Tag: flow state

New Wood-Fired Porcelain by Shumpei Yamaki for Your Summer Evenings

Ceramics Food and Craft Shumpei Yamaki

New work by Shumpei Yamaki in our shop->

I will never forget the first time I went berry picking with my host family in British Columbia in the summer as a high school exchange student. Back then in the late 1980s, I was only familiar with strawberries, which to me was a winter fruit as they are grown in greenhouses in Japan. But that Canadian summer, there were so many different kinds of berries to pick and eat. There was plenty of time for these berry escapades as daylight stretched way past 9 o’clock in the evening. I remember that I was very happy then, and ever since, berries lift my spirits up.

Homemade blueberry ice cream in wood-fired porcelain sake cups by Shumpei Yamaki. Wood-fired porcelain has subtle and beautiful colors of gray, light green and peach.

As the weather warms and my favorite summer fruits and vegetables start appearing on the dining table, my eyes seek refuge from the heat in the cool of porcelain ceramics, woven bamboo, and hues of blue, green, and purple.

In hot weather, my eyes seek refuge in cool colored tableware

Tea master Sen no Rikyu’s Seven Precepts, which is basically a code on organizing lovely and memorable gatherings, includes this piece of advice: “In the summer, provide a sense of coolness.” For example, in summer tea preparations, a water jar may be covered in freshly washed leaf with dews remaining on top, or a tea bowl may be brought in filled with water to convey a feeling of coolness. Even in our currently stress-filled pandemic world, I have found that taking the time to select utensils and set a seasonal table for my husband and myself provided a sense of calm and place.

Featuring water creates a sense of coolness on the table.
Shumpei Yamaki’s kiln after firing in Spring 2020. As with last time, Shumpei omitted the use of pyrometric cones and thermometer to create an environment for flow state
(Photo Courtesy of Shumpei Yamaki)

And because I love the combination of Shumpei Yamaki’s clean forms in white clay, gray, green, blue, and peach colors created by the fire and ash, I specifically asked him for some porcelain work this summer, in addition to his usual stoneware work. I’m delighted to share these glacial works by Shumpei with you, and hope that you’ll take the time to look at photos of them taken at different angles so that you can discover the subtle and amazing complexities that the wood-firing process can give to a porcelain’s surface.

Wood Firing in ‘Flow State’: New Ceramics by Shumpei Yamaki

Ceramics Shumpei Yamaki

New ceramics by Shumpei Yamaki in our shop ->

Shumpei Yamaki at Entoten Gallery, San Diego CA,
October 26, 2019, 12:00-5:00 pm

A few months ago, I was communicating with potter Shumpei Yamaki from Iowa about his forthcoming reception and show at Entoten’s Gallery in San Diego in late October. Amid our discussion, he cheerfully wrote: “Oh, by the way, I’m going to fire the kiln without using a thermometer or pyrometric cones this time!”

Unlike many potters that load similar sized items in groups inside the kiln, Shumpei Yamaki mixes the arrangement of vessels without consideration for size and shape.
Photo courtesy of Shumpei Yamaki

Thermometers and cones measure when the kiln reaches the desired temperature, and almost all potters use them to make sure that the firing is progressing as expected.

I did not say this to him, but my immediate response to Shumpei’s audacious decision was why not use the thermometer and cones as reassurance? Was it really necessary to not use them at all? Shumpei though has been firing with wood for the last decade, so there was little doubt that he knew what he was doing, so I kept quiet.

The inside of Shumpei’s fully loaded kiln. Most of the pots are not bisqued.
Photo courtesy of Shumpei Yamaki, September 2019

“I really want to be completely immersed in the firing and ‘be one’ with my kiln”, Shumpei answered when I called him after he had concluded the firing at the end of September. “It was amazing. I now know what it means to meet the ‘kiln god’!” Shumpei said excitedly about the experience.

Usually, between 60 and 70 percent of the pots get covered in ash deposits, glossiness and markings in a single firing, which are the desired effects of wood-fired pots. But this time, almost every piece had these effects. It was the most successful firing that Shumpei had in his entire potting career.

Shumpei Yamaki fires his kiln for 4 days + 4 hrs. The kiln is fired twice a year.
Photo courtesy of Shumpei Yamaki

Shumpei is convinced that this success was due to not using the thermometer and cones. “I knew I was doing everything right, but when I was using the thermometer and the cones, it was difficult to focus. And when I am distracted, I do unnecessary things like opening the kiln door more often to check the surfaces of the pots or stoking for fear that the temperature is falling. It was like I wasn’t really trusting my kiln,” he mused.

The inside of Shumpei’s wood-firing kiln after firing. Photo courtesy of Shumpei Yamaki, September 2019

Shumpei further explained that “usually at the climax of the firing, when the kiln reaches 2,300 degrees or more, things are crazy because we have to constantly stoke. If we space out even for 5 minutes, the temperature will drop. But this time, it was like the kiln fired itself and I just assisted it. It was so peaceful, and when I added wood, I saw the blue flame that indicates that the kiln is very hot. Usually there is a lot of smoke, this time there was hardly any. It was like the kiln took everything that the wood had to offer. It was the most magical experience!”

Now let me briefly offer some scientific perspectives. “Flow-state” was defined by Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his 1990 book as the “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.” There is a BBC article on the physical and psychological benefits of getting into this state. Shumpei said he wanted to reach this state of mind during the firing and achieved it.

The pots that came out of the firing in September 2019.
Photo courtesy of Shumpei Yamaki

After talking to Shumpei, I also realized that I had experienced something very similar while preparing tea in chanoyu (also known as the tea ceremony – but I personally prefer this word). As I prepared the tea, my body moved exactly how it should, and I could make a bowl of tea without thinking. It took several years of learning chanoyu to experience it, but I felt ecstatic afterwards. This is one of the reasons why I am now completely hooked to tea.

Which brings me back to the earlier question: was it necessary for Shumpei to eliminate the thermometer and cones? Yes, absolutely.