by Renato Habulan, oil on canvas 2009

by Renato Habulan, oil on canvas 2009

day 1: mix dry clay with water and place in the sun until ready to use
day 2: create pieces from this day old clay
day 3: glaze and load the pieces, leather hard. start the fire
day 4: maturity 1300 C, shut the damper and wait. wait. wait..
its just a test, to see how clay reacts under these stressed circumstances, pushing the material to the limit. dont try this at home..

fresh clay cracks

and dries

the wall

shells

triangular sliced vase

sliced vases

5 chamber vase

load, fire, and let the kiln gods find the way..

the offering

i believe that success pushes me to try new things, so i risk the possibility of failure. 39 hours, 10 kilos of salt, 2 kilos of strontium carbonate, 1 kilo of rutile, 5 kilos of soda ash, and 200 kilos of lpg. a recipe for disaster. this firing yielded amazing results, about a third of the pieces survived. but the ones that made it were juicy. its worth another try..

a lethal mixture of salt, sawdust, copper carbonate, rutile, strontium carbonate, and soda ash.. ready to go!

during the firing, carbon fills the air..

and a crust from the fumes collect on chimney bricks

and the results are awesome. a ox blood red cone

right on the fire, along the bagwall

carabao

unglazed..

details of carabao pot

these 2 pieces, titled "Fire on the Mountain", is a portrait of kim and i on Mt. Makiling. surviving the fire, and finding the way. in a way, they were my final exam, as far as making a large closed piece survive the fire. these pieces challenged me technically on all aspects of the pottery circle. from the building process all the way to the firing. the secret: just go slow.. just loading the piece took a lot of effort. salt and soda fired to cone 9 reduction for 28 hours.

the first glimpse into the kiln..

portrait of kim and i, "fire on the mountain" came out whole, and beautiful. survivors of the fire!!!

at building 101, taipei.. awesome

another colorful building in taipei w the moon..

ive been around the block the past 14 years. wait for the next blog post. i\'ll show you my last firing. the real FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, aka Maria Makiling. stay tuned for major action...

HADRIAN, oil on canvas, 2009, 36in x 48in, by Abby Yao

inside Yingge museum..

clay flying, wheels spinning, fire burning, slabs cracking, and much more. a demo is a form of installation art in which interaction between the audience and the potter create the tension of the piece. a moment in time, never to be repeated again..

recreating \'dome pot\'

cracking buntis, with the help of bathma

bamboo vase

twisted bottles

trimming the base

porcelain bowl

with the artists, curators, and museum crew..

To the dawn of a new era. The future of contemporary southeast asian pottery is in our hands.. lets enjoy the ride…

So it was a historical night, thanks so much to God, Toyota Foundation Japan, Ayala Foundation, all the potters from southeast asia, the pinoy musicians- Nathan, Ira, Edru Abramson and Kontra Gapi, Mark Escueta, Sinosikat, Philippine High School for the Arts Visual Arts students, UP students, Janet Mansfield, Tina Fernandez, Arneil and Loverne Suratos, Ayala Museum Team, Mrs. O, Edwin Casimero of Filipino Web Services , Edwin Tuyay, Filipina Lippi, Alex Dacanay, Nikos Dacanay, Zamora Clan, Dacanay Clan, Rachy Cuna, Zero-In Productions, all the Ambasadors from SEA, the local and foreign press, my wife Kim, daughters Banaue and Roja, Tito Vinci, Rica Zamora my mom, National Artists Bencab and Arturo Luz, all the students that I have had the pleasure to teach, and all the pottery entheusiasts out there..

The festival was a great success, it could not have been done any other way. The energy was so strong.. so contagious.. so powerful. So real….
The weather cooperated with us. Divine Intervention at its best. SEA pottery at its best. Pinoy pottery at its peak.
Mabuhay Pilipinas!
Mabuhay Southeast Asia…

ahadiat joedawinata with "bonded energy" 2009

its just a test..

"effervescent" by james seet, malaysia

julie lluch's "maranao"

"life in hyperspace" by Thomas Cheong, a great pool player as well.

sisuk, from laos.. "ox jar" pit fired in rice husk and cow dung. 2009

by kim mendoza, self portrati 2009

a large banner printed on.. silk ;)

by bathma kaew-ngok, thailand.. "mushroom" engobe finish with brass. my favorite artist

kim and naomi from japan, a young talented flower artist.

at my home....

with bathma, Rizal!!!

nate dogg

the pottery crew

"Crack by Fire", Bathma Kaew-Ngok. Thailand

joe geraldo of bacolod getting dirty.

peter low, showing slip decoration.. SEA master potter

teck heng tan of singapore, aka Alvin, throwing 10 kilos of clay

thomas cheong of singapore demonstrating a technique passed on to him by master potter iskandar jalil.. raise, dry, and lower. got to have been there...

"shardman", by joe geraldo live 2009

ninang ging, helping torch my work. Ring of Fire 2009

my good friend bao toan nguyen of vietnam.. congrats for winning the korean competition. mabuhay toan!

chatting with interior designer popi laudico

vipoo making a monster

complete pottery madness. like a circus. it was great. only once in this lifetime..

always good to see Janet smiling. she felt the energy...

stroke it..

James Seet, Effervescent in your face

lileng wong, the 5 peso coin champion... altered bottles

Yeow Seng Cheah, drying it up... malaysian potter

all eyes on the queen..

with my army...

sometimes i gotta get away from the clay, just to stay sane. even though it is my sanity. as i escape the day from my studio, i step into my home and present to you my sanctuary. back to where it all begins. my grass roots..

my other army

the one and only row jay

the next female member of pinikpikan. didnt the last one just quit?

even on the piano, she rocks.. thats my girl

sup fool

kimchi, the core of my universe

carabao 2009, shot by joey decastro

all i needed was 32 hours, 25 kilos of rock salt, 150 kilos of lpg, 8 kg of pine ash, a kg of copper carbonate, some saw dust, a few logs, and a lot of water.. and this is what you get. drips, runs, juice!!!
along with a few ala primas by mang ato

ala prima by renato habulan, kim, and mel

by mang ato, pure palette knife except on the background

fired 6 times... its a long story

my number one stoker

my gas kiln converted into a wood/salt kiln. produced very interesting results

he was on our window. wouldnt budge..

pottery is a lot like cooking, always relying on your intuitions of spice

ash collecting on the pots, swirling in the fire

something to cool off..

pako!!!

the results of copper and salt

rock salt topped off with copper carbonate. just add a little water

and there you go!!!

the bottom of the grandfather piece

juicy results..

tenmoku runs

kim and adee

self portrait: Fire on the Mountain

portrait of kim: Fire on the Mountain

thanks so much to mr. joey decastro, for these tasty pix...
enjoy philippine pottery at its best..

wheel demo in sagada

the fire, in mengs house. a place to relax.. near the prez haus

more fire

Musang-Gama

raku

by Ma'm Tessy of Sagada

Lord of the Clay

shadows of a pot

more sagada pot

fire on the mountain!!! Mt. Makiling, actually.. aka the great johnny putik

miss siegrid bangay, trimming away at sagada pottery center. beautiful place

the photo speaks for itself

terracotta sculpture with acrylic

shardman ink

pick your flavor.. in dumaguette

kalinga pots

jaime deguzman, straight on the pavement

national artist Napoleon Abueva

see ya

color..

the crust of the crust

time to have some fun again, and get back into the zone. despite the surroundingzzzz.

1st day of school

woodfired drum, skinned by boy garovillo

drum 2

kubo..

back to the globular

uprising

large platter

dome pot

mountainous forms

bulbuos..

perfect dip. 3 seconds!!!

eeek! a mouse

preparing the moma..

demo at Ub-ubbo workshop, Sagada

slicing..

things were getting a bit hot and crazy over here in the mountains of Maria Makiling. must be the heat, but i think its really gin in the hands of the wrong person.. not me ofcourse.
it created something dangerous and unsafe..
so we headed north, 12 hours to clear our minds and get away from this BS..
it was good. refreshing, saw life in a different light, reached out at Ub-Ubbo pottery studio in Sagada, saw a bunch of mountains (raw as can be), and saw some caves.. met some potters, new friends and old. ate some homecooking, thanks to siegrid. and to lope's hospitality and endless wood for the fire.
12 hours south.
now were back in Makiling.. the heat is still on. get ready for some major changes in Philippine pottery. are you ready???
"I AM.. LET THE CLAY SPIN AND THE FIRE ROAR"

lope bosaing of ub-ubbo studio.. creating the landscape of his hometown.

woodfire kiln, designed by capati

reaching out

30 candles for my girl!

front row,first chamber

Longgama has just been fired a 4th time. 89 hours in the rain produced blues, deep oranges, iron reds, greens, and chocolate browns..

grandfather piece, 4 firings old

juicy-ness

circular breathing...

goblets

kubo

drums

so im back in the studio, spinning the clay. still on the hunt for some new forms. i've brought old ones to life. i've gone back to function, to sharpen my skills. here are some images of whats been going on.. the kiln is loaded, ready to fire!!!! were entering the 4th firing of "Longgama"

bowls

kubo

bamboo, version 2009

swirled vase

drums, to be skinned!

a shape i did back in 1996

back to the simple shapes

kubo, loaded in the front of the first chamber, along with some drums

more swirled pots

the surface of the pot relies greatly on its position in the kiln.
the closer to the fire, the jucier. the greater the movement, the stronger the drip. firing a new kiln produces surprises in special places. the sweet spots.. the following images show the range of longgama. from the crust to the drips to the gloss.. sometimes we have copper reds as well.

so, its been a long time since my last entry. its a good sign.. hehe.
been very busy at the studio in makiling, making pots, reducing kilns, mixing clay, loading works, wadding works, firing kilns, chopping wood, throwing salt, throwing wood.. copper carbonate, soda ash, you name it.
its been a good run, i'll have some pictures to follow..
the kiln, "Longgama" has been fired 3 times so far. each firing very different, very beautiful.. we learn from our mistakes, and move on the next day..
stay tuned, theres more to come..

so, i walk away from my biggest challenge as a potter, with a confident smile. i got my swagger back. the kiln "Longgama" has served us well. the firing lasted 62 hours. there were juicy pieces in all spots of the kiln, especially towards the front..
there were times when the heat got to you, but we fired on. hahaha..
thanks to all that helped with the firing, and we look forward to the next.. check out some photos of firing #1, Feb 19-21, 2009

at the blowhole of the second chamber, after the final stoke

stoking!!!

with Renato Habulan

62 hours later, a picture of the main firebox

left side of the firebox

and the right...

the first piece pulled out!!! a dinosaur holding an ax

i've finally loaded the kiln, and ready to fire. by far, this is the greatest challenge i've faced as a potter. firing the naborigama.
excitement fills the air...

loading the salt/soda/wood chamber

loading is also a challenge, especially with large greenware pieces

the firing line of the 2nd chamber

box by Allison David

the back of the 1st chamber

the front of the first chamber

the firing line of the first chamber

the ash pit

left side of the ash pit

right side of the ash pit