energy is
never lost just moved*
Clay is a universal language
that enables conversation and connection across cultures. South Korean potter
Oh Hyang Jong demonstrated this concept before a capacity crowd at the
Clayspace studio on East Street, Daylesford, on 15 and 16 September.
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Mr Oh throwing off the hump using a kick wheel.
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Mr Oh preparing slabs by stretching the clay on the
floor.
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Day one began quietly but
over the course of the first day and into the next the energy gathered momentum
until the studio was engulfed in a sense of purpose and creativity. It was like
a whole-body mediation as people dipped in an out of the action, some watching almost
trancelike as he spun bowl after bowl off the kick wheel, others on their haunches
on the ground wedging clay snakes for winding into onggi, a traditional Korean
vessel dating back to 4000-5000 BC. Some of us had a go at adding the clay
snakes to the developing forms with varying degrees of success.
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| Mr Oh adding coils. |
creating a pot is harnessing
the energy
of the clay and uniting it
with
the energy of the creator
Mr Oh talked about his work
in his native Korean while Ellie Lee Minsoo translated the concepts. The
indefatigable Yong Mira provided technical support. Together he/we made
voluptuous forms with no base and no purpose other than to give external form
to the energy invested. Neville French remarked on their similarity to the
trunks of ancient banksias. The forms that survived our ministrations ranged in
size from about 80cm to 1.3m each imprinted with evidence of our endeavours.
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| Mr Oh and Mira. |
the connection between the
clay and the body
is very important
On day two, Ann Ferguson from
Castlemaine brought her gas-powered weed killer to dry out the pots so more
coils could be added. The element of fire engenders a primal energy to any
situation and this combined with the circular dance required to place the clay
generated a thrilling urgency to the process.
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| Drying out pots by burning newspaper. |
As the finale approached, Neville
French and Kim Haughie made slips for Mr Oh while the rest of us were invited
to graffiti the largest vessel. The red and white slips were poured into
plastic bags before a corner was nipped off in the style of a homemade icing
bag. Mr Oh concluded the workshop by squirting slip over the pot with enthusiastic
abandon in a final creative outpouring.
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| Oh Applying slips to the largest of the vessels. |
Mr Oh’s workshop was a
generous embrace that reignited a gentle fire in me – one that has smouldered
ever since. The experience has become a touchstone for my ceramics practice and
I have returned to it whenever my own fire has seemed to languish.
By Angie Izard
*All quotes from Mr Oh as
translated by Minsoo
