Mug: Ubud Forest
Mug: Ubud Forest
About
Wheel-thrown stoneware. Woodfired at GAYA Ceramic Art Center, Bali, February 2026.
Holds a full coffee or a generous pour of tea. Comfortable in the hand.
12 × 12 cm · Holds 420 ml (~14 oz)
The Making
This cup was placed directly under a side stoker — the opening where wood is fed in during firing. Cups are rarely positioned there. A piece of wood could easily strike and destroy it. This one survived. The risk is visible in the surface: dramatic flame markings, heavy ash deposit, a depth of color you only get from that kind of exposure.
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.