The Making of Korean Celadon

The Making of Korean Celadon

The Making of Korean Celadon
The manufacturing process of Korean celadon is a long affair involving at least 10 steps. The first step is to gather the clay; there are several regions in Korea where the special clays used in each type of pottery are gathered from river banks. Each area's clay is said to possess certain qualities essential to the production of fine pottery. Frequently the different clays are mixed to obtain the perfect blend, after which it is prepared for throwing.

Forming and molding are the next steps and are all done by hand unlike ceramic ware which is made in molds. Asymmetrical vessels are turned on a wheel while different shapes are formed by hand or modified after being thrown on a wheel.

Next the inlaid pieces are engraved and inscribed while the plain shapes are not. The inscribed portions are then filled, or in the case of painted works the paint in then applied.

All pieces are then fired. The traditional hand hewn kilns were built on a hill and had a series of small chambers all connected to the main hearth at the base. Each chamber had an access door on the side in which the pottery was put in or removed. After the fire was built in the hearth the heat would rise up through the series of chambers creating the necessary temperature for each type of firing in each of the chambers.

The works are then glazed and given their final firing. The entire process takes days or sometimes weeks and, due to the high level of pride of the artisans the pottery has a very low survival rate. Pieces that do not not meet the artist's standards, are intentionally destroyed at approximately the following rates: 5% in the molding process
15% in decorating
20% in 1st firing
25% in the final glazing.