Cup No.1: Ubud Forest
Cup No.1: Ubud Forest
About
Wheel-thrown stoneware. Woodfired at GAYA Ceramic Art Center, Bali, February 2026.
Holds a full coffee or a cup of tea.
10 × 10 cm · Holds 265 ml (~9 oz)
The Making
Two sea shells pressed into the clay during making. They burned away in the kiln. What remains are the prints — shallow impressions circling the body, caught in the ash surface. Easy to miss. Worth looking for.
Deep terracotta-red from the flame. Sits on a faceted square foot. The rim warped slightly in the firing.
The Firing
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Made during a two-week wood firing workshop at GAYA Ceramic Art Center in Ubud, Bali, led by ceramicist John Dix — known for his Kurinuki carving technique and for teaching a looser, more instinctive approach to the wheel. The firing was led by master ceramicist Hillary Kane.
The kiln was fed wood continuously for approximately 50 hours, reaching 1280°C. Fuel: coffee tree wood. Loading method: Kibuta — firewood packed tightly into the firebox to restrict oxygen, pushing volatile flames and fly-ash through the chamber. This creates the flashed color and natural ash surface you see on the piece. No glaze was applied. Everything you see is ash, clay body, and clay slip.
The team worked in shifts around the clock. I did two six-hour shifts — one overnight, one at the closing stage when the temperature was already near its peak.
The firing ended with reduction cooling: oxygen was deliberately restricted as the kiln cooled, stealing oxygen molecules from the clay and surface. This produces the deep color shifts and the faint metallic quality. This was one of the last firings in this kiln — GAYA is relocating.