Kjell Hahn

camera on the fritz… getting a new one, but it will take a week and a half to get here. there wont be many raku pictures to post until then.
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I saw several signs like this plastered around the tokyo subway.
im not sure what kind of public service announcement this is… but im following their advice.

overall it went very well. from noon on we heated up the kiln and were able to fire groups of 6 or 7 pots every 20 minutes until sundown. Im not the biggest fan of Raku but it was a good learning experience. with an anagama you only get to try glazing techniques two or three times a year but with raku you can glaze something and have the pot in your hand in half an hour, then try again.

Kjell Hahn Birthday. Happy me day

Akira Yonebayashi Firing Raku Kiln

kiln set up. using a kerosene burner borrowed from Waseda high school.
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did the bisque fire yesterday.
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it was fairly warm so i went swimming in the river. felt good at the time, but caught a cold and feel terrible now. nice planning on my part for the firing.
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kjell hahn setting up raku kiln

so the bisque firing for the Raku workshop was supposed to be yesterday.. but everyone took their time getting here and the schedule has been knocked back a few days. (firing workshop hasnt changed though.. everything is ready for the 22nd)
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this gave us a few more days to make pots. I made a quick video of neba making some bowls.
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bisque firing in a few days. making the last couple pots for the fire.
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Im looking forward to the firing.. Even though Neba’s Oni Castle exploded we had a great time. He has a lot of experience with raku, so we’ll actually have something to show for our work this time.
Also, it will be nice to be away from school. (five days off next week)
getting stabbed with pencils, called baldy, getting water thrown in my face and being in a general environment of hopelessness just doesnt do it for me. Not all the kids are bad, and even some of the troublemakers are a lot of fun… but i get the feeling that broken homes and teenage parents do not produce healthy members of society.
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(sorry no clothes again)
this week stealing stones from the river and building a stone path in the genkan of the house (foyer).

might not look big but the stone has to be over 300 lbs.

(Japanese version with same info on the ONi TEN blog。日本語の案内はONi Tenブログにあります)
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RAKU FIRING STARTS SEPT 22 @ NOON-

September 22nd and 23rd ceramic artist Yonebayashi (Neba) will be putting on a raku firing workshop at the Asami family’s stable across the river from Onishi. There are several places to stay in the area for free.
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While there are regular anagama kiln firings here. This is the first Raku event. With raku, you get results very quickly. The pots are fired and in your hands in hours, not weeks like an anagama.
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Also at the site:
*Three horses on the property. Not sure if we can ride them since the one recently had a foal.
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*There will be drinks, food and its the last time of the year to swim in the river here.
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*Also, Fuyuko Kobori will be doing Tea Ceremony using Huyuko Kobori Enshu style.
You can drink tea from ceramics you make that day or use some of the pieces on display.
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Ceramic work to be fired can be mailed to us as long as it gets here by the 19th.
Send to Kjell Hahn’s Studio:
Gunma prefecture Fujioka city Onishi 529−1
Make sure its dry when it gets here. (pack it well if its greenware)
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We ask that anyone participating donates 1000 yen to help cover costs.
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Any work that isnt fired or dried in time for the Raku kiln will be fired in November in Chiaki’s wood-fire kiln.
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For more Info-
About the raku ware:
http://park12.wakwak.com/~horii-tougei/amerikan-raku.html
Material retail: Ceramic art .com
http://www.tougei.com/shop/goods/goods.asp?category=71A0&shop
Material retail: [shinriyuu] (Inc.)
http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~sinryu/clay.html

Thank you.

im officially a hippie.
built a box for composting all our kitchen trash today.
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we’ll be doing a raku firing workshop on the 22nd and 23rd. anyone is welcome to attend. Ill post info about it in a day or two.

went to the Takasaki Tower art Museum the other day, about 30 minutes from where I live.
Didnt expect much, since its a pretty small city and I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff in the Tokyo museums, but it was an interesting show. especially since there was no one else there and you could just sit there quietly with these massive paintings all over the place.
I managed to take a couple pictures without the staff catching me.
photographs:
Akira Nagasawa “tobitora”
I liked the mixture of color and materials. Bright, distinct figures that filled the entire space of the canvas.
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Keizaburo Okamura “tsuki no usagi”
large paintings that created a warm, inviting environment. painted on 6 inch thick wood panels with heavy paint that was then carved into. The process revealed animal scenes that didnt come across as cutesy.
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Other notable artists from the show:
Higuchi Koichiro – intense colors
Kajikoa Toshiyuki – endless swirls of overlapped sumi ink and pencil lines. interesting, but I thought they were cold and impersonal. fuyuko liked them more.

Akira Nagasawa “tobitora”

Keizaburo Okamura “tsuki no usagi”