When I arrived at Shigaraki a communal firing of the wood kiln was being prepared. Never having
fired a wood kiln before I was curious to find out more, and take lots of pictures!
Inside of the kiln which slopes upwards in steps to the back chimney.
Alot more room inside than you think. Every piece is carefully chosen and fixed into place, some shapes and glazes work better in different areas of the kiln and you need to imagine how the heat, flames and ash will move through the kiln as it affects how interesting the finish will be.
Bearing all that in mind the packing takes several days to complete.
The kiln needs to be fired for at least 48hrs constantly stoked with more wood, so the artists took shifts.
Dai-Rong and I took a few snacks to help them along.
A week later, and the kilncompletely cooled down the work is unpacked
You can see the variation in the works
My favourite pieces were these tea bowls by Takuro KUWATA, the wood ash collected at the bottom creating a beautiful crystal green pool.
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