My Christmas Gift

My Christmas Gift

Well, Christmas has come and gone.  Out with 2015 and in with 2016.  The years seem to approach at a faster rate every year.  My small family and I decided to slide down to Australia for Christmas and see people.  Just before we left I boxed up a few pottery pieces that were due to be wood fired on Christmas Day.  My pottery teacher was kind enough to place them in a desirable position in the Maoli kiln for me and then also collect them after cooling.  He is a champion.

On returning to Taiwan I had to patiently wait.  It is such a buzz anticipating the results.  You never know what surprises or disappointments will come your way.  The aim is to at least get a couple of keepers!

It is meant to be a sake bottle, but it could masquerade as a bud vase.  I recently bought a paper back ground to help me with my photo taking.

I prefer this side.  The natural wood ash ended up smoother, almost pebble like.  

Some nice little splashes of color here and there.

I applied a Japanese shino glaze to the white fired clay.  The shino glaze is typically orange in colour so I'm not sure what happened here!

Drunk already!

A tea jar, possibly?  I bought a variety of different sized cork lids and have trying to throw the opening of the clay jar to fit the lid with the use of calipers.  This one worked.

I have been experimenting by adding more texture to my pots.  This guy has a few rings around the neck.

Proof.  I'm still undecided to sign my name in the clay, use the chop, or do both?

This section was quite shiny.  I do like how all parts of this jar were different.

Another sake bottle.  I kind of like it as a bud vase as well.

While the clay was wet I squeezed the sides with my pouring hand.  This way once fired it becomes easier to grab and pour.

I threw a few small tea/sake cups.  This could be a set.  

                               

Clouds and a sun set?  Not really.

A vase.  I liked this one because I convinced myself there was a mountain range on this pot.

With a golden wave.  The joy of wood fired pottery.

Some things moving around.

Those two lines in the pot were intentional.  While the pot was slowly drying out after I initially made it, I hit it with the sharp edge of a block of wood.

The seal.

Another lidded jar.  My plan is to use ceramic glue and stick a stone that fits on top of the lid.  I left a concave section for that purpose.  I am yet to find a suitable rock.

This one was quite smooth.

A close up of the lid.

A third sake bottle.  This one was my least favorite because of the rougher texture.

It still had a bit of character though.

There were some sections that were a little sharp to the touch.  I used some sand paper to try and make it more hand friendly.

Everyone likes looking at the foot ring right?

I threw about 10 of these cups.  The other 8 were either cracked or misshapen.  

2 from 10

Twins

These bad boys were interesting.  I wanted them to look like rock.  

I threw the opening of the body of these pots a little wide.  As a result the lids did fit, but it wasn't snug.  

The orange shino glaze trying to come through,

Another one.

These were fun to make.  A different style lid was what it was all about.

Another angle.

The foot ring next to my seal.

My first wood fired tea pot.  I want to make more tea pots.  I have made tea pots before but never placed them in a wood fired kiln.  

A nice contrast.

A hole in the lid to let the hot air escape.

We had tea with this tea pot last night.

The idea is to align the handle and spout in a straight line...as best you can!

Tea anyone?

I was reasonably happy with these results and feel like they were my Christmas gifts.  Hopefully, it is a good sign that 2016 will be a lucky one.  I wish you all have a brilliant 2016.

Cheers!

Please visit my online shop at AllinoneCeramics for these and other pieces.

Find a Way

Follow the Trunk Line

The reason I bought this small Itogawa juniper is because it had some good features.  The two main areas are the trunk - thickish compared to the side branches, and the second is that the leaves are small.  Some junipers have slightly larger leaves which make it more challenging to create a shohin bonsai.  The larger scale like leaves are best suited for a bigger bonsai.  It is all about proportion.  

So this is the tree.  It served up a few challenges.  

When faced with something like this, always follow the trunk line.  Scan it starting from the base and continue its line until you can imagine the apex.  Remember, you will be using wire so moving the trunk around (within reason) should also be in your mind.

As you do this also consider a side branch that could possibly be the new apex and the remaining upper section of the trunk could be turned into a jin (dead wood).

Continue visualizing the trunk line and picture where those other branches will be placed.  You don't need to have everything perfectly planned out.  I don't anyway!  Your most important consideration should be the trunk.

Once you work out the structure of the trunk you can begin from the bottom and re position all the other branches.

I plan to repot this guy in spring in a nice pot.

Take care out there!

Chop and Change

Does Your Bonsai Tell a Story?

Part of the lure of bonsai is that you can communicate through your trees.  You buy or grow a tree, study it for a while and decide what story you want it to tell.  This thought helps you know what to cut, what to keep, and what to bend.

I have a bunch of little junipers that weren't that interesting really.  I bought them a few years ago and wired them at about that time and just left them for another day.  Today was the day to make them tell more of a story.

We will start with this guy.  I wanted some more movement in this tree.  It was a touch boring for such a small tree.  I wanted the viewer to imagine that the left side of the tree was damaged in a storm by crushing wind.  After I decided that will be this tree's story I went ahead and jinned the left branch.  The added bonus of doing this is that now my vision is not torn left and right at the same time (the two lower branches looked like a continuous line), sending a confusing message.  

The flow of the tree now moves left and then right.  It is simpler and easier to look at.

 The second tree I worked on today had a few things going on.  The left side had a thickish branch going straight up.  I thought it was too tick to bend so decided to make this tree taller.  I wired the turning branch, that was at a 90 degree angle, up.

This tree had some enough branches to do something with.  I wanted branches right, left, and back.  I also wanted to keep some smaller ones for the apex.

I decided to chop off most of the branch that was originally coming straight up and turned it into some dead wood.  The story of this tree?  Some bear came along and sharpened his claws of the lower left branch, killing it.  He now uses it as a back scratcher from time to time.

Have fun creating stories with your bonsai.  Make them realistic and use nature as your guide.

TienMu Bonsai Exhibition

Just Around the Corner

In a Sports University foyer, next to a baseball stadium, we find a fantastic little bonsai exhibition of about twenty or so trees.  The suburb of TienMu has been where I have been living for the past 13 and a half years.  It is here that a bonsai exhibition is held.  The show went for three days and displayed some unique Taiwanese bonsai.  My friend and bonsai leader in Taipei, Jack Lin,  ran and organized this event.

I hope you enjoy.

This is the first Black Pine I see as I enter the exhibition.  Nice thick trunk and plenty of foliage.

This guy caught my eye immediately.  A unique Chinese Elm.

A juniper with dead wood up the middle, adding interest.

Holding the pose.

A compact shohin Black Pine.  Beautiful pot too.

After a lot of clip and grow we can develop branch division like this.  My guess is that the tree will probably be cut back at some stage soon as the tips of the branches are extending to the point where the silhouette will be lost. This is the process of bonsai. 

A larger Black Pine.  Beautiful platted bark is a sign of great age.

The pine needles would be loving this nice sunshine.  The needles are like solar panels sucking up the energy needed to keep the tree healthy.

A solid fellow.  He looks pretty stable to me.

Up into the top third of the tree.  Brilliant bark!

This tree has a lot to say.  Trees that are old or appear to be old are more interesting.  Why?  Would you like to sit down and have a conversation with a 6 year old child or someone who just celebrated their 95th birthday? (one that has all their faculties in order!)  Not sure if my analogy works - it depends who is the 6 year old - some kids are fun to talk to and what about the 95 year old - maybe they are too bitter to spend anytime with you and can't stop dribbling.  I digress.

I love the trunk but in my opinion we need to do something about the apex.

Age.

A cool tree.

The main reason I liked this tree is because of what was left at the base. 

You don't see this very often.  Normally, branches growing at the base are swiftly removed.

I didn't quite get the light right for this picture but I wanted you to see the tree before I took a close up of the base.  I'm not exactly sure what kind of tree this is but I know it is a native of Japan and that it grows extremely slow.  This would be a very expensive tree!

I enjoyed looking at the base of this tree.

Jack and another bonsai professional - and Annie entertaining the little guy.

His first bonsai exhibition.

I hope your tress are growing well out there and that they are giving you happiness.

Coffee Mugs

The Power of the Bean

One of the life's simple pleasures is enjoying a hot cup of coffee either while with friends or just on your lonesome contemplating nothing.  I shouldn't say nothing - I always have plenty to think about when I drink coffee!  I wish it were nothing.

Coffee is a good drug.  And a good drug deserves to be consumed from a mug that adds to the experience.  These were my thoughts as I went about making some ceramic coffee mugs over the last few weeks.  

Let's start with this little guy.  The glaze is a new one created by some local Taiwanese potters.

Some varying color is always more interesting.

I made the foot bigger this time as it is easier to glaze the mug.  You just pinch the foot ring and dip it in the glaze bucket.  Like magic it gets fired and comes out like this.



I have been attempting to throw different shaped coffee mugs.  This one was an experiment. 

To be honest I have been google searching different shaped mugs and stealing ideas.

A more basic shape.  This was another new glaze - it should look a light green color.  I bought the glaze for some tea pots that I'm making.  This mug was the test.

The color actually looks a little better live.  My camera work definitely needs some improving.  I need to get those shiny parts out.

Same glaze but on a brown clay body.  The brown clay is local Taiwanese clay from an area called Maoli.

I was reasonably happy with the color on this clay.  I love how the varying clay will affect the glaze color.

I had a lot of trouble attaching handles to mugs.  The trick I have learned is clay consistency.  The body and handle needs to have similar mostiure levels to made the union successful.  The other thing I have been doing is not letting the clay dry out too quickly - so I cover the mug in plastic and let it settle for a few days.  This has helped a great deal.

The same glaze as the first picture but on a bigger mug.  The angle of the handle is an interesting aspect to consider.  You can create different moods if you vary this piece.  To evoke a feeling of lightness and cheer, make sure your handles are not droopy.  The top part needs to be directed slightly upwards. 

With this mug I tried to add some more texture interest.  The last thing I wanted the mug to look like was it coming out of a machine.  Having a unique part to a coffee cup makes it a little more personal.

A different angle.

Bottoms up.

This mug is a larger one.  It is a little more solemn.

The lip is opened a little more here - hopefully inviting you to drink.  A mix of two emotions - drink and things will be ok.

I made a few of these mugs for friends.  The larger red one is for a mate I work with at school and the last one is for an old friend who I used to play football with.  Both guys are champions.

 

Making these mugs is an interesting experience.  First, I was concentrating on making something that is useful but also something that looks good.  A lot of focus went into the technical parts of this (as I am still learning how to move the clay around).  However, the more soulful part went into the thinking about the person who is going to use that mug while I was making it.   It surprised me how much thought goes into making something for someone else.  You imagine what shape and color they may like, you remember things that you have done together, you visulize them drinking from the mug - it goes beyond just the technical. 

 

Cheers!