Established maker: David Wright
Making method: Coiling. Wright’s pieces include many that one might assume at first glance had been made using another technique entirely - small square boxes initially look slab-built, and his beautiful fluted vessels one might think had been thrown and altered. When looking closer, however, the fineness and exactness of each piece evinces a truly meticulous and exacting making process.
Glazes/surfaces: nuka; shino, sometimes applied more thinly to obtain an almost lustrous orange which is at once striking and has a strong natural quality - reminiscent of the glowing embers of a fire.
Firing method: Wood-firing. Wanting his work to be marked with visible fly-ash, Wright explained that he in fact adds extra ash to the kiln during firing.
Above: this hemispherical cup form with a tall, stand-like foot is one of Wright’s most immediately recognisable - he explained it was one he has been making longest. Whilst those pictured were relatively small, others were on a far bigger scale. These small ones reminded me of the ‘rider’s cup’ type chawan.
Above: tiny dainty vases on Wright’s stall; I bought the third along on the front row, which is glazed with a thinly-applied shino, which has come out in a pearly-metallic lustre.
At the top left of the image is a larger version of Wright’s hemispherical cup; and top right are some of Wright’s beautiful spiral-fluted vases.