POTTERY-MAKING IS characterised by the transformation of soil. But this is only one half of the equation, says master potter Ooi Woi Leong of Penang Pottery Centre (PPC). The other half is the production process – pottery-firing in particular requires methodical planning and no small amount of teamwork.
Ooi was originally scheduled to host an exhibition of Penang-style pottery (Dao Shang Shao, 島上燒) during the George Town Festival last July, but MCO stalled the event, and the clay items – now bone dry[1] – began to collect…
Firing[2] only took place as recently as February this year. It took Ooi and other PPC members more than eight hours to transfer all clay objects of every shape and size to Balik Pulau's Artopia – where a wood-fired kiln stands. This was built in 2019 and is the only one of its kind found in northern Malaysia. They had to carefully position each of the clay pieces for maximum heat while ensuring that the items were fitted onto appropriately-sized kiln cookies.[3]
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