My final day at the wheel was play time. I had no quota or goal for the day, so I produced some of my most unique/disastrous/beautiful cup and bowl pieces thus far. My teacher comment on how diverse my cylinders were with a tone of surprise; due to the language barrier, I can never tell if he is disgusted or pleased with my free rein venture. ㅋㅋ
ㅠ.ㅠ After my day of play, all the pieces I created had no chance of a further life and were passed on to the clay graveyard of murky water. Here they will return to soft clay, and soon make new forms at the hands of another potter. ㅠ.ㅠ
From the kiln came some of the larger pieces I had made back in my studies of hand building and Korean decoration.
One day I made these spoons randomly, and I think they might be my favorite pieces!
They are so cute!!
These are the smaller pieces I produced from my elementary start at the wheel. When I saw the cups and bowls after glazing and firing, I was amazed that I made them, especially after it took me eight weeks to master a simple cylinder! ^^
Now these pieces are floating across in the ocean somewhere between South Korea and America, wrapped in excessive bubble wrap and my old blanket. I was told they will arrive in NY anywhere between one to three months. Lets just hope I'm still in NY when they arrive! ^.~
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The last Thursday before my leaving we had a small leaving party for the "waguk-in" student. It was so special to me to have one last chance to sit with my teachers and fellow students. Everyone speaks limited English, but one student is quite fluent and has helped me throughout the year with some translations. I owe a good part of my success to him~!
We ate chinese food together ~ and let me tell you the difficulties I had with noodles and wooden chopsticks~ OH MY!!! Just me and three Korean men, eating ja-jang-myeon, (black bean sauce with noodles) talking about ceramics and North Korea. Then, a surprise visit from a female student I spent a lot of studio days working side my side, communicating via charades, arrived with a sweet farewell note!!^^ Maru & An blog @ farewell party
[김선생 님/Kim Seonsangnim]
[강선생 님/Kang Seonsangnim]
강선생 님 gave me the most special gift of a tea set from his work!! ^^ WOW! I felt so grateful, it is such a beautiful piece of work. He is very talented with ceramics, and as a teacher. This master piece made by my teacher is a reminder of the great shared times in Maru & An ceramics studio, and also an inspiration to continue my practice with ceramics so someday I can give him a tea set I made. I doubt it will ever be as well done as his work, but he would argue otherwise. ^.^
[these pieces were also wrapped in excessive bubble wrap, however they are too valuable to me to be sent on some crate half way around the world. Instead I carried them with me on three planes, and firmly told the security lady in Chicago that "no, I will certainly not check them in with my luggage"]
I'll miss my evenings at ceramics. Not only did I learn a craft I've always been intrigued by, but I learn from two great teachers and talent artist. I was able to work along side kind and inspiring students, and had a full fledged Korean experience. No other foreigner has gone down those stairs before, and I feel grateful when I stumbled down there that Kim Seonsangnim allowed me attend his classes. I learned a lot about ceramics, Korean language, and Korean culture. Studying ceramics in Korea was a very important and unique aspect of my travels in Korea, and I owe it to the welcoming teachers and students at Maru & An. ~감사합니다~ ^.^
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