Ken Lu in residence
Ken is the Education Manager of Pottery Workshop Education Center in
Jingdezhen, China. He has a studio provided by the company where he makes functional
wares and slab build work. Besides the different methods of construction, he researches into
Shino glazes and kilns.
I have built 5 hard brick kilns to date in China and in the US. Wood firing does not only embody stoking, flames, reduction, types of wood, etc but it needs the firer to have a good understanding of the kiln design to obtain optimum effect from the firing. My interest in this residency is to network and gain more knowledge not only about wood firing but also about simplistic forms from artist such as Nancy Fuller. Moreover, in Jingdezhen (the porcelain city of China), there are about 300 smokeless cross draft kilns(Kusakabe Smokeless kilns) and I feel there are tons of other design kilns which can obtain far more enriching effects than the smokeless cross draft that I have come across. This will aid in my teaching career and making an educational impact in China. Last but not least, of course, to build my own kiln in the future.
Ken Lu