Focus on development of and immersion in Korean techniques for building large items on the wheel.

Dates: March 10–14, 2025; each day from 10:00 to 17:30 CET 

Location: LerKalaset, Boeletvej 29, 8680 Ry, Denmark

Teaching hours: Morning session from 10:00 to 13:00; one-hour lunch break; afternoon session from 14:00 to 17:30.

Number of masterclass enrollments: 10 

Enrollment fee: DKK 20970 / € 2810 (including 25 % VAT)

In this intensive multi-day masterclass, master Kwak Kyung Tae shares and teaches the traditional Korean Onggi making techniques in a concise format. 

This masterclass welcomes those who desire to make larger work but may be intimidated by throwing large on the wheel. For those who have tried or currently use handbuilding in their work, but desire a fresh set of skills, a faster workflow or want to diversify their skillset, this masterclass is for you.

No matter how many days or decades of experience you have, you will find Onggi to be a new and fulfilling learning experience that connects you further with clay as a medium. The direct contact with the clay and forming methods will awaken in you an ancient feeling of connection as each of these motions and techniques have been practiced unchanged for thousands of years, passed down through generations.

Also included with the masterclass ticket:

• stoneware clay, chosen especially for Onggi

• Korean handmade tools to use during the class and take home afterwards (4 wooden tools, 2 metal ribs, 1 shammy tool). Normal price 300 €

• lunch and snacks

• coffee/tea

• access to the studio before and after sessions: The LerKalaset studio and its facilities will be open before the morning session from 07:30 and again in the evening from 18:30 to 22:00 for all Masterclass participants to use freely.

If you wish one or more items to be fired and glazed, this is agreed and settled separately with LerKalaset. Fired items must be collected at LerKalaset.

Learning Korean Onggi making techniques

Onggi is a method for making large pieces quickly and efficiently, born out of the folklife necessities of Korea – used for all sorts of functional purposes like culinary fermentation, food storage, and general containers for daily life.

Many ancient traditions share similar approaches to making large jars from clay, but the Korean Onggi techniques are perhaps the fastest and most elegant collection of skills for making large jars that are still practiced today. Neither a wheel throwing method nor a pure handbuilding method, Onggi requires a unique set of techniques that although difficult to learn, allow the maker to create a jar of any scale with the highest efficiency of movement.

Participants will learn and study each step in this beautiful process from stretching the clay into coils (taryeom), making the base (ba-dak), coiling up the wall (taryeom-jil), to the paddling (surae-jil), shaping, rim making, etc. We will also discuss traditional glaze and firing methods for this type of ware.

Topics covered and practiced during the five-day Masterclass:

• Regional influences, i.e. how geographical limitations influenced subtleties of form and making techniques

• Clay sourcing, storage, and preparation for making Onggi, historical and contemporary approaches

• Practical method to stretch coils (Taryeom) on the table from a block of clay

• Making the base disc and compressing it flat with the pang-mang-i (wooden striking tool)

• Coiling process (Taryeom-jil), simultaneously attaching the coil and creating height in the wall of the piece in a rhythmic set of micro techniques that become one collective movement

• Paddling the form (Surae-jil) using wooden tools inside and outside to compress, thin, and shape the form on the wheel

• Final Shaping (Geun-gae-jil) using metal rib tools for smoothing the surface while altering the line of the final form.

• Rim forming and refining using a traditional long shammy cloth (Jeon-tae)

• Scribing of lines and decorative motifs, historical significance and their role in
  accentuating form

• Lifting the freshly made Onggi off the wheel with traditional cloth method

• Kwak’s interpretation of traditional Onggi techniques in his artistic practice, along with an invitation to using traditional tools and techniques to inspire new ways of thinking and working.

Practical information regarding transport and accommodation:

If you need accommodation close to the studio, we recommend Knudhule Badehotel https://knudhule.dk/ or Lyng Dal Hotel https://www.lyngdal-hotel.dk/english .

If you arrive by car, there is free parking in connection with the studio. If you travel by public transport, there are trains and buses from Aarhus to Ry. From Billund and Aarhus airports, Pick-up can be arranged for €60 or a taxi for around €130. Alternatively and cheaper options are bus and train from both airports.

Registration takes place upon payment.

Once you have received the order confirmation per email, you are registered for the Masterclass. The invoice you receive per email shortly thereafter is valid as your ticket. (Note that both order confirmation and invoice will be issued in the Danish language). Your registration is binding. Refund or exchange will only take place in the event that LerKalaset reschedules or cancels the dates. You may sell your ticket if you are prevented from participating. If so, please inform LerKalaset of the name and email address of the new participant.