Stefan Jakob
Past resident artist: February - April 2008
Feats of clay: the beauty of Raku
by Meridith Hinchcliffe
Thursday, April 10, 2008
"In half an hour, this Rake kiln reaches a maximum of 1000 degrees centigrade and in another half an hour at this heat, the pots inside are ready," Swiss potter Stefan Jakob says.
The Raku kiln is constructed from a 40 litre Ikea pedal rubbish bin. Using an electric drill and tin cutters, Jakob makes four openings in the bin. A chimney is attached to the lid and the entire inner surface is covered with ceramic fibre, a kiln plate is mounted over the air vent and an iron roster is placed on the base. The kiln is wood-fuelled and requires about two shoe boxes of finely chopped timber. "In Australia I have found that eucalyptus has a higher heat," Jakob says, "and so I only need one box."
Jakob is artist-in-residence at Strathnairn Arts centre and has been there since mid-February. His residency culminates in an exhibition, STRATA Textures and Layers, open from April 16 to 27. Jakob has had a varied career path, training initially as a plumber and then studying and working as a social worker, and now a ceramics teacher. He began ceramics as a hobby when he was 20 and took it up full-time about 12 years ago. "My plumbing skills gave me the skills to make the kilns. Then I became an art teacher, specialising in ceramics." As well as teaching, he hold ceramic parties and between the two he makes a reasonable living. "Unlike Australia, it is almost impossible for me to make a living from making and selling pots in exhibitions. There are only four or five ceramic artists in Switzerland who do this."
"I have been arranging the parties for 12 years,"' he says. "Ten years, ago there was an article about them in a women's magazine, and I haven't had to advertise since. The base price is $350, there is a minimum of 30 bowls and the cost is $12 per bowl. I also get $1 per kilometre in travel Jakob has to do a fair amount of preparation, but enjoys holding the events. I have now started to do corporate events, and I had to double the price. They thought they would not get a good product when I charged the lower price," he said.
This is Jakob's second visit to Australia and he is enjoying it. "It is a long while since I had time to think about and make my own work and explore new directions," he says. "However, I have found it a bit difficult to get back to being creative. I have worked on large, coiled and layered forms. I like to make big pieces, but these are hard to sell. I have been able to experiment with other clay bodies and I will return to Switzerland with many new ideas."
Jakob's work is based on the vessel: shallow bowls of varying sizes, spherical jars, and twisted forms. He also makes wide shallow forms he calls "discus vases", with glazes that shrink from the clay during firing. He is particularly concerned with texture.
He uses moulds, pressing the clay into the shape and then finishes with deep, glazed rims on the electric wheel. The clay stretches during the process of careful pushing, gg uneven surfaces rather like the bark of a tree. Rake firing is quick and once the kiln has reached 1000°ree;C, the red-hot objects are removed and experience a thermal shock due to temperature differences. The glazed surfaces shrink and crack. They are then covered in sawdust which burns and produces smoke, blackening the exposed surface areas of the cracks, as well as the unglazed areas.
Strathnairn Arts Association president Anita McIntyre says, "It has been a delight having Stefan. The design of the small, portable kilns is very inventive and their great advantage is that they can be taken to places where there are no facilities. There is immediacy to the firing so people don't have to wait while their pots are taken somewhere else for firing, and brought back the following week." A kiln building workshop at the weekend is full, with a long waiting list. At the time of writing, there are a few places left for a firing event on Sunday. "I will be firing pots and making paella. Guests can buy a bowl, decorate it and when it comes out of the Ikea rubbish bin kiln, fill it and take it home at the end of the day," he says.
Stefan's Raku kiln-building workshop was run April 12 - 13 and his exhibition Strata: Layers and textures ran April 16 - 27.
Slideshow photos: Ian Hodgson (Please be patient, it takes a few minutes to load.)