Sam Chung

Glazing the Pottery Form

Course Description
As potters we often ask ourselves, how can we address glazing in a way that is specific to each pottery shape? We will discuss glazing techniques for different forms, including the use of resists (wax, latex, and tape). Visual presentations of contemporary and historical examples will augment our discussions. Participants will bring their own bisque ware (must be clay you know to be appropriate for a cone ten firing) to be glazed. Pots will be fired at cone ten in both reduction and soda/salt firings.

Though our week’s primary focus will be on glazing, during the firing and cooling days we will focus on the design of the pitcher form. There will be demonstrations on slab construction techniques for bodies, handles, and spouts, including ways of making hollow slab-built handles and coil-formed handles. Participants will have the opportunity to experiment during the firing and cooling days with these techniques and forms. Kilns will be unloaded Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Skill Level
Participants should be potters with bisqued pots to bring for glazing.

Artist's Biography
Sam Chung was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1970. He received his MFA from Arizona State University in 1997 and BA from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota in 1988. He taught at Northern Michigan University from 1998-2007 and is currently teaching ceramics in the Herberger College School of Art at Arizona State University.

Exhibitions: Cervini Haas, AKAR, Dubuque Museum of Fine Art, Sherry Leedy, Santa Fe Clay, Lacoste, Taipei County Yingge Museum and Incheon World Ceramic Center.

Collections: Everson Museum of Art, Incheon World Ceramic Center (Korea), Guldagergaard (Denmark), University of Arkansas and ASU Ceramics Research Center.

Residencies: Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Watershed, Guldagergaard (Denmark).

Chung's work has been included in the following publications: Contemporary Ceramics (Susan Peterson), The Art of Contemporary American Pottery (Kevin Hluch), The Complete Guide to High Fire Glazes (John Britt), Works by Ceramic Artists From Around the World (Fu Ziying), and Masters of Porcelain (Lark). In addition, Chung has presented numerous lectures and workshops both nationally and internationally.

Artist's Statement
My work is a continuous investigation of functional pottery form and the multiple layers of information that it can contain. I am interested in a pot’s ability to contain not only physical matter, but also elements of history, memory, familiarity, and suggestion. My desire is to create pottery that reflects preciousness without aloofness. The historical pots from China, Korea, and England have been some of my favorite and possess eclectic attributes of formality, humor, animation, and elegance. These are all qualities that I hope to impart in my work.

I also have a strong reverence for architectural form, both old and new, in its concern for geometry, space, and containment. Many of my forms come from a memory of places, the structures built there, and their prevailing sensibilities. Others are inspired by elements of contemporary design, both mundane and exotic, and how they affect the way we consider using handmade pottery today. Ultimately, I want my work to incite curiosity through simultaneous perceptions of clear familiarity and vague reminiscence.