One, two, three and Fire!

So, after the pottery has been formed and dried completely it will be fired to stay in this shape permanently. The kilns I have experiences in Vietnam are the normal kilns and the Dragon kilns. What are the differences?

Kiln

The firing happens in a kiln. A kiln is a type of oven that produces temperatures to complete processes like hardening, drying and chemical changing. A kiln in Vietnam is made of bricks and the opening will be lay by bricks after the pottery is placed.  To fire the pottery, the kilns are fueled with rice husk or wood.

Kiln and rice husk

The Dragon kiln

The Jagama, also known as the Dragon kiln is also a common used kiln in Vietnam. The combination of Anagama, Noborigama and the Waritake kilns is the Jagama. Wait, what?

Jagama

Anagama

Anagama

The Anagama is considered the oldest kiln. The single-chamber, tunnel-shaped kiln (Anagama) is build with an opening in the front (1). After the opening, the firebox is found. (2) In the middle there is a stacking floor. (3) Dampers are found at the end of the stacking floor. (4) And next to the dampers, the flue is found. (5) The flue is an opening in a chimney to transport the exhaust gases from the firebox. (6)

The Anagama is fueled with wood. A continuous supply of fuel is needed for firing as wood is consumed rapidly in a hot kiln. Burning wood produces heat and wood ashes that will settle on the pottery during the firing. The interaction between flame, ash and the minerals of the clay forms a natural ash glaze. The appearance of the pottery depends on the placement of the pottery, the closer the pottery is to the firebox, the heavier the coat of ash is. 

The Anagama style kiln, Waritake, has the Anagama style but walls are built every meter through the length of the kiln. Each partition can be stoked aside.

The multi-chamber kiln (Noborigama) is built on a slope. The Noborigama is a chambered climbing kiln and each chamber is situated higher than the other one before. Also all the chambers have stoking ports.

When we combine the Anagama, Noborigama and the Waritake, we have the Jagama.

So now the Jagama, this kiln is a long tube shaped kiln up on a slope and divided by improvised walls which are created by stacking pottery. Each “chamber” has a stoking port and the fire starts from under and climbs slowly up.

In general, all these kilns are unpredictable. That is why no glazed potteries are fired in these kilns. (Glazed potteries are fired in the gas kilns.)The firing process takes days and the most important part of the firing process is the right cooling off. If the potteries are taken out too soon, the pottery might have cracks or even break. 

Thank you for passing by today!

Rosa Planters Vietnam

It's all about the hands

Hello to the world! 

Buying season has started for us and I have found some quality time to continue the word of the week. I hope you all enjoyed it last week. Today we continue with techniques for making pottery.

Pottery can be made in different ways. Also pottery is available in different sizes, how do pottery, bigger than a person, is made? The first technique makes it possible. The hand-building technique needs skillful hands and clay. The clay will be pinched into a bowl and ropes of clay will wrap upward until the right height is reached. 

Second technique is the slab building. The slab building is often used for mid- size pottery. For slab building we need hands, clay and a mold. The clay will be flatten and the flattened clay will be put into a mold. After drying, the mold will be removed. 

Slab building

The last technique is the potter’s wheel. For the potter's wheel we need hands, clay and a potter’s wheel. A potter’s wheel is a wheel on a stand that can turn around. The potter’s wheel can be powered by hand, feet or electricity. This technique is common used for small sized pottery.

Drying

The next step is drying, all the potteries need to be dried before the kiln...so what happens in the kiln...?

More fire next time!

Rosa Planters Vietnam
www.rosaplanters.com

Moving through...

Hi everybody,

In the upcoming weeks we will explain you words related to “Vietnamese potteries”. Last week, we explained how the Vietnamese developed their pottery skills and how it is shared and spread through the whole country. So, Vietnamese potteries stands for pottery designed and/or produced in Vietnam.We have picked some words and this week's words are: Vietnam, Ceramic, Kaolinite, Earthenware and Stoneware.

Vietnam is a country in South- East Asia. The country is bordered by China in the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest and the South China Sea to the east. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam)

Ceramic comes from the Greek word κέραμος (keramos) which is “potter’s clay, tile, pottery”. The solid is prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. The earliest ceramics made by humans were pottery objects made from clay. Later glazing became part of the process to create a smooth colored surface. However, there are many different kinds of ceramics, our focus will be mainly on whiteware ceramics, earthenware and stoneware.

Kaolinite, the traditional ceramic raw material comes from clay minerals such as kaolinite (kaolin).

Terracotta (Earthenware) 

Earthenware, a generic composition of earthenware is ball clay, kaolin, quartz and feldspar. Earthenware that has been transported by moving water moves a long distance before it is settled in a river bed. While the earthenware is moving, it picks up minerals and materials. Earthenware is low- fire clay and is often white or gray, unless it is glazed. Also earthenware is commonly used to create Terracotta pots, planters etc.

Stoneware, a generic composition of stoneware is plastic fire clays, ball clays, quartz, feldspar and chamotte. Stoneware is hard and durable clay. The natural colors vary from light grey or tan to dark grey or chocolate brown, unless it is glazed.

Ironstone (Stoneware) 

That was it for today hope you all have enjoyed it and see you next week!

Rosa Planters Vietnam

P.S. Come visit our online showroom and log in for more information (www.rosaplanters.com).

Source: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/clay.html

History of Vietnamese ceramic and earthenware

Where it all began...

Vietnam is one of the countries with a long history with ceramic and earthenware. Vietnamese potteries were an essential part of the trade between Vietnam and its neighbors during feudalistic times, during many dynasties.

The techniques was brought by the Chinese, Hoang Quang Hung. He observed people drinking out of the river and taught them how to make a large water storage pot. One of the students, Truong Trung Ai, was able to become highly skilled and he went back to teach his fellow villagers. 

The techniques spread through the country and Vietnam went on to become so esteemed in ceramic production. The country had potters with great skills and it has many deposits of the basic ingredient, kaolin.

For hundreds of years traders have been honoring their skills and the global world of international trade. What we see today was not different in the past, research and examination of old pieces across Asia reveals that the designs of the items were given by the importer and were made specifically for export to a single area. 

The kilns were copied by entrepreneurs, who made samples or drawings to pass it on for a lower price and the producers had become sufficiently competent and confident to stamp their own identity on their work. Experts examined small details to be able to recognize the Vietnamese identity. 

In the fifteenth and sixteenth century the favorite items were bottles, jars, bowls etc. and glazed tiles as wall decorations for the Indonesian market. These days were very successful for the Vietnamese ceramic exports.

Nowadays, we continue share skills and knowledge about Vietnamese potteries to different generation  to keep the history, that became a part of our culture, alive.

Rosa Planters Vietnam

Source:http://www.seapots.com/home/index.php?page=vietnam