Flattened Jar with Flowering Plant Design in Colored Slip

Katsushi Mori

On producing my artwork, I always think of the balance between the shape and the patterns. I make the oblong shaped pieces using the coiling method, which is piling up strings of clay. For the vertically long shaped pieces, I use the potter's wheel to form the clay into a cylindrical shape, and then shape it into a flat vessel by placing it between two boards and pressing. The patterns are all drawn by hand (freehand) before biscuit firing. After drawing the patterns and adding nunome (texture of cloth), the vessel is dried, biscuit fired, and after applying a matte glaze, it is reduction fired.