some new works. playing around with the doughnut form. slicing and stacking!

Today, National Artist Benedicto Cabrera and Annie Sarthou paid a visit to my studio in Lorton, VA. On his birthday, we celebrated at Peking Gourmet. Yum!
We both share the same passion for the "Bulol" rice terrace gods, in which he has dedicated BenCab museum in Baguio Philippines to preserve these antique works of art, The works show high quality craftsmanship, which were carved from an "itak" or Filipino bolo knife. The faces are in a trance, simple and powerful.
What an honor, spending time with this couple.. Thanks Annie for playing with Roja. all smiles :)

at Peking Gourmet

Ben and Annie at the Workhouse Arts Center

a new wall of heads

small vases for a "Ginza"

square man

On November 30th 2009 i fired my last firing in my salt kiln on Mt. Makiling. i reached temperature at 3am. i turned off the gas, shut the damper and hoped for the best. my flight left for the US 6 hours later, my hair still smelling like salt and reduction. my skin still had a film of residue from the firing's fumes..


for the past 3 years, i have settled into a new studio in Virginia, envisioning the results of that last fire..


yesterday (Feb 18, 2013), 3 years and 3 months after the firing was completed, the kiln was finally opened by Kim and Jon. i got a call from them at 4am saying it was the best firing..








Jon said "I feel like i just climbed Mt. Everest" what a rush... SEA pottery, no borders!


the piece to the right started from dry clay powder on day 1, then i mixed it with water. on day 2, i created the piece using a wire cutter. then, i loaded it straight into the kiln with a preheat over night. on day 3, i fired away. the piece was literally dust to finished product in less than 72 hours.. amazing firing, amazing results, amazing patience...

so i started 2013 with some large slab forms, using 2 most simple shapes. the circle and the square. i've found that by simplifying, you can never go wrong.. just have to rely on the fire to make the pieces beautiful.




the following pieces were created sideways using 2 slabs, then the sides were coiled. when the piece was hard enough, i stood them upright. a large experiment

as i leave New York, "Hadrian's Wall" finds a new home with the Consul General. 20 heads now grace the main entrance of their home.

with Consulate General Mario L. deLeon Jr. at the official residency of the Philippine Consulate in New York

now i find myself in a transitional stage. from a bulol head to a more human head, maybe a native..


its a phase in my journey in which i'm experimenting with pit firing. the oldest form of firing a pot is a challenge that brings subtle color and texture to the globular form.


for my next exhibition..

a study of the doughnut form morphs into a prawn

to bring in 2011, ive mixed up a recipe of extra red clay. here are some pix of whats been brewing..

standing in the same studio where i first did pottery, at the University of Mary Washington. After 15 years, it still has the same layout, and still under Lorene Nickel

from the philippines to Lorton, Virginia. opposite ends.. these 2 points on the globe are about as far as you can travel.. so i'm settling into my new studio in Lorton, VA. i've just started working with The Lorton Arts Foundation. a new day always brings a new challenge. from wood and salt to cone 6 oxidation, i've decided to take a risk and start anew. new kilns, new clay, new glazes, new firing style..
been doing a lot of glaze testing recently, trying to find some juice in an oxidation fired atmosphere. things are looking good after a month's worth of mixing and formulating.. as for my work, i've picked up where i left off.. throwing domes, splitting them, and putting them together. what do i make next? i dont know. the dance of shape and form will continue...

i like to pick up where i left off..

test tiles for cone 6 oxidation glazes

wall piece to be continued...

split dome

more domes to split..

lidded jars

by Renato Habulan, oil on canvas 2009

by Renato Habulan, oil on canvas 2009

day 1: mix dry clay with water and place in the sun until ready to use
day 2: create pieces from this day old clay
day 3: glaze and load the pieces, leather hard. start the fire
day 4: maturity 1300 C, shut the damper and wait. wait. wait..
its just a test, to see how clay reacts under these stressed circumstances, pushing the material to the limit. dont try this at home..

fresh clay cracks

and dries

the wall

shells

triangular sliced vase

sliced vases

5 chamber vase

load, fire, and let the kiln gods find the way..

the offering

i believe that success pushes me to try new things, so i risk the possibility of failure. 39 hours, 10 kilos of salt, 2 kilos of strontium carbonate, 1 kilo of rutile, 5 kilos of soda ash, and 200 kilos of lpg. a recipe for disaster. this firing yielded amazing results, about a third of the pieces survived. but the ones that made it were juicy. its worth another try..

a lethal mixture of salt, sawdust, copper carbonate, rutile, strontium carbonate, and soda ash.. ready to go!

during the firing, carbon fills the air..

and a crust from the fumes collect on chimney bricks

and the results are awesome. an ox blood red cone

right on the fire, along the bagwall

carabao

unglazed..

details of carabao pot

these 2 pieces, titled "Fire on the Mountain", is a portrait of kim and i on Mt. Makiling. surviving the fire, and finding the way. in a way, they were my final exam, as far as making a large closed piece survive the fire. these pieces challenged me technically on all aspects of the pottery circle. from the building process all the way to the firing. the secret: just go slow.. just loading the piece took a lot of effort. salt and soda fired to cone 9 reduction for 28 hours.

the first glimpse into the kiln..

portrait of kim and i, "fire on the mountain" came out whole, and beautiful. survivors of the fire!!!

at building 101, taipei.. awesome

another colorful building in taipei w the moon..

ive been around the block the past 14 years. wait for the next blog post. i\'ll show you my last firing. the real FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, aka Maria Makiling. stay tuned for major action...

HADRIAN, oil on canvas, 2009, 36in x 48in, by Abby Yao

inside Yingge museum..

clay flying, wheels spinning, fire burning, slabs cracking, and much more. a demo is a form of installation art in which interaction between the audience and the potter create the tension of the piece. a moment in time, never to be repeated again..

recreating \'dome pot\'

cracking buntis, with the help of bathma

bamboo vase

twisted bottles

trimming the base

porcelain bowl

with the artists, curators, and museum crew..