Josef Wieser
Naturlehmkeramiker Josef Wieser
Ceramicist
Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Austria
Recommended by Meisterstrasse Handmade
Painting vessels with fire
- Josef creates his own kilns to fire his work
- His vessels are naturally glazed by the fire
- He loves working in a field of endless possibilities
When he was a 12-year-old boy, an acquaintance showed Josef Wieser how to build his first furnace and shared a book by potter Bernard Leach, sparking his first experiments with ceramics. Unable to find an apprenticeship in ceramics, Wieser went on to become one of the rare ceramicists qualified as a hafnermeister, a certified builder of tile stoves. He has been firing pottery and building kilns for over 20 years. His proudest achievement to date is his woodburning Anagam stove, which allows him to produce highly textured flameware. The unique vessels he creates were awarded the Kunsthandwerkspreis of Salzburg in 2002.
Discover his work
INTERVIEW
Most ceramicists nowadays use electrically heated kilns, which results in much more even and standardised results. Woodburning, which has been around for thousands of years, results in unmistakable traces of the process.
The vessels are directly exposed to the flickering fire. As the flames caress them, they deposit wooden ash. Combined with oxygen and minerals, it melts into natural glazes.
It is only possible to do so once a year. It takes a group effort of at least five people, and we have to work in shifts to stoke the fire for several days, feeding it wood constantly to achieve the temperatures of over 1,200 degrees.
After months of preparing the clay and the shapes, that first look into the oven after the firing is unforgettable. The materials we work with are so fragile, they require not just the mastery of fire but also the ability to deal with setbacks and disappointments.
