Korean Onggi Potter (Part 2 of 2)

[shanna1950]

this was fascinating. loved it.

[bellissimotion]

Thank you for a wonderful video. Very instructive. As I work larger and larger, this technique appeals to me tremendously.

[1962udm2112]

good, outstanding, spectacular. Umberto De Mattia

 Italy

[barbarajallen]

I also woodfire with oak and pine as you said they did. Are they using mainly ash glazes and do they fire green? When I was working in Thailand (I was the one who commented on that) I saw the huge "dragon" kilns where they fired rim to rim. but because I was a woman and a foreigner it seemed all work stopped when I would visit. Eventually I did find someone who would let me join the firing but the language was a big issue so not many questions were answered.

[agfield2000]

@barbarajallen, ash glaze applied to a hard leather-hard pot & single fired.

[barbarajallen]

Well that is interesting...... My brother lives in Evergreen. I am in CT and have seen some of the Korean pottery community in NJ just outside of NYC I need to investigate more, this has all come up due to your video. The onggi pots I saw so far clearly were thrown and I did investigate study with them but if they are just throwing then that is not what I am looking for. I am a ceramic sculptor, living in CT and also wood fire with oak and pine as you said they did.

[barbarajallen]

Are you located in the States. I would love to learn this technique. Although I have an adopted Korean daughter and thus as it turns out a whole Korean family here in the New York area, I have only found people throwing the onggi pots just as one would throw any pot without regard this to traditional process. Do you teach this method? Again thanks for the beautiful video It was inspiring and so informative.

[agfield2000]

@barbarajallen, Yes, I am located in Durango, Colorado. I offer workshops in which I present the techniques I learned in Korea, as you can imagine, this is not a technique that lends it's self to being learned in much less than 6 months of intensive study. For more information including upcoming workshops and events please have a look at my website: adamfieldpottery . Also, I am curious where you have seen potters making Onggi in the non-traditional technique. Thanks, Adam

[Thietmar]

such pottery will cost a 20 -40 Euro in Germany. Imported.How much does the maker earn.

[agfield2000]

@Thietmar, I can't imagine that Korean Onggi pots of this size are available at such a low price. Usually the exported jars are not made in the traditional way that you see in this video, they are usually produced with molds and are of a lower quality. The techniques shown in this video are strictly traditional and only continue to be used by a few families carrying on these ancient techniques. Generally Koreans appreciate this and are willing to pay more for traditionally made Onggi jars.

[barbarajallen]

Awesome! Do they cut off the pot from the bat with a wire or can they just release it by pulling up as shown? Thanks so much. Check out my channel as well.

[barbarajallen]

Amazing....Tell me, did they not have to cut it off the bat? Could they really just pull it up like that without using a wire to release it? Thanks so much. Please check out my channel as well.

[agfield2000]

@barbarajallen, if you watch closely you will notice that he places dry clay powder on the wheel head before the clay goes down, this makes it possible for the piece to be lifted off of the wheel immediately after it is finished, without running a wire under. because there isn't any upward pulling, it isn't necessary for the piece to be stuck down to the wheel.

[yongrai83]

this is soooooooooooooooo cool. I tend to restrict myself at throwing, but this can be an awesome way to broaden my spectrum. Thanks.

[kisakimama]

just curious but how many do they do in a day?

[agfield2000]

@kisakimama, usually my teacher would make about 12 jars of this size in a 10 hour work day. He could make 6 of the largest size jar (125 liter, shown being lifted off the wheel at the end of this clip) in a day. Very impressive considering the size of these pieces.

[kisakimama]

@agfield2000 Yeah that is impressive, Do they also make their own clay?

[agfield2000]

@kisakimama, yes, they do make their own clay and glaze by hand. Also, the pots are made on kickwheels, the Kim family are among the most strict traditionalists when it comes to their Onggi process.

[agfield2000]

@kisakimama, he will make about a dozen of this size pot in a day.

[kisakimama]

@agfield2000 Wow that's amazing! How many people work there?

[agfield2000]

@kisakimama it varies, 3-5 people.

[fitbeeox]

i like how they use one hand for support on the inside. seems like the wooden tool really helps give him great shape. i was amazed with how fast he put the coil on! he makes it look really easy!

-ashley h.

ceramics for non-art majors M-W 8am

[jmg1957]

well done.

[acidfriend47]

Wow Thanks for showing the beginning till the end :) Im glad you showed how they removed that big pot out of the wheel. By the way did they move it out when it was Leather hard, and did he cut out the bottom with a wire?

[agfield2000]

@acidfriend47 The pot is removed from the wheel immediately after it is finished (not leather hard yet). If you watch at the beginning of part 1 you will notice Mr. Kim places dry clay powder on the wheel head, this keeps the clay from sticking to the wheel head, it is not necessary to run a wire under the pot to remove it.

[agfield2000]

@acidfriend47 The pot is removed from the wheel immediately after it is finished (not leather hard yet). If you watch at the beginning of part 1 you will notice Mr. Kim places dry clay powder on the wheel head, this keeps the clay from sticking to the wheel head, it is not necessary to run a wire under the pot to remove it.

[acidfriend47]

@agfield2000

Wow i totally missed the part where he added dry clay powder. but if he removes it right away wouldn't he dent the clay, and have to reshape it once he places it on the ground?

[agfield2000]

@acidfriend47 the jar is removed right away, because there is very little water used during the making of these pots the clay is quite firm and doesn't distort too much from lifting off of the wheel, sometimes a little bit of reshaping is necessary.

[calcrules]

This process seems almost musical in nature. It's a very beautiful thing. :)

[goatopera]

bravo

[biojunky]

They make the pots for all the video games that have all those Massive pots laying around and when you break em you get coins and crap :D

[MegaMrHan]

TY for sharing!

[Theologg]

i wanted to clap at the end....so talented

[valeriavine]

a skilled craftsman. After doing a pottery class today just doing pinch pots I really appreciate the skill it takes to do this HUGE pot! thanks for sharing this.

[3unH43Ch0]

i heard someone say something

he was like hey and then something

then the other person was like yes or yeah

anyone know?

[fun2watchvids]

Wow. That was so fantastic!!!!!!!!

[teeoffat8]

very good and fine tech of the traditional kind.. beautiful.

[SwGkentuckyC]

i like how they lift the pot off very different

[Piggieelaydee]

Every time he adds another coil, i think:

"Wow, ANOTHER one?"

This is amazing :]

[jmg1957]

nnice...........

[melovesai]

great work?

i have a question.

what do you do if you want to be a potter?

Do i go to  pottery school?

[ratmfan105]

get an art degree, bachelor of fine arts and then masters at a school

[rodento42]

you can get a BA or a MA from an art school. but a lot of successful potters did without those degrees. it just takes dedication and a good studio

[SwGkentuckyC]

i reccomend some formal learning but it really is about time spent practicing

[bellissimotion]

@melovesai I hope by now, two years after your post, that you are potting successfully. If not, check out pottery co-ops in your area. They often offer introductory classes. Memberships are inexpensive and the co-op atmosphere allows you to learn from other members. Then just keep throwing and throwing and throwing. It's all about practice and experimentation. Good luck.

[petertwang]

The best part is when, after watching this guy make a gigantic jar for 20 minutes, they lift it off the wheel and carry it over...to a room filled with dozens of similarly-sized jars.

[davidsmallplanet]

Thanks for that ,another technique to try .Looks a lot less messy than throwing a big lump of clay and it means that there is no distortion as when joining sections to get a big pot.

[sushiczar2001]

What is the purpose of the grooves he carves into the upper third? Are they a signature?

[agfield2000]

They are a traditional decorative motif, and vary from one pot to the next depending on the mood of the thrower. There are a handful of different patterns symbolizing: water, thunder, fish, mountains, sun...etc.

The pots in this particular studio did get a studio signature and date at the bottom of the wall after glazing.

[tglo01234]

He is really professional and almost hypnotic to watch him work. Does he/other Onggi potters use this coil-wheel-puddle combination on smaller vessels?

[agfield2000]

Yes, he is quite an amazing potter! At this particular pottery studio they use the coil/paddle method for pieces as small as 45 cm (18 inches) tall, for smaller pieces they will attach coils to the bottom much like in this video but instead of using the paddle, they will throw the piece with their hands, the best example of this from the videos I have posted here on YouTube is in this video:

Korean Onggi Potter, Lids

[skycub99]

this is so fun to watch i love seeing methods i know little or nothing about! This may seem like an odd question but is this process hard on the wrist? or does the tool cut back on the impact?

[agfield2000]

Glad you enjoy the videos! The paddling isn't really that hard on the wrists, the attaching of the coils can be kind of hard on the wrists though, especially the inside (right) hand.

[disisdkat]

Wonderful work. It is such a pleasure to watch a skilled craftsman and artist. I wonder how many pounds of clay are in that piece? Watching them move it was almost frightening.

[mektube]

non of your business, Turkish people more succesfull then korean people.. ceramic,pottery,glassblowing, please look "iznik çini"

[AndrewTurkin]

WOW

[ratmfan105]

i in no way mean for this to be stereotypical but i thought that all or most asian countries used pottery wheels in the clockwise direction, but also why use the wheel going counterclockwise with the left foot coming in and not using the right foot kicking out, seems very uncomfortable ?

[agfield2000]

It is true that many far eastern countries are known to throw CW, I'm not sure why Onggi potters are an exception to this.

The Korean Onggi wheel is relatively light compared to most western kickwheels which means it requires kicking while in the act of throwing, if you kick out it requires you to work on the side you are kicking with which isn't very stable, kicking in with the left leg allows the right side to stay very stable for shaping the pot, while it is awkward at first, you get used-

[agfield2000]

-to it after some practice. I should mention that when working on the top section bigger pots we are forced to kick away with the right foot (on the wheel head) while balancing on our left foot, now that's not very comfortable.

Another thought, most of the height is gained from paddling the pot and that does take place while the wheel is spinning CW, so maybe this is considered CW throwing like many other far eastern countries.

Thanks, I hope this answers your question.

[ClayDust]

Thank you for so many answers. But a few more questions. What is the soo-ray made of and also the toe-gay? They sound metallic. Also,is there a lifting motion? Thank you and keep them coming.

[agfield2000]

The soo-ray & toe-gay are made of pine, it is harvested green (live) and the rough shaping of the tool is done soon after, the tools are then waterlogged for a few months before the final shaping is done with an angle grinder, then a sheet of thick leather is tacked on to the hitting surfaces. Yes, there is a bit of a lifting motion, but the technique is all in the angle and placement of the tools in relation to eachother (hope that makes sense)

[West143]

wow that is huge, how many pounds of clay did you use?  Great job!

[agfield2000]

I must make clear that it isn't me in this video, the potter is my teacher, I have learned to make pots this size and am working on shooting a video of me to be posted soon. As for how much clay, it is probably about 50lbs or so (I'm not certain though, we don't weigh the clay).

[webbpots]

Wonderful videos. Very inspiring.

[flynnpotter]

Sweet, Thank You

[Marihani]

Fantastic filming. I can't think of an angle you didn't cover!

A bit amusing to see that this young guy has almost the exact same head-wobble as Simon Leach (British in Spain)!

Thanks so very much for sharing! Looking forward to more! (Just remember to put "pottery" as one of the tags, so I see it :-)

[agfield2000]

I try to do the amazing subject matter justice with quality video production, thanks for noticing :D

Yeah, I guess the pottery head wobble knows no boundaries.

Yeah, keep an eye out, more videos to come soon, I'll try to remember to put pottery in the tags, or you could just subscribe to my channel.

[credenza1]

너를 감사하십시요.

[monkeybss]

It is one of the most interesting documents I've seen about korean pottery. Do you have more? Please post as much as you can.

Thank you !

[agfield2000]

That was my main motivation behind making this, for such an amazing tradition, there is next to nothing about it online. More to come, I promise there is more to come as soon as my schedule permits. Thanks for the comment!

[TinkTheHustler]

I agree..please post more of these. Is that normally how people make those HUGE pots? I can't wait to see that monster of a kiln. GREAT VIDEOS!

[agfield2000]

Thank you for the kind comment! Yes the coil method is a fairly common way to make large pots, but it is more common for the pot to be thrown rather then paddled after the coil is added. With the technique in this video the throwing is replaced with paddling.

[chopin65]

I have so many questions! Does this technique temper the clay, making it stronger for the firing? What are the names of the tools the man used? Do they build special kilns to fire such pots? Will you post some more?

[agfield2000]

Yes, the paddling compresses the clay which helps to keep it from cracking (I'm sure you noticed there was no scoring & slipping while attaching the coils).

The tools are called: (phonetic spelling) The paddle is called soo-ray, the mallet is toe-gay, The strip of cloth is mool-ga-jook, the rib used on the inside is an-coon-gae, the outside rib is called ba-cot-coon-gae, the wooden knife used to trim the bottom is called meen-ga-sae, the paddle for pounding out the floor of the pot is called

[agfield2000]

...baang-maang-gi (like in the word "gear")

Yes, the kiln used to fire these pots is one of the more interesting aspects of the studio, the kiln is about 70 ft. from fire box to back wall, it's a long tunnel wood fired kiln. usually there are bout 70 large pots, 100 medium pots , and 150 smaller pots per firing. The pots are tumble stacked rim to rim, using not a single kiln shelf, very efficient use of space.

I do plan to post more when I can.

Thanks for the questions & comments!

[chopin65]

No problem, I think they are wonderful. You got a real flair for the design and tradition. What were they talking about? Anyway, thanks buddy.

[agfield2000]

Not quite sure what they were talking about, he was mostly talking to his brother (making pots behind the camera), and his father (seen in the background making pots).

[barbarajallen]

@agfield2000 I expereinced this type of kiln when I worked in Thailand......it is very impressive. They fire it with bamboo, I wonder what fuel is used in Korea.

[agfield2000]

@barbarajallen, a combination of pine and oak.