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

installation is also an art.. the flag went to a good home, the Suratos doctors. its a landmark piece for me. the start of an era of national identity...

wooden eggs..

soy sauce and chili bowl set, incised with simple lines.

bahay kubo 2009

people outside the kubo

carabao, for the year of the ox... its my year

angled vases

been doing a lot of bisque firings. getting ready to fire the wood kiln. excitement will come this way

and of course, the one and only Roja Mendoza...

just returned from a trip to cambodia, i participated in the Khmer ceramics conference in siem reap. what an experience. it was a week packed with presentations by potters, archaeologists, writers, and scholars.
walking into Angkor Wat before sunrise, and seeing the morning light reflect upon the silence of stones. i found myself again...
to all the new friends i met, thank you for the experience!!!

at khmer ceramics center

remake of the famous Cambodian elephant jar

finding antique shards

sponge stamp demo by michael pugh

at the Wat

with Janet Mansfield at the 1st contemporary ceramics exhibition in Cambodia

my stone

back at the laboratory, i've been working on my latest experiment. i've come up with another masterpiece, Ms. Roja Mendoza. the mad scientist is back. hahaha.
also, a few new pots...

as the dust settles, the sun sets to create a vibrant red.. the stars spin against a blue sky

we had a live sculpting/painting session with the Makati Artist Guild, and i was fortunate enough to work next to social realist Renato Habulan

this was the first time i worked with a live model, there was a lot of energy in that room during the session

the following forms were made before the pregnant sculpture was created. just then, i realized that i have been making pregnant sculptures all along. more on the abstract side, domes flipped. turned. slice. and reassembled...

once again, another 1500 kilos ready to age..

keep your eyes on the following pieces, my second attempt to create a wall piece that balances wood and ceramic. stay tuned

recently, its all been about packing up the pots and crating them. good riddance. time to get these pieces moving and on their way to cebu. meanwhile, i've got some new forms coming your way