Visiting Artist: Jotham Hung

This is a specialty wheel-throwing course that will challenge the way you approach working on the potter’s wheel. We will explore how to use the wheel to create more complex bodies of work, including larger and more sculptural forms. Another technique that will be covered in the class is throwing off-the-hump, which involves throwing numerous pieces off a larger mound of clay. This is an economical production throwing technique that has been applied in studio pottery for centuries and originates from Japan. Participants will create their own series of chawan (tea-bowls) and yunomi (daily tea cups) using this process.

Prerequisites: Please be able to center and comfortably work with at least 2 to 3 pounds of clay. This is a class that is designed for throwers with experience.

Week 1

• Throwing “off-the-hump”
• Demo: Throwing various chawans and yunomi

• Taller Forms & Narrow Necks
• Demo: Throwing vases & narrow-necked forms

• Lidded Forms
• Demo: Making various lid types and vessels

• Moon Jars
• Demo: Throwing tall and shaping round

• Jotham Hung is a ceramic artist born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. His work explores an interplay between clay and story-telling, specifically echoing his childhood as a first generation Taiwanese-American. Jotham’s ceramic work highlights regenerative practices, utilizing remnants of what would traditionally be deemed as “waste” or “mistakes” to create a unique visual language. The surfaces of these hand-thrown forms capture fragments of broken pots, exploded pieces from the kiln, or excess material from the making process. These themes relate to the scarcity mindset that children of immigrant-parent households sometimes hold. This is especially true when perceived value within objects are dictated by certain socio-economical and hierarchal structures. Furthermore, themes of deconstruction & reconstruction, damage & repair are integrated into his work, expressing the connection between humans and art. Having over a decade of experience within the ceramics field, Jotham has taught and lectured at institutions including ArtCenter College of Design, the American Museum of Ceramic Art, and Xiem Clay Center. His work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and showrooms throughout the United States.