Japanese Lacquering

[q9]

Been a while since I've posted anything interesting, but on the 30th I will be going to a lacquering course in Osaka. I'll be going about 4 or 5 times over about 2 months. I am told this is the traditional style, using more traditional materials. Should be interesting. If I learn anything interesting I'll report back.

[Christos]

Should be reporting back because you are going on a course that most might not be able to attend. :U:U

[Evanism]

I'm extremely interested to know this. Please do tell us once you know.

[q9]

Schedule conflicts so starting Jan 25 instead. Stay tuned!

[Christos]

Noted.

And will do. :)

[q9]

In the mean time google wajima nuri :)

[q9]

Well I made it to the lesson yesterday. It was held at the NHK Culture Centre and I was by a fair margin the youngest person there. Not a lot to report yet, I did a little sanding - they pre-seal some items for you to work on with a mix of lacquer and...soy? not sure. Acts like a sanding sealer. Put one coat on some surfaces, go back in a month to do a bit more...but it might be possible for me to get some extra private lessons from the teacher. He must be reasonably well known as he said he was commissioned by Onkyo to do a job on a set of speakers...I take it they were a one off or for someone special. When I get a bit of time, I'll photograph the tools and give a brief description what they are used for (though I don't know what they are all for at the moment). Stay tuned...

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

(Pulls up comfy chair and settles in...)

[fletty]

......tuned AND listening!

fletty

[q9]

Ok, I've been a little busy, and a bit slack, but here are a couple of photos from my second lesson. Points worthy of note:
Sanding starts with 240…then first coat of lacquer goes on; and we pay a lot of attention to making sure there isn't a huge build up in the corners; thirdly we pay attention to which side of our dish we take lacquer from and wipe excess out of the brush in just one spot to prevent dust getting all through the lacquer.

Heres sime of the tools and things i am doing. Wooden handled brush made with human hair...

340872340873

[jabell]

Ok, I've been a little busy, and a bit slack, but ....

You still in Osaka? I'd be interested in how it went, though I understand the difficulty of posting whilst away. i've been to Osaka many times, and know it reasonably well. Never thought to do any wood oriented courses though. Don't miss the Hanshin Department Store Food Hall next to Umeda Station. It is one of the wonders of the world!

[q9]

Yep still here. Though handgun depaato is shut down I believe...

[jabell]

Yep still here. Though handgun depaato is shut down I believe...

Shutdown? Really? It is a mega-store, part of the Japan-wide Hanshin Railway company. Their website is still active, here:- http://www.hanshin-dept.jp/hshonten/english/index.html/
so my guess it is still there.

[q9]

Yeah, I don't know. On google maps it says permanently closed...next time I'm in Umeda I'll wander down.

[q9]

Here are my notes from today:

After sanding we wipe pieces with tack cloth prior to applying the finish.
Cleaning the brush - squish the brush in the lacquer and wipe it on the side of the dish/bowl to get dust out of the brush. Use one area of the bowl for that purpose.
To apply finish, dip brush in a clean area of the bowl, and wipe excess off on a different side to that used above.
Any dust in the finish, brush it out, long strokes to the end or stab the brush into the surface to get it out and then clean the brush as described above.

Aside from that, the first coat was rubbed down with 400 wet and dry, with a bit of water. Not crazy, just to get a lot of the high tops flattened off. Its a multi-layer process, so no need for super perfect finish at this point.

That's it for now.

[q9]

Ok, time for an update...getting near the end for these pieces. I realise this has been a bit light on photos, so here's a couple to tide you over:

First one is kinda everything as I started the day, the other is the chopsticks finished off with some silver powder - putting it on is a bit like when you see the forensics dusting for prints. First up, you mask off the area you want to silver, then use a bit of foam sponge a very thin coat of lacquer by dabbing it. Then do all your other work, as it should be 80-90% dry before applying the silver.

Silver this time to practice, maybe next time I'll use gold. Fairly steep difference in price - Silver is Y650/gram, Gold is Y9000/gram. Not sure the final stage for the chopsticks, but probably a coat of clear.

[q9]

Err...didn't realise I'd gone a year without an update...:B

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All black finish, with silver powdered pictures. My technique is getting better, and I must be doing something right with my brushing cause Sensei is always commenting on it. It's probably not so exciting in terms of techniques or anything, about the only notable thing to mention is the serving tray had to be treated lightly to retain the texture and not end up over filling the grain. You can do some cool things with multiple layers of alternating colours and sanding through, but I wanted a matching set...and can honestly say this is pretty close to what I had in mind for the final product. In fact it was inspired when I was walking out from work one evening, and saw the moon in amongst some clouds. I took a photo of it, and thought "I'm going to make that my next urushi project". That may be the most Japanese thing I've ever done... Anyhow, went home and drew it up in my sketch book, and 8-10 months later...

[woodPixel]

An outstanding process and completely fascinating.

This is a video showing the entire process and some background A tradition of Japan - Wajima-nuri - YouTube (http://youtu.be/vmJdxLe36oU)

The speech overlay is hideously offensive and typically ra-ra American, but it's well made.

[q9]

Yeah, Wajima is kinda famous, and at the high end of it.

Mind you, there is no part of this that is "cheap". If I was back in Aus, with my lathe and tools, I could maybe make my own bowls etc. But each of those rice bowls is like Y2000, and I think I paid Y4500 for the tray. And then I paid for the lessons, materials, etc. My guesstimate is I've spent about $500+ on that set. Mind you a large portion of that goes to the NHK Culture Centre for some reason, it would be much cheaper if I had all the gear here to do it. There is a supply shop in Kyoto I need to go and visit, which I will do sometime...soon? If anyone is interested let me know...it may be possible for me to start sending some of this stuff back.

[q9]

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This is showing how raw urushi is applied to the silvered section. Basically wiped on with a bit of rag, then the excess is wiped off. As it appears I can finally post pics from my phone, I will see about adding some more.

[q9]

Raw urushi in a bowl:
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Showing it applied to silvered section:

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Before all that, applying masked you patterns:
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Then silvered:
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