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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

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!!

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