4-Day Korean Onggi Masterclass w/ Kwak Kyung

• 6 hours of daily practice and tutelage with Teacher Kwak
• High-quality stoneware clay
  
• A comprehensive tool set valued at $400 for each student, including 4 wooden tools, 2 metal ribs, and 1 shammy tool
  
• Translation by Teacher Kwak’s apprentice
  
• Basic communal tools (feel free to bring your own)
  
• Snacks, coffee, and tea available throughout the day

• 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
  
• Teacher 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
  

Complete Beginners: No prior ceramic experience required.

Detail-Oriented Artisans: Perfect for potters who wish to acquire new skills, streamline their workflow, or diversify their techniques.

Teens & Adults (13+): Open to anyone aged 13 and over (note: participants under 16 must be accompanied by an adult who is also enrolled).

Price: $3499 per student (Includes a $400 set of tools for each student to keep)

*** Kindly note; 50% of the tuition ($1750) will be required to secure your spot in this Masterclass, and will be refundable up to 1st Febuary 2027. Remaining 50% tuition fees will be required by 1st Febuary 2027, and is not refundable after this date.

Time & Date: 26th - 29th March 2027 / 9am - 4pm (1 Hour lunch break each day)

Skill Level: Beginner - Advanced (No prior experience needed)

Location: ClayGround Brookvale (11 Mitchell Rd)

To Bring: Students to supply their own lunch/snack (we have a kitchen with a fridge and microwave)

Finished Output: one large Onggi piece

Firing Note: Firing service is not included; if you wish to fire your pieces at the studio, an additional fee will apply based on the weight of the item ($10 per kilo per firing).

A fascination with large Onggi vessels and the rough simplicity of Korean slipware led Kwak Kyung-tae to develop his own voice in clay. He works exclusively in 옹기 (Onggi) and 분청 (Buncheong), taking his inspiration from the traditions of the Korean peninsula of his birth, particularly during the Joseon dynasty, and applying them in a modern context. His work is resonant of nature’s forms and structures through wheel-thrown and altered work, often including spontaneous marks and gestural brushwork on large pots. His works evoke a balance of the crude and the sublime power of nature’s imperfection, in large and small scale work. The austerity of his style is born from an honest, tacit relationship with clay developed and mastered over a lifetime. He has held solo and group exhibitions throughout East Asia and Europe. His pieces are sold in galleries and shops in Europe, Asia, and the USA.