Vase: Ubud Forest
Vase: Ubud Forest
About
Wheel-thrown stoneware. Woodfired at GAYA Ceramic Art Center, Bali, February 2026.
A small bottle form with iron-dark surface and porcelain slip marks.
21 × 14 cm (8.3 × 5.5 in)
The Making
Heavy iron-dark surface with ash streaks. Where the flame was hottest, the clay went dark and vitreous — iron-red fading into black at the shoulders, amber breaking through at the base. The ash settled thickly at the foot ring. The white marks are porcelain slip applied after shaping, before firing. The kiln darkened everything around them.
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 1270°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, clay slip, and porcelain 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.