Kurinuki Chawan: How to carve a Japanese pottery tea bowl

Hi, I’m Supatra Marsh, the maker behind BLANK EARTH. My pottery takes inspiration from Asian ceramics and traditional handmade processes. I specialise in ‘kurinuki’, the Japanese art of making slowly, carving pottery from a lump of clay to produce unique, one-of-a-kind pots.
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www.blankearth.co.uk/
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[@mikeu5380]

Hi from Japan. Very nice technique. So skillful. If I may add an observation regarding "as light as possible," we also need to take care that the heat of the tea water does not make holding the chawan uncomfortable, so we have to make the wall "just thin enough." As we say, "the piece should be as heavy or light as the eye thinks it will be, before we pick it up." Thank you!

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hello! Very jealous you are living in Japan :) We loved it when we were able to visit your beautiful country - we had planned to spend a couple of months there learning pottery before covid. Yes totally agree about the light as possible remark as you say thin enough is more fitting! There is an obsession (especially in the West) about making pottery as light as they can but picking up a piece theat turns out to be very very light can feel weird. I think I meant that with kurinuki it is difficult to get your pieces light as the technique of carving always means there will be some thickness in the walls so when you start out your pots can be very heavy and uncomfortable to hold. Anyways thank you for taking the time to write this comment and hope you are having a wonderful day x

[@stonec5246]

💚

[@mikeu5380]

@@BlankEarthCeramics Thank you for your kind reply, and sorry for such a late response on my part. Anyway, ANY day is a wonderful day, if at the wheel!

[@user-ib6fk6lh7k]

Perfect !

[@R19P82]

I came across this technique just recently so had a go at making some chawan. It's very refreshing. Nice work!

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thank you!! Hope you found the video helpful :) Let me know if you have any questions - happy to help xx

[@captainfoodie7045]

Thank you for sharing your tips. I like your work! It would be super interesting to see the process from scratch.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

No problem! Happy to share :) Glad you found it useful!

[@jonathankerner2094]

I love the look! Next in my pottery class.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Ah amazing thank you!! I hope you enjoy making it x

[@CristinaBphoto]

Très joli, merci beaucoup 🌼 j'aimerais beaucoup voir les pièces cuites, elles doivent être fantastiques.

[@alicewyan]

Love it :)

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Yay I'm so glad xxxx

[@myeongcheolsin4552]

How to use if you can’t turn the spinning cart. It‘s not a very good shape.

[@MochilaNaMoto]

I love it

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thank you!! That makes me very happy :)

[@lisalovelylpa]

So cool. Maybe I try it today.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thank you!! Good luck with it let me know if you have any questions x

[@ashgriffis]

Beautiful! Hey what’s the next stage- firing or glazing?

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hey thank you!! I will bisque fire then glaze them but you can also raw glaze at this stage as well :)

[@huynguyen-gs5zn]

So.nice

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thank you very much! So glad you like it :)

[@JAG562]

After you shape the clay, how long do you wait until you start carving?

[@user-op9mv5lq1u]

Did you solve the question?

[@msh-rk1gp]

Hello, I follow your videos. Thank you for your beautiful work. I am just starting to work with pottery and ceramics. Before working with a spatula and tools, do you turn the clay into a semi-dry or sausage state, or rather, how do you prepare the clay to make and shape the work by hand? Thank you for guiding me

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

I just start from a big block and carve away until I get the shape I want. You could hand build with sausages, or throw the bowl and carve after. Try lots of ways and see which you like best!

[@msh-rk1gp]

Thank you for offering very good ideas

[@judywang8393]

how you glaze them though? I made couple of those wans, but the glaze went so wrong. Basically the glaze was so thick it covered all the cuttings and facet details. Would like to see how you glaze them & the final result after the glaze fire. Thank you.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hey Judy! It took me a lot of experiments to find the glazes that work well with the kurinuki. I think I've done over 200 testers! Personally, I really like glazes that have a lot of movement, so they highlight the facets as they flow over the clay. Like you say, anything too thick and you cover up all your hard work! I'm planning to do a video all about it, so that should be up before too long!

[@vermeioo]

does it have to be very dry to carve?

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

You don't want it too dry or it will be too hard and maybe crack. You just need to try different stages of drying and see what works for you!

[@vermeioo]

@@BlankEarthCeramics thanx