Contemporary artists and traditional approaches in kiln design and techniques for carbon-trapping amongst southeast Asian ceramicists

Abstract

            The ancient technique of smoke-firing transforms raw clay into functional ceramics, while the porous and unglazed ceramic surface is imprinted with carbon, creating patterns around resist materials, or blackening the surface completely. Smoke-fired pottery is a unique record of collaboration between heat, chemistry, culture and creativity. The method has its roots in traditional pottery, but its technological simplicity lends itself to contemporary artistic experimentation. Looking to smoke-firing techniques of Southeast Asian ceramic craftsmen, I demonstrate how traditional kiln design and firing techniques can be developed to support a contemporary Southeast Asian ceramic expression. While clay quality, shape, and surface texture are most often referenced to critique works of ceramic art, this investigation asserts that smoke-firing techniques for carbon control are not only an important element in achieving desired aesthetic effects, but also an essential tool in understanding social-environmental innovation and art-form.