A Pottery Tour of Icheon

Icheon is about 45km SE of Seoul--just an hour or so on the bus

Sometime after Christmas I saw a tour of the pottery kilns in Icheon advertised on the website of the Royal Asiatic Society.  Several friends had day-tripped there before to visit the pottery village and I thought it sounded like a nice day long outing from Seoul, so I convinced my friend Gail to go along and last Saturday morning we joined several other eager foreigners in learning about the ancient practices of pottery making in Korea.  It was a cold, but sunny and clear morning--a perfect day for an outing!
Our first stop was at the museum in the pottery village to learn about the history of ceramics and to see some of the prized pieces kept by the Korean government.  

The remnants of an ancient kiln

A special smoky glaze achieved in the firing process

Famous Korean celadon

Beautiful blue sky

We popped into a shop that sold everything from traditional pottery to oddities made from clay before visiting our first master potter.  

Lovely little teapot

Interesting "dude" 

Anyone fancy a monkey sculpture?

At the first master potter we learned how images were carved into clay by hand, then filled with glaze--quite an involved procedure!!  We also saw that celadon glaze certainly has no hint of green before firing!  Quite an education!  It is painstaking work to be a potter.  From forming the clay on a pottery wheel and commanding it into a shape, to carving each little image by hand then filling every relief with glaze before sanding and applying the final glaze--each detail must be attended to in order to produce a work of art.  Then, when the piece goes into the kiln, one really is leaving it all up to fate!  There is absolutely no guarantee that your work of art will come out in one piece looking the way you hope.  It's no wonder celadon pottery is so expensive!

Unglazed, unfired pottery

From start to finish...notice how much smaller a piece gets after it is fired!

Hand carved relief work--so amazing!

Beautiful, and very expensive celadon

Shattered pieces...not perfect enough

Our next stop was a bit cheaper option for us shoppers in the group!  This was the actual pottery village where over 50 potters have shops with items for sale.  Styles range from very traditional to very modern with prices to match.  Gail and I were intrigued by the shop with hundreds of kimchi pots just waiting to be photographed!

Gigi and the kimchi pots

Hiding out amongst the kimchi pots

Teeny tiny pots!

Snowy kimchi pots 

I really thought about taking one of these home, but can you imagine lugging this on the subway?

 After lunch we were in for a special treat!  A master potter was opening his kiln after a few days of firing (a potter may only fire his works once a year!).  When we arrived it was like a little party-men were grilling meat and drinking makgeolli (rice alcohol) and loads of people gathered around the kiln openings as they waiting for the potter, who was actually inside the kiln, to hand out his pieces to his waiting assistants.  The first kiln was full of small pieces.  The second and third were filled with large and incredibly painted vases that would earn him $500+ each.  When we left the studio there were still a half dozen openings to be opened and unloaded.  Judging from the face of the potter, it must have been like Christmas day as he pulled out and inspected each piece.

Unloading the first kiln opening

Sealed kiln compartments just waiting to be opened 

Removing the bricks to the opening

Not celadon, but still stunning craftsmanship

The potter admiring his work after firing

Small pieces from the kiln

The empty kiln

Waiting to be removed!

So beautiful!

Careful with the merchandise buddy!

Had enough pottery yet?!  Well, there was one final stop on our tour.  We went to visit one of Korea's absolute treasures.  The unique thing about this master artisan is that although technology has advanced miles since ancient times, he still embraces the old ways because he believes the quality and results are better.  The potter's son is his apprentice and is learning the trade from his father--something that will take years to master.  One of his remarks really stuck with me as he spoke about his father teaching him to respect the traditions and the tasks by making him master the smallest tasks first.  It will be years before the son throws his first pot and he respects that.  Clay is kneaded by foot and the pottery wheel uses no electricity.  It operates by kick.  The potter painstakingly works the clay and has perfected a process of creating cutout vases that are functional because they have a useable second layer vase on the inside.  His pieces can take weeks to create and the prices reveal the time spent crafting each masterpiece.  We saw a video about the firing process--a woodburning kiln which is regulated by sight without thermometers or electric gas shutoffs, just through knowledge of flame color and experience as the kiln temperature must reach exactly 1300 degrees Celsius in order to achieve the beautiful Celadon.  After firing, the potter takes a hammer to nearly 50% of his work as he will not put his mark on an imperfect piece.  We were lucky enough to meet the master during our visit and admire his incredible work!  I have a photo of my favorite piece...a $20,000 (yes, that says twenty thousand dollars) vase.  As you can imagine, I went home empty handed.  

Gail and I with the "master"

The $20,000 vase (and it was a little guy compared to several in the showroom)

Incredible hand cut relief work

Not all was lost as several of my fellow tourists had deep pockets and a greater appreciation for the finer things in life than I!  The bus seats in front of Gail and I were filled with approximately $5,000 of pottery spoils purchased by two couples!  My souvenirs from the trip were my photos and a lovely day out exploring a new piece of Korean culture and history.  I'm looking forward to the next opportunity soon!!

A Snowy Iris...A Birthday Remembrance

I keep a permanent birthday calendar on the tack board next to my monthly calendar in my office.  Each evening when I sit down at my computer desk to work or check e-mail I glance up at the calendar to see what important dates are approaching and tonight I was reminded that today, February 5th, would have been my grandma's 79th birthday.  To the right of my computer sits the last photo taken of the two of us before grandma died in 2001.  I wish I were still able to call her to wish her a Happy Birthday, to tell her about my upcoming travel plans, to talk about life, and to make plans for the next time we would see each other.  Growing up, my grandma was one of my biggest supporters and I so admired her generous heart and caring spirit.  Because of all of the time we spent together, she passed a great deal of her love and wisdom--and perhaps some of the anxiety and pain that came from her silent struggles--on to me.  I often imagine if my grandma were still alive we would be fine travel companions, ready to embark on a new journey at the drop of a hat!  Oh the fun we'd have!  Grandma spent years tracking her family's history through Germany and Denmark--what I wouldn't give to have her beside me when I someday visit those countries and walk through the cities that are the roots of my existence.  To say that I miss her terribly is an understatement.  I wonder if she knows?  Can she see me?  Is she proud of who I've become?  I hope so.  

It has been almost 12 years since June 29th, 2001 when I said good-bye to my grandma, but I'll continue to remember her on February 5th, the day of her birth...and every other day, as part of her will always live on in me.  Tonight as I walked home from work, snowflakes were falling gently from the sky and for some reason I imagined my grandma's favorite flower, an iris, peeking through the snow and bursting it's beautiful purple petals open, perhaps as a reminder amidst this gray winter day that spring is coming.  So until then, I will rest in the peace and comfort of knowing that I was loved by my amazing grandma and hold on to the hope that we will meet again.  Happy Birthday Grandma!  I love and miss you.

A Mosaic Puzzle

I just found this post that I had written sometime after returning to Korea after spending time in Venice again during the summer...I'm hoping to get to go back for a few days this summer too!  We'll see how the plans fall!

More than half of my six day stay in Venice was spent, once again, in the mosaic workshop at Orsoni and I loved every minute of it.  I enjoyed the challenge of trying to take a flat image and give it dimension and texture.  Although I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, I feel alive in creative settings like this.  This time I chose to make a smaller piece that I thought I would have no problem completing in the time allotted.  Wrong!  I'm still slow when it comes to cutting and placing pieces...and I'm still a wicked perfectionist.  According to Antonella, it seems that my speed and skills with a hammer had improved since my first visit.  Unfortunately I couldn't say the same about my Italian.

So happy to be back in the mosaic workshop!

My class was made up of four other lovely ladies--two adult women like myself, one twelve year old, and a high school student.  It was a nice mix and everyone had such varying experiences to bring to the table.  One of the greatest rewards of a class like this is the opportunity to meet people you would otherwise never cross paths with, and these ladies had such wonderful mosaic expertise to share.  Of course there was also Mirta, the lovely student coordinator and translator, and maestra Antonella to give us feedback and suggestions throughout the process as well.

Mirta's project--a lovely photo frame

One of Antonella's ongoing projects--look how perfectly her pieces fit and flow

Maria's extra large angel, a commission for a friend

For three days, and hours into the night, I hammered, placed, fitted, shattered, and cursed the smalti.  Working with glass teaches you a lot of lessons in patience.  It brought to light some of the things I struggle with in real life too.  Glass is unyielding and uncompromising (not unlike life).  The glass does not always do what you want it to (hmmm).  You cannot "will" the glass into fitting into a specific place or becoming a certain shape unless the craftsman can skillfully attack it with the hammer.  If at first you don't succeed (in cutting the glass the way you want it), try, try again...and again...and again.  Persistence generally pays off--or you give up on trying to make it perfect and accept good enough (a tough lesson for me).  My biggest struggles and triumphs usually occurred at about the same point in the day--by this I mean in the middle of the night when I was sitting alone in the workshop with only my iPod and my thoughts.  Though some of those hours were a bit lonely, they provided the time I needed to reflect on the trip, and on life.  All this from cutting glass, who knew?!   

Professional artist Patricia

Maria Cristina

Maestra Antonella

High school student Maggie

Our class!

Me, Giulia, and Maggie having a little juvenile fun in the Orsoni courtyard

I suppose a lot of this need to ponder life was not just inspired by my travel experiences, but also by the fact that I celebrated my 30th birthday in the middle of this mosaic workshop.  I wanted to enter this new decade with purpose and anticipation.  I also desired to pinpoint my passions because that's where I want to invest my energy as I move forward into my 30's.  I felt like this was the jumping off point and I wanted to start off strong.

By the way, I entered my 30th year with a toast and treats from the mosaic ladies.   

It took me a bit longer than three days to finish my mosaic piece.  In fact, I was still in the workshop on Sunday afternoon putting in the final pieces, but I did it, and I was in good company with two of my other classmates.  Despite a number of challenges and frustrations, I created something I am really proud of...something beautiful that will remind me of this trip and will help me to hold on to the memories and the lessons.  And who knows, I might be mosaic making again soon!

That is one very tired Colleen...but with a completed mosaic.

The finished piece!