Mother Glaze
−−Written before the Exhibition at HKUST
The earliest kilns that humans constructed could glaze materials within their walls. This is the maternal origin of glaze; yet because the outer surface of the clay could be colored brightly, humans directed the development of ceramics to the control of a superficial enamel coat.
From the Han Dynasty’s copper came the “Green Glaze” color; the Tang Dynasty used lead for the “Three Colors”; the Song Dynasty’s iron gave “Celadon” and “Heavenly Eye”, and copper gave “Even Glaze”; while the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties use of cobalt created their characteristic “Blue” color.
Thus, from Han to Qing, up to today, the ultimate benchmark of ceramics has been to break down the natural minerals, and refine, analyze, and re-organize them; and then exert subtle control on firing, to create ceramic bodies clothed in bright enamel. This still affects human development.
In the1980s, I was betting on the plastic arts, using a gas kiln to fire ceramics. In 1994, I resolutely abandoned the pursuit of glazes and appearances, and returned to the old “Snake Kiln” built by my father. But I did not study wood-fired glazes.
In 1997, I built my own wood kiln, with the inner wall of the Snake Kiln’s “Kiln sweat” (or “Kiln milk”) as my teacher. In 2003, after ten years of hard work, I published “Colorful Kiln Sweat”. This began the effort to bring the ever-changing power of “Kiln Sweat” to my works; thus the “Triple-ridged Pot Series”. After ten years of effort, my “Pulse Series” shows bending, turning, and penance; and in recent years I have created the new series “Taiwan, the Precious Island”. During this time, “Mother Glaze” started to develop its prototype. Using “Taiwan, the Precious Island” and the second phase of “Pulse”, I enriched and matured the “Mother Glaze” ideology!
In 2012, I once again pushed the limits of wood-fired ceramics. I successfully reached 1,500 degree C with firewood, and organized and published the “Mother Glaze” concept and series. “Mother Glaze” is the qualitative change that brings the embryonic clay to birth. From within a blank body made of melted natural minerals and ash an ever-changing texture arises.
I pursue high temperature ceramics not to achieve ever higher numbers, but because I want to reverse the human use of land and fire — the loss in and by civilization. Instead of mining the land indiscriminately or refining and using heavy metals; I use the world’s natural elements. This is how “Mother Glaze” is presented. I believe this is a new direction for future ceramics! Use natural firewood, kiln design and temperature control techniques from 1400 to 1500 oC, so that ceramic body produces a qualitative change.
Learning from nature, learning from the earth, using the most natural; not in the manner of refined minerals; using mined soil, firing natural rocks and stones; this is what I want to promote with “Mother Glaze”.
Lin Rui-hua