Fuping International Soda-Firing Festival, Xian, China 2019
In October 2019 Jack Doherty was invited to lead the first international soda-firing festival in Fuping, China. Here he describes his experiences at this inaugural ceramic event.
The festival came about as a result of his artist residency at Fuping Pottery Art Village in China, after winning the Janet Mansfield Memorial Award in 2016. My co demonstrator was Ruthanne Tudball and together we led a group of potters interested in the techniques of soda firing from the US, Australia, Spain and India. We also taught the basics of soda firing to a large group of Chinese ceramics students.
The facilities and support provided by Fuping were excellent. We were the first group to use their newly designed resident’s studio and to make use of the five identical soda kilns which they built for us to my specification. We fired these sixteen times loaded with work made from eight different clays and twenty decorating slips. A selection of the work was shown in the beautifully presented exhibition The Poetics of Fire in the gallery of the SKN store in Xi’an.
INTERVIEW – DAO CLAYFORM
I-Chi Hsu, editor of the specialist bi-annual ceramic publication, Dao Clayform, leads a Q&A with Jack Doherty on the Fuping Festival, Soda-firing and beyond.
Can you please describe the current development of soda-firing in the ceramic world, how has its popularity evolved since it was discovered?
I think it is important to define what we mean by soda glazing or soda firing. I accept soda-firing as a vapour glazing process which has evolved from salt glazing and uses sodium materials such as sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate and caustic soda which are more environmentally acceptable than sodium chloride.
The results of the soda firing process are admired and practiced by potters internationally, but I think that it is still relatively undeveloped. It is a technique which appears simple, but to do it well in practice needs a serious commitment and equipment, not least of which is a specialist kiln. This takes it beyond the range of most amateur potters and makers who are starting out. But there are many groups who share information on the internet and social media.
We notice that you choose to use a relatively stable choice of materials and style, although there are subtle variations. How would you explain your personal preferences?
What you are describing reflects the development of my work over nearly 50 years. During that time I have experimented and used very many techniques and materials. Different clay bodies, slips, glazes, colouring stains and firings. Over time, I have focused on using one clay, one colouring mineral and a single firing with soda. These are self -imposed limitations which are not restricting but instead can open fresh ways of seeing form, texture and colour. At the festival it was important to me as an artist and a teacher to make my own work, using my techniques and materials aiming always to make exhibition quality pieces and bearing in mind that virtually everything is different from my studio in Cornwall. I used 5 different porcelain clays each one had its own qualities. Some were good, others difficult, so many times I found myself having to find new ways to perform simple techniques.
How much more space is there for experimentation with soda-firing, and in what ways do you see it evolve in the coming years? What makes it unique?
The amount and quality of experimentation depends on the energy and creativity of artists. It is especially important that artists see soda firing as a firing technique which is different from others. The early days of soda firing were dominated by potters who wanted to replicate the surface effects of salt glaze. Their way of firing closely followed the traditional salt glaze process, using the same firing temperature range, reduction and cooling cycles. Artists must be prepared to challenge many of these accepted techniques. My working practice has evolved to develop a more sustainable firing cycle. I fire to a lower temperature with a carefully controlled reduction/oxidation sequence which can produce a wider range of colour from copper and reduce the amount of fuel that I use. The firing process is relatively unexplored, I see scope for experiment with firing temperatures, oxidation and reduction atmospheres, and with the amounts of soda used in each firing.
Soda firing allows the kiln to become an important creative tool. The space of the kiln can be used to stack the work in different ways altering the way that the soda vapour travels through and around the pieces. It would be interesting to see artists use the kiln space without conventional shelves, potentially a way of firing installation pieces.
Do you think there are challenges and limitations to soda-firing, and if so how would that affect the greater acceptance, or popularity, within the ceramic artist circle?
There are a few important challenges which make soda firing less accessible than other techniques. First it needs a flame powered kiln designed to allow the introduction of soda during the firing. Not a particularly difficult kiln to design or build and many conventional kilns can be adapted to fire with soda. Over time soda will slowly destroy the brickwork and kiln shelves. So many aspiring soda firers are put off by the risk and cost of building a specialist kiln. The process is time consuming and tricky and the firing itself can be damaging to very delicate works. Kiln packing, wadding, cleaning the work after firing, repairing the kiln and kiln shelves all add to the amount of work involved in the firing.
Of all techniques and styles in pottery making, how did you choose soda-firing to explore and experiment with? Other than the magical moment of opening the kiln, which part of the soda-firing process do you most enjoy, and why?
Like many other ceramicists who use soda firing I was first interested in salt glaze but because of the pollution produced by Sodium Chloride I began experimenting with vapour glazing and built my first kiln at my home pottery. I became most excited by soda firing when I realised that this was a way of working very directly with fire and it was possible to make pieces which were marked by flame and soda in a truly individual way. These experimental kilns showed me some of the potential of sodium bicarbonate as an exciting way of finishing my work. This started a long period of experiment with many different clays, minerals and firings.
“I love the archetypal vessels which were made long before we developed theories about ‘art’ or ‘craft’. I try to make ceramics which are a part of our contemporary world but that can also connect us with our history.”
Can you describe the creative process of your work, from initial concept to the actual implementation?
Work is part of life and is a continuous process. I carry with me, a lot of thoughts and ideas, I look at painting, sculpture, architecture and design. I ask myself a lot of questions, often about ceramics and its place in our world. I am intrigued by vessel forms from pre- history. Forms which reflect both functional and spiritual qualities. I love the archetypal vessels which were made long before we developed theories about ‘art’ or ‘craft’. I try to make ceramics which are a part of our contemporary world but that can also connect us with our history.
Can you describe the work you developed for the final exhibition?
I worked on five ideas/groups of forms during the festival. I thought that the most successful of these was the related grouping of tall vessels. These pieces are from a series of work I call Harbouring Vessels. This work began as part of my Waypoint exhibition. At that time, I was thinking about the concept of family and how individual forms can relate closely to one another and yet remain different. In a way the space in a soda kiln is a place where dramatic changes happen, altering individual pieces and forming new relationships with surface texture and colour.
How long have you worked with soda-firing and what have been your biggest influences over the years in the development of your individual style?
I don’t want to remember how many years I have been soda firing, around 30… long enough, I think! In my earliest years, when I was a student and just starting out, I was excited by the work of Lucie Rie and Hans Coper. They brought a fresh view of ceramics influenced with modernist ideas from Europe and the Bauhaus School. Over time the most lasting influences have come from two very different sources.
I look at old ceramics from Europe, Japan and China. Neolithic forms which fuse together emotion, spirituality and function. I am interested in modernism and breaking with tradition, so my work often feeds on the dialogue between two contrasting ideas. One of my greatest heroes is the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi. He wrote: Simplicity is not an end in art, but one arrives at simplicity in spite of oneself, in approaching the real sense of things. Simplicity is complexity itself, and one has to be nourished by its essence in order to understand its value. ……….. This has become a touchstone in my practice.
How has your work and stay in China influenced or inspired you in the creative process?
I find that it takes time to absorb ideas and influences from new places. Having just come home from China it may be a bit too soon to notice changes to my ideas or process. But working for a month at the Fuping studios and experimenting with the soda kilns process has encouraged me to design and build a new kiln which can be used for firing single larger pieces.
You have worked with some young artists during the workshop. What is your advice for students on how to “find their voice” and develop their distinct style?
My advice to people starting out is to learn to be clear about what you believe in and never try to create or develop a style which is popular or fashionable. Never stop working and trying to become better.
What are the tips, warnings, and experiences you could share with learners on soda-firing?
It would be possible to write a book here. But one basic piece of advice I would give to new soda firers is to treat this process as a firing technique which is different from any other. Rethink firing temperatures, reduction cycles, even find new ways of stacking the work in the kiln. Find and try to exploit the potential of your chosen clay with flame and soda vapour.
Any additional thoughts or observations that you would like to share with us, or anything you want to highlight, that we have not covered with these questions?
I want to finish by saying that at its best, soda firing offers essentially a very basic low technology approach to making ceramics. To outsiders it can appear simple and easy…no complicated glazing etc. But in practice to do it well, to try to achieve excellence, it demands a very high level of commitment and attention to detail far beyond conventional firing.
