well, i have three weeks left here in thailand before i must go to bali, and have to admit i am somewhat disappointed with my progress so far. from what i had gathered from communicating with a man named luis katz, an art professor at one of the texas universities, and from research there at hamilton library, i was under the impression that there was quite a few traditional potteries left here in the chiang mai area. so far all my efforts have resulted in is a refutation of that understanding. it appears as if all the traditional potteries in the chiang mai, lampang, sukhothai, and sawankolok areas have been run out of business by the large industrial factories. the only place i have been able to discover so far that may have something to do with traditional pottery is a place called ban chien, 10-15 hours drive though the east of here. however, even this place is industrialized and merely produces replicas of traditional vessel shapes on a mass scale.

it is interesting to see the production technology they have here. in the larger factories they are using very advanced technology, using conveyer belts, rotating dryers, speed jiggers, and specialized kiln track systems along with press molding and slip casting. most of these factories wont even let me take photos due to their fear of industrial espionage. it is a very closed society, and i don't know if they will ever let me in for a closer look. i feel i may have better luck in indonesia as i speak the language, and the culture there is more open and friendly, though i have my hesitations there as well.

i have a dinner meeting tonight at 7:00 pm with the owner of another factory who is also an art teacher at the chiang mai university. i am hoping this connection will be more fruitful than the others. if this fails i still have the connections supin gave me; although i am not certain those will be fruitful as none of them are directly connected to ceramics. i am hoping that if all else fails i will be able to find somewhere that will allow me some studio time to work and make things of my own. i know this was not the focus of my research. i had wanted to explore mythological and cultural connections to the traditional ceramics production. however, with only three weeks left and not much luck in that direction it may be my last resort. there is also a possibility i could get in on a workshop with a japanese artist who is expected to arrive sometime in the next couple of weeks. i have not been able to learn the details of this yet, but am still viewing it as a possibility. regarding my recent trip to lampang:

May 29, 1999

indra ceramics is a large scale exporter of functional tableware ceramics founded in 1977. this is where bum, supin's friend, took us upon first arriving in here in lampang. the factory easily would fill a football field with a daily output of 10,000 pieces. no photos were allowed to be taken workers earn approximately 150-200 baht a day. there was one artist in residence, though unavailable for interview, who produced some sculptural vessels and painted platter. they mix there own clays and glazes from both local materials and industry standard materials such as we use in hawaii. they even use the same names as us. they use a highly efficient system of conveyer belts with jiggers, press molds, etc., and use dryers to dry the pieces and molds all in one process. there were approximately 400 workers at the factory. they have a highly developed trolley system to load and unload the kilns which run off of lpg (liquid petroleum gas).

after indra ceramics we went to the classic chicken bowl factory, famous for its bowls decorated with a red rooster this factory has been open since 1965. it was rumored there was an anagama kiln, locally called a dragon kiln, at this factory though we were unable to ascertain as such when we visited there, as we were only able to locate the shop and no one was able to help us find the factory. this was probably due again to fear of espionage, and not a real inability to help. thus, we never saw the anagama kiln. the only non-gas fired kiln known of in the area.

the third pottery visited was the most productive in terms of information gathered. they let me take photos of the whole process from production through glazing, and mold making. One of the stories i got out of them was about there version of making kiln gods. every monday, the first day of the week, the owner of the factory performs a ritual where she places flowers, candles and incense on the top center of the kiln door. she then kneels and chants prayers to ensure the success and safety of the kiln and the whole factory. the chanting is followed by three prostration replicating the prostrations performed at any buddhist festival or ritual here in thailand. every six months she holds a big celebration and feast offering some chickens or a pigs head as a sacrifice to the kiln. i am uncertain, but from what i gathered they cremate the offering in the kiln. to provide spiritual protection. i got the location of several other pottery centers, all of which are industrial, no traditional centers are left, or are known.

i also learned of a large scale research facility funded with quite a few millions of dollars by the japanese. lampang area is a major exporter of kaolinite to the rest of thailand and asia as well. the manager let me take photos of everything, especially interesting was the coil weaving, non-tradional though it was, done by hand with mechanically extruded coils.

the only reason i was able to get as much information as a did was that bum's wife nuay is good friends with the wife of the manager. if it weren't for this they easily could have been as hostile as the other factories.

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well, this is my progress so far. i will keep you informed as time goes on. if all my efforts fail here in the next two weeks i may skip the third week and go directly to indonesia to give me more time in an environment which potentially might be more fruitful. i have only been able to take a few photographs so far, but am working on that as well. please let me know what your thoughts are so far, and if you have any advice.

ryan