Korean Onggi Potter (Part 1 of 2)

Kim Young-Ho, 6th Generation Onggi potter making a large traditional Korean Storage jar using coil, paddle/mallet method. He is an amazing potter, a few things to keep in mind while watching: his wheel is a kick wheel and has very little weight to it, so he is constantly kicking, even while shaping the pot, also, this video is almost in real time with very little left out (a.k.a. he is very quick at making such a large pot)

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Clay
• Korea
• Korean
• pottery
• potter
• throwing
• anagama
• woodfire
• kiln
• firing
• Icheon
• South
• Onggi
• traditional
• amazing

[whitemudpottery]

How thick are the walls on these finished pots, I find it incredible that they do it all in one sitting!

[agfield2000]

@whitemudpottery, the top and bottom of the walls are the thickest at about 3/4 to 1/2" and the belly thins out to about 1/4", very thin for a pot of this size. We're able to get away with one sitting construction by using clay that is more firm than one would normally throw with and on larger pots charcoal heaters help to dry the bottom third from the outside (and sometimes from the inside), also it helps that there is major compression from the paddling. Thanks for watching!

~Adam

[shettdogg]

how much time is the clay left to stiffen between each 2 coils?

[agfield2000]

@shettdogg, the video is in real time, I didn't edit out any drying time, the pots are made in one sitting. A charcoal heater helps to dry the bottom third of larger jars to avoid collapse during making (the jar in this video is considered medium size, no heater used). This is what sets Onggi apart from other large pot traditions, quick & efficient!

[albpoolshark]

did you previously know Korean before doing the apprenticeship?

[agfield2000]

@albpoolshark, I had a basic foundation and can read Hangul (Korean characters) but it was a whole new vocabulary around the studio, luckily the pots made for good props to use in hand motion communication when necessary.

[smytheaa]

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing. :)

[tolgasv]

If this action seems interesting to you, then please know that, there is better in Avanos-Turkey.

[ClearlyPixelated]

Oh my! How many pound of clay does this usually take for a pot of this size?

[TheRakuman]

I have those tools. Now I know what there for. I'll attempt a pot like that one day. Great video. Looks very natural to him. Thank you for the upload.

[1Realmusiclover1]

Why is that so amazing???