Viva el Karatzu !

Raku?
Hagi ?


Nah...
Karaztu man, Karatzu ROCKS my world.
Sometimes classifications are for the Birds or have their meaning in a particular context, and out of that context mean nothing but a few lines in a book.

Vive le Karatzu...















Each large Karatzu bowl is for sale at 100£ plus 15£ postage or 130 Euros plus 30 Euros postage

For the US 150 $ plus 35$ postage please email me at mrmfrancois@gmail.com for images and details.

Chaque bol est à 130 euros plus 30 euros de frais d'envoye.




Je viens juste de faire une cuisson, il est 1 heure et demi du matin et je bois un Qilai Shan de chez teamasters. Je suis si fatigué mais je suis aux anges.

L'ouverture Mardi matin...









The Wheel does not stop spinning the kilns don't stop firing, my life has been given over to the the Clay god.

2 more weeks to go before I get some rest. .












Un Chawan de forme Ch'ien Noir Tien Mu à la methode Setoguro..

Ce Chawan à été sortie du four à chaud.

Son prix est de 130 euros plus 15 euros de frais d'envoye
mon mail mrmfrancois@gmail.com

A black chawan of Ch'ien shape with Tenmoku glaze Setoguro style of firing.
Its price is 180 $ plus 20$ postage
email me at mrmfrancois@gamil.com

A Cornish Tien Mu Shan



We have no Mountains in Cornwall but we have the Godolfin hills, where from there you can see both coasts in one sweep of the eye. These hills are small and not very famous, but I relate much to this view.

I have made more Yuan type teabowls.
This time I wanted to control the firing even more, as well as the post firing;
in order to get an even more luminus and darkest black.
A cross between Tien mu tenmoku and Black Seto.
This is why they are so hard to photograph they are shining deep mirror black.

To achieve this end I fired my kiln with 3 burners, turning one burner off every half hour to get a more even reduction.
After the firing I opened the kiln red hot 1300° and took out ( with massive metal blacksmith tongs) the teabowls one by one. Two of the early ones actually have the tong mark inside the bowl.
Then I closed the door only to reopen it 20 minutes later to take more teabowls out.
By this time the heat inside the kiln had managed to reoxidise ever so slightly the remaining bowls, adding more brown specles to the rims and the glaze.

Bronze , blue.. the glaze melted just enough to start thickening up at the base.
I think 15 minutes more and they would have dribbled too much .. fine very fine line..











Prices are 130 euros per Chawan, delivery is 15 euros. That is 100£ plus 10£ delivery or for the US 180$ plus 20$ delivery. I kept only 7 chawans in this firing, One has already gone .
email me at mrmfrancois@gmail.com

Je me suis remis à faire des bols à thé. Cette fois j'ai voulus avoir encore plus de controle sur la cuisson et le refroidissement.
Leurs prix 130 euros plus 15 euros de frais d'envoye. Je n'ai gardé que 7 chawan de cette cuisson.
mon email mrmfrancois@gmail.com





Voici un Grand bol à Fruits avec une Glasure type Karatzu, fabriqué avec un tiers de cendre de Marronnier.
Le rendu est tout simplement le plus beau, plus intense et plus subtile à la fois.

Chaque type d'arbre à sa particularité et avec la même recette, on obtient un résulltat différent en fonction de la cendre utilisé.
C'est comme si chaque arbre, une fois que sa vie à été épuisée, nous livre dans sa cendre un dernier cadeau.

La cendre d'arbre, pour un potier c'est de la poudre magique.
Mais il faut une Tonne de bois pour 10 kilo de cendre brute et 10 kilo de cendre brut pour 3kilo de cendre pure.
Le travail de lavage et de tamissage est énrome.

Si quelqu'un brûle beaucoup de Marronier faites-moi signe .. par email au mrmfrancois@gmail.com



Here is a Large Fruit bowl with a Horse chestnut Karatzu glaze.
Even after the tree has gone the ash it leaves behind is magic dust to the Potter.
Each type of tree has its particularities, horse chestnut is my favorite.
The amount of work involved in preparing the ash is not for the faint hearted; It is like mining for Gold.

If you are burning Horse chestnut please contact me on mrmfrancois@gmail.com I will reward you for your ash.