The training focuses on the introduction to the Japanese shaping technique called Kurinuki. Close to the aesthetic and spiritual concept WabiSabi, it is a technique that advocates the spontaneity of the gesture accepting all imperfection and thus making the uniqueness of the object. Participants will be able to experiment with the sculptural approach of this technique; from a block of earth and by removing the material, the exterior of the piece is drawn, then the hollowing out stage will reveal the interior space. Despite a raw appearance, this modeling technique makes us experience a slow and meditative shaping, an intuitive approach to the material. This technique linked to the ceramic art profession offers a new way of approaching the material, which can be associated with an exploration of oneself.
Shaping a simple block of solid clay and hollowing out an “inner space” is an age-old gesture known as Kurinuki in Japanese. From this technique has been born a subtle and refined decorative art, giving life to bowls, bottles, vases, and many other objects. Just try Kurinuki to discover the countless landscapes that clay can reveal.
Kurinuki is more akin to sculpture than to traditional pottery, as it involves directly hollowing out a shape in a block of clay, rather than shaping it on a wheel or from coils or slabs of clay. This method creates an essential dialogue between the interior and exterior of the piece, while retaining the spontaneity of the gesture and the beauty of the glazes. It is an artistic feat that has inspired generations of potters for centuries, in Japan and elsewhere.
Day 1
Morning
Welcome and round table of speakers
Theoretical and practical introduction to the states of high-temperature clays and their specificities
Afternoon
Work on the gesture by warming up and stretching
Notion of external and internal volume on paper
Preparation of clay blocks
Day 2
Morning
Work on the gesture by warming up and stretching
Development of the individual project: sculpture on different blocks
Afternoon
Continuation of individual project
Day 3
Morning
Continuation of individual project
Afternoon
Manufacture of engobes and application on individual pieces
Day 4
Morning
Individual feedback
Management of drying of pieces
Development of the collective project
Afternoon
Continuation of collective project
Day 5
Morning
Finalization of the collective project
Collective feedback
Round table of individual pieces
Drying of pieces collective
Afternoon
Baking and cooking
Collective restitution at the end of training
Workshop tidying up
Sofi Buquet
Residing in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye, in Burgundy, since 2008, Sofi has trained in Creative Ceramics and High Temperature Enamel Research at Ema-Cnifop. A ceramist who has been established for about ten years, she practices her art at La Fabrique, in the premises of the former Mallet pottery.
Ceramics have been present in her life since her adolescence, but it was in the bookselling profession that she first began her professional career. Her time in independent bookstores reinforced her interest in illustration and graphic design, particularly in children's literature. Subsequently, she gained experience in supporting and supervising young people, both children and adolescents. Involved in the associative environment, Sofi has gradually developed an educational approach focused on experimentation and poetic expression through working with clay.
Not working on a wheel, she prefers to create organic and random forms. Currently, her pieces, made of stoneware and porcelain, evoke spontaneous sketches: every detail counts, like a deliberately disproportionate or superfluous handle. A fly resting on the edge of a plate testifies to her taste for poetic and playful detail. Her work seeks to disturb, to surprise, revealing an aesthetic that invites reflection and wonder.
Price(s) including the cost of training, accommodation and full board, materials and personal protective equipment.