4 Day Korean Throwing - Studio Course
$1,200
Intro to Korean Wheel Throwing Intensive 3-4 day class (up to 3 students max):
9:30am -12pm: Morning instruction and practice session
12pm - 1pm Garden lunch (simple, nutritious homemade meal will be prepared for you and is included in the price)
1pm - 5pm Afternoon instruction/practice
In this course we will cover:
Day 1
- Clay in its natural forms, clay sourcing, processing, clay body formulation discussion
- Preparing our clay for the wheel using traditional foot/spiral wedging techniques
- Understanding clay moisture content and controlling it for success in the studio
- Full tutorial on spiral wedging and finishing the spiral into a cylindrical form for easier centering on the wheel
- Korean approach to centering/relaxing 3-5kg of clay on the wheel in preparation for forming
- Framework for throwing any form on the wheel - learning how to visualize the forming process and reverse engineering any form
- Developing the practice of practicing: how and why to practice without keeping forms to refine our "eye" for beauty without ego or distractions
- Throwing foundational forms including summer and winter teabowls
- Discussion on thickness and the key to throwing even/consistent walls with step by step breakdown of the process
- Throwing with minimal water and advanced techniques for forming by "dry throwing" the form during the expansion phase
- Practice repetition throwing, building and using a throwing gauge
- Learn how to time the "flipping" of work, manage drying by covering and tips for storing ware in dynamic environments and schedules
- Throwing a raw clay chuck for trimming; discussion about chuck forming, drying, attachment, removal and storage
Day 3
- Trimming demo using traditional bamboo and metal tools using our clay chuck
- Throwing session after trimming feedback (understanding the relationship between throwing and trimming), cross section analysis, important tea bowl shape details and curve analysis
- Drying techniques and best practices in the studio for moisture/drying management after trimming: efficient drying of work by understanding draft, clay body formulation vs moisture loss, exploiting weather patterns
- Discussion on recycling clay and rehydrating clay perfectly every time
- Practice throwing/trimming with the aim to keep a few teabowls for slipware demo the following day
- Exploring my approach to plates, narrow necked forms and other complex forms like teapots
- Teapot body, lid, spout, handle demo and discussion
- Morning free form practice session
- Afternoon intro to buncheong (slipware) pouring/dipping discussion
- Formulating and using slip in the Korean tradition, adapted using local materials
- Slip session and drying techniques/ glaze discussion
