chawan made in the next few weeks. Thanks for you comments my friend.

Peter

Thankyou for you kind comment

irene b

Thanks Irene

Regards to you all

Andy

Nice tea cups Andy.
Years ago raku tea bowls, etc. are what first got me collecting pottery.

The raku jewelry is nice, and a great way to expand the BIZ!

D.

Hi Andy... I like your work, dedication to potting and generous sharing on the forum. I thought Japanese Raku chawan were traditionally handbuilt without throwing, though that spiral seen on the bottom of many certainly looks turned. One of yours looks handbuilt of a wound clay cord rather than turned, though perhaps it was both wound & subsequently turned.

Can you share your construction process? You describe it as, "the way the Japanese throw them, 'Off the Hump'."

Hi Chris

Here is a video showing throwing " Off the Hump"



My teacups were thrown with the same method. The spirals in the pots are just throwing marks that I made when throwing. These cups shown are not Raku fired but I have some in the pipeline for a Raku session. Thanks for you comments.

Hi Dale

I have a few pieces of Japanese ware and I keep going back to them and studying them, my private collection is growing somewhat now
The raku jewellery is to test the water so to speak, but what ever you raku its great fun and a pryromaniacs dream

Regards to you both

Andy

Andy,
These are quite lovely. I would like to experiment with some yunomi myself sometime.

The jewelry pieces are pretty cool too!

Thanks for sharing,
Rob

Cheers Rob

One huge word of warning though if you think Bonsai Pots are addictive then you wait till you try your hand at yunomi and chawan. I think I have become a little obsessed as I have looked at so many but they all remain basically the same shape but you can express so much with the glazing and little nuances when they are thrown, like leaving some of the slip on the pot when throwing.

Regards

Andy

Andy,
if you don't have it, pick up
"The Japanese Pottery Handbook" by Penny Simpson, Lucy Kitto and Kanji Sodeoka. From Kodansha Int. 1979.
No color photos, lots of hand drawing, interesting stuff I've not seen elsewhere. They are fairly easy to find. About $20-25 now I suspect. Nice to have on your shelf. It was one of my first books. I still go through it fairly often.

D.

That video was impressive. I liked hows he made the tea pot cover by purely eyeballing the diameter. Skill.

Excellent glaze on the first. A wise man once told me, "A good drip is worth at least twenty dollars." Nice shapes as well. Do you have any s-cracks from hump throwing. I just know there is a bad joke in there somewhere! I have seen Hamada yunomis with s-cracks, and have been told that unless it goes through its not an issue.

Lovely glazes Andy.... keep up the good work and good to see you diversifying.

Rob

I agree the video is really impressive and to throw the lid to the exact size just by eye, pure talent!

Dale

I will try and find the book you mentioned, thanks for the tip off, sounds like it will be a good source of inspiration.

Preston

I love the random drips that I get when I glaze and almost never remove them prior to firing. As of yet I have had no "S" cracks when throwing off the hump. Can't say never though as I have some more tea bowls being fired soon. I will keep you posted. As for a cracked Hamada Yunomi, just to own a Hamada would be fantastic I bet the majority of the cracks are in the base as you cant really compress it enough like you would when throwing a single lump.

Dan

Good to hear from you sir and thanks for the encouragement, it means alot. Looking forward to seeing some of your new work soon on your website.

Regards to you all

Andy

I finally watched the video.

He sure did whip that tea pot out fast!

Right off two things crossed my mind:
1. I sure wish I could get clay that consistancy using clay out of the bag.

2. I wonder how many pairs of pants he washes each week using that wheel?

D.

Wow -- catching up a bit here. Andy, I like your diversifications!

Now, I have thrown a bunch of tiny pots "off the hump" for glaze testing, but after watching that video, I'm depressed. Where the heck does that dude get trained clay?! Unbelievable how much he does in less than five minutes. And at least for this demo, not only is he using no splash guard, the wheel isn't even muddy!

Ah well, thanks for the video, and keep up the good work.

DaveT

Dale

It was a good video

I know what you mean about the clay consistency out of the bag. Sometimes I am lucky and the consistency is right, just wedge and throw. Othertimes I find the easiest way to get the clay softer is to make holes, lots of them, through the bag with a chop stick then fill each hole with water and leave for a day. It was a tip I saw Simon Leach do and it works a treat.
I think I will be in the "How many pants, trousers, do you wash in a week" club soon. I got a wheel extention that enables me to have a batt over the top of my splash pan so I can throw bigger, I can see it going everywhere now, but at least I will get bigger thrown pots

Dave T

Thanks for the kind comments. I will be firing the raku and gas kiln next week with more diversifications including some Raku Chawan.

Preston

For the record, got my first "S" crack in the base of a teabowl yesterday in one I threw off the hump and that was just green ware. So I got the hump and threw the pot again, in the recycle bin this time

Regards

Andy

Stone Monkey wrote:Dale

I think I will be in the "How many pants, trousers, do you wash in a week" club soon. I got a wheel extention that enables me to have a batt over the top of my splash pan so I can throw bigger, I can see it going everywhere now, but at least I will get bigger thrown pots

[Andy

Andy, my splash pan comes apart and removes so I can use my 24" bat but if i don't use some papers on the floor and a towel over my lap I look like I fell in a vat of slip by the time I've thrown a 24" pot!

Over the weekend more tea bowls came out of my kiln, plus I had some pyromaniac fun with a raku firing







And some raku ones

Dale

I need new pants, trousers, your right about all the slip

Regards

Andy

Hi Andy
beautiful tea cups. The third cup is my favorite.

Regards
Peter

I'm with Peter on this one, Andy. That is a truly subtle and mysterious teabowl. It looks like you've moved toward chawan. Do you drink matcha? Sorry, I'm not a big fan of the spiral raku piece. It looks like you're moving in the right direction.

Can someone tell me the difference between a pot and a raku pot? What makes it different?
Irene

Irene-
To make this as short as possible, what we call raku is a firing process that is usually thought of as Japanese. In Japan the Rakurisan family produces work that is fired to 2300 F which is true Raku. It is glazed and wood fired with a deep black finish. American raku which was pioneered by Paul Soldner in California, is usually done in small gas kilns, fired to about 1800 F, and produces a rainbow spectrum of color, from lustrous black, red, gold, blue, to white crackle, as you see on Andy's work. ( I do very much like the raku piece with the vertical stripes. It makes me want to do some more raku!) After quickly firing to 1800 F or so, the red hot pottery is removed with hot tongs and placed in an airtight can filled with combustible. The absence of oxygen allows carbon to form in the unglazed clay turning it black, and making the colors appear in copper glazes and black cracks show in white crackle. Sadly raku is only suitable for teaware and tropicals, as it will spall in freezing conditions. I hope this makes sense.


Edit: I just remembered the background in my avatar was a massive raku sculpture. Nina Hole from Denmark built a 14 foot clay sculpture and fired it with wood. At top temperature we unwrapped it and threw sawdust and salt on it. It was the most beautiful fireball I've ever seen.