View Larger Image Sake bottle, 15 cm (6 in.) in height, thrown stoneware (a blend of local Kanayama clay and Shigaraki clay), unglazed, wood fired, by Matsumiya Ryoji.

March 31, 2007

Hai Kaburi: Creating Consistent Crusty Wood-Fire

by Ceramic Arts Daily | Read Comments (2)

Creating Consistent .In 1997, I was an adjunct instructor at a local community college and was given the opportunity to teach a sculpture class. One project in the curriculum involved welding, which I had never done. I learned by creating a couple of sculpture bases with a rod welded to the center. Working with steel for that short period of time opened up many new opportunities for my work, and I became increasingly interested in the notion of balance.

At the same time, I was starting to make organic ceramic forms—dozens of them. They just kept on coming. I had grouped them on the floor, on tables and shelves. What else could I do with them? Stacking them on a steel rod was one of the most intriguing ideas…

I have the bases made very inexpensively by a local welding shop. I have them weld an 8-inch-long piece of ½-inch-diameter threaded rod into a hole in the center of a ¼-inch-thick steel plate. Then I attach additional lengths of 1/2-inch-thick threaded steel rod using three 1-1/2-inch-long coupling nuts. The 1/2-inch-thick rod was not thick enough for the 6-1/2-foot-tall pieces—they swayed and leaned too much—but I was determined not to have to carry around 6-1/2-foot-tall bases! I am now using 3/4-inch-thick threaded rod for the pieces over 4 feet tall, and ½--inch-thick rod for pieces under 4 feet tall.