Heesook Ko

Ceramicist

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Shades of white

Heesook's entire family are artisans
She uses the complicated double-wall moulding process
She feels white radiates the elegant beauty of porcelain

Heesook Ko studied ceramics and won major prizes in competitions with her slip casting technique. She typically forms the basic shape using plaster mould casting and then adds her own unique touch with a spinning wheel. This is the artist’s own method of adding a sense of being finite and unique to casting work that can be reproduced endlessly. Along with partial glazing, the formative characteristic she has maintained from the beginning is the complex double-wall moulding process which was added to her repertoire as a signature design to maintain the artisan’s originality.

Interview

When did you start working on ceramics?
I applied to study ceramic art at university in 1990. It was after finishing graduate school in Japan that I started seriously. I also joined the 1999 Japan Craft Competition and won the grand prize.
What techniques do you use?
After producing the slipcast bowl I use a spinning wheel to leave traces with my hands and transform some parts. I perform high-temperature reduction firing to preserve the beauty of the unglazed white porcelain.
What do you consider the term "well made" means?
I think that good ceramics are objects in daily life that can satisfy the emotions of the user without losing its functionality. I hope users can feel the mindful moment that I felt while working on ceramics.
What does ceramics mean to you?
Ceramics makes me feel in equilibrium. There are still times when it gives me a sense of failure but this has become a part of my life, not just as an expression of material. The routine of repetitive work is sometimes difficult, but white porcelain produced from a long labour portrays great beauty.

Heesook Ko is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1990