40 yunomi for 40 years A catalogue to celebrate 40 years of potting in Rhayader
by
phil rogers
40 yunomi to celebrate my 40 years as a potter. I opened my first studio in Rhayader in 1978. I moved to the present site, Lower Cefnfaes Farm in 1984. Lower Cefnfaes gave me the space and opportunity to build a number of large kilns and carry on my life as a working potter in the manner I had always dreamed of. First of all came a large oil fired kiln which was followed just a few years later with the first salt kiln. A new, larger salt kiln appeared in 1997 and a two chambered wood fired kiln in 2003. I have recently constructed a smaller gas fired kiln that will be used both by wife Hajeong Lee and myself. The yunomi or tea cup is a small, personable pot easily held in the hand and the warmth of its contents is a comforting sensation. As one turns the cup one can feel the textures of its surface….the form, the foot ring all provide an experience quite unlike a finger through a handle. It has often been said that the yunomi, while not large in scale, can embody the style and personality of a maker while, at the same time, reflecting the passing phases and interests of a potters unending creative endeavour as they change and develop. As pots go the yunomi is toward the lower end of the price scale and, lets face it, take up little space…a consideration for many people. It’s little wonder that collectors of contemporary ceramics often assemble collections of yunomi. I make a lot of yunomi…I enjoy the immediacy in the throwing and the opportunity to immerse myself in a variety of orchestrations and surface treatments. As I keep an open mind, ideas that emerge while making a batch of yunomi can be transferred to larger pieces. Sometimes, ideas don’t work, and a pot can be returned to the clay bin to be recycled…one of the advantages of making a series of smaller pieces…and so it is that I use the yunomi as a way of trying new decorative techniques in throwing or glazing and in turn they have an effect on the whole of my making. Here, in this new catalogue, I have assembled 40 of the best yunomi from recent firings. I have used three kilns in preparing these cups….my two chamber wood fired kiln, the large oil kiln and a small, newly built gas fired kiln. Each yunomi is £95.00. Postage for a single Yunomi inland is £3.50 and for two £5.00. The postage to the USA, Australia and the EU is approx. £10.00. but whatever and wherever it is at cost only. Packing is free. I have a limited number of wooden boxes on which I can draw a representation of the yunomi, sign and stamp. Wooden boxes are £10.00 on a first come, first served basis. However, not all the yunomi will fit the one size boxes that I have so if you ask about a box it will, I’m afraid, depend on whether your chosen yunomi will fit. Please email me at philrogerspottery@gmail.com with the number or numbers to reserve your choice. I will deal with orders strictly in order of emails arriving and I apologise in advance if your first choice has already gone. I will update the catalogue as often as I can. Payment can be by cheque or by bank transfer…I can supply the details later.
1.
An ash glazed yunomi with a combed pattern. Pine ash glaze with Elm ash glaze inside and over the rim. 4.1 inches tall
2. Yunomi with gwiyal and iron brushed decoration. Gwiyal is the Korean term for brushed white slip which later became to be known as Hakeme in Japan. 4 inches tall.
3. Ash glazed Yunomi fired in the wood kiln. Pine ash glaze. 4 inches tall.
4. Yunomi in Buncheong style with white slip, a very dark clay body and iron brushed pattern. 3.9 inches tall
5.
Yunomi in Buncheong style. Paddled decoration with white slip and a clear glaze. 3.6 inches tall.
6.
A faceted yunomi. Ash glaze with local stone from Kington out side and pine ash glaze inside and over the rim. 3.3 inches tall.
7. A yunomi in Buncheong style. White slip and a clear glaze over a very dark clay body. Central strap. 3.75 inches tall.
8.
An ash glazed yunomi with an incised and stamped pattern. Kington stone glaze outside and Elm ash inside and over the rim. 3.6 inches tall.
9. An ash glazed yunomi fired in the wood kiln. Pine ash glaze and a warm, toasted area around the foot. 3.8 inches tall.
10. An ash glazed yunomi with a central ridge. Pine and Elm ash glazes. 3.75 inches tall.
11. A yunomi with an impressed pattern. Kington stone and ash glaze. 3.65 nches tall.
12. An ash glazed yunomi with an incised and impressed pattern. Pine and Elm ash glazes. 4 inches tall.
13. A yunomi with tenmoku and ash glazes. Combed pattern. 3.75 nches.
14. An ash glazed yunomi with a central strap. Wood fired. Pine ash glaze. 4 inches tall.
15. A yunomi with hakeme and iron brushed pattern. Ash glaze. 3.75 inches tall.
16. A shino glazed yunomi. Textured surface. 3.75 inches tall.
17. Ash glazed yunomi fired on sea shells. The impressions of the shells are visible on the foot. Ash and Kington stone glaze. 3.25 inches tall.
18. A wood fired and ash glazed yunomi with a rope impressed decoration. Pine ash glaze. 3.65 inches tall.
19. A shino glazed yunomi decorated with white slip under the glaze. Wood fired. 4 inches tall.
20. A nuka glazed yunomi with pours of tenmoku glaze. Nuka is an ash glaze with a surfeit of silica which produces the semi opaque milky colour. Nuka can be a dry, almost stony surface or have a soft, satin touch depending on recipe and temperature. 4 inches tall.
21. A shino glazed yunomi with a combed surface. Wood fired. 3.8 inches tall.
. 22. Wood fired yunomi with an ash glaze and an unglazed, toasted surface. 3.8 inches tall.
23. A shino glazed yunomi with a textured surface. 4.2 inches tall.
24. A yunomi with a wax resist pattern. Iron slip under an ash glaze. 3.75 inches tall.
25. Ash glazed yunomi with a rope impressed pattern. Pine ash glaze. 4 inches tall.
26. Wood fired yunomi with a central strap and an impressed pattern. Ash glaze inside. This clay was designed specifically for the wood kiln. I was looking for a clay that fired to a red / orange colour range and influenced by the colours one sees in the pottery of Shigiraki. 3.75 inches tall.
27. Shino glazed yunomi with a faceted surface. Wood fired. 3.75 inches tall.
28. A salt glazed yunomi. Decorated with a white slip over a coat of local clay slip. 3.6 inches tall.
29. Ash glazed yunomi. Wood fired with an ash glaze. Incised and impressed decoration. 3.6 inches tall.
30. A yunomi with a hakeme decoration with iron brushed pattern. 4 inches tall.
31. Ash glazed yunomi with hakeme and an incised pattern. Kington stone and ash glaze outside and elm ash inside and over the rim. 4.2 inches tall.
32. A wood fired yunomi with shino glaze inside. I particularly liked the blushes of colour on this yunomi and one can see clearly the path of the flame through the kiln as it has left the pale blush resulting from vapour and ash. 3.4 inches tall.
33. A yunomi with hakeme and an iron brushed pattern. In 1997 I lived and worked near to the mountain in S. Korea called Geryonsan. Here in the 15th and 16th centuries it was the centre for Buncheong with iron painted designs. The pots I saw and handled there have had an influence on this piece. 3.75 inches tall.
34. A wood fired yunomi with a combed surface. Nuka glaze inside. 3.75 inches tall.
35. A tenmoku glazed yunomi. Nuka glaze inside and over the rim. 3.7 inches tall.
36. A tenmoku glazed yunomi with a paddled pattern. Nuka glaze inside and over the rim. 3.5 inches tall.
37. A salt glazed yunomi with an ash glaze. I have incised a wavering line and impressed a pattern to suggest trees in front of a horizon. 3.5 inches tall.
38. A shino glazed yunomi with a combed surface. White slip decoration under the glaze. Woodfired. 3.75 inches tall.
39. An ash glazed yunomi. Incised and impressed pattern. Pine and Elm ash glazes. 4 inches tall.
40. A wood fired yunomi with an impressed pattern. 3.75 inches tall.