{"id":2455,"date":"2014-09-06T20:21:46","date_gmt":"2014-09-06T11:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-09-06\/2455"},"modified":"2014-09-06T20:21:46","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T11:21:46","slug":"gargoyle-tile-workshop-visit-part-2-crafting-the-clay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-09-06\/2455","title":{"rendered":"Gargoyle-Tile Workshop Visit Part 2: Crafting the Clay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 52mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe Devil's In the Details<\/span>\ntemple-roof demon end-piece tile during fabrication\nat the Minobe Onigawara Workshop (\u7f8e\u6fc3\u9089\u9b3c\u74e6\u5de5\u623f)<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Picking up from yesterday's “<\/span>Gargoyle-Tile Workshop Visit Part 1: Factory Tour<\/a>”<\/span>,\nwe'll look a bit<\/span> on how these complex decorative tiles are made.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 26mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOld and New<\/span>\nMr. Minabe shows a current replication project\n( his father is the current head of household )\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 26mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHigh-Tech Methods<\/span>\neverything is done by hand\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

These are essentially pottery, so crafting is “<\/span>simple”<\/span>: create the shape\nyou want out of clay, let it air dry for a few<\/span> months, then fire it in a kiln<\/span> for 30\nhours at a bazillion<\/span> degrees.<\/p>\n\n

It's not that simple, of course. First off, with the lead time to the\nfinal firing measured in months, they can't afford to have pieces crack in\nthe kiln, so they've developed crafting and firing techniques that\ncompletely avoids cracks. I didn't<\/span> realize how extraordinary this was until\nsomeone else on the tour who happened to be a potter<\/span> exclaimed her\nshock. Apparently some loss during firing is always expected.<\/p>\n\n

Another complication is that the clay shrinks about 13% when fired, so\nthey have to take that into account when building a replacement<\/span> piece whose\nfinal size must exactly match the original. They deal with this 13% shrinkage\n(building everything 13% larger) day in and day out, so after a lifetime<\/span> it must all be second nature.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 31mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIn Need of a Fang<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

It's perhaps difficult to tell in the photo above, but the fang in the\nnear-side edge of the mouth is missing in the version being crafted. As part of<\/span> the tour, Mr. Minobe showed a bit<\/span> how he models the clay, and in doing so added\nthat fang...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMold the Shape by Hand<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

This is probably the most difficult part, especially for someone like me\nwithout an artistic bone in my body. He's got to<\/span>\nget the general shape, 13% larger than the final desired size.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 62mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPreparing to Attach<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

To create a good bond, he places rough groves in the clay using\nthe fork-like tool<\/a> that was the subject of my recent “<\/span>What am I?”<\/span> quiz<\/a>. A lot of<\/span> people guessed the fork-like tool had something to do with clay, but no one had the proper answer that it's for scoring a surface<\/span> to be attached to another surface.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Another bad photo, sorry, but if you look carefully you can see the fang has been attached. He's then using<\/span> another tool to smooth part of the brow.<\/p>\n\n

Of course, this is just the roughing in of the basic shape. I'm sure there<\/span>'s quite a bit<\/span> of work and artistry to get\nthe final sculpture ready for the kiln, 13% larger than the actual target size.<\/p>\n\n

Here's a closeup of yesterday's\n“<\/span>Massive Tile Awaiting the Kiln<\/a>”<\/span>...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBabyface<\/span>\n
Vertical Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n\n\n1050×<\/span>1680<\/a>  ·  1200×<\/span>1920<\/a>  ·  1600×<\/span>2560<\/a><\/small><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOld and New<\/span>\nreplacement reproduction (background) air drys before heading to the kiln\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

At one point while allowed some free time to wander around the workshop, I noticed<\/span> the current head of the household, Kei-ich Minobe, working on a\nproject.<\/span> As it happens<\/span>, he was about to attach a strip<\/span> of clay to a work<\/span> in\nprogress, so he was just starting to score the clay with the aforementioned\nfork-like tool...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nScoring the Strip to be Added<\/span>\nthe Mozart of clay\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nScoring the Attach Point<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMaster Craftsman Kei-ichi Minobe At Work<\/span>\n\u7f8e\u6fc3\u9089\u60e0\u4e00\u3055\u3093\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

He was the subject of episode #57 in the NHK TV “<\/span>Professional”<\/span> series, in 2007<\/a>.\nI've found it on the web here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\u7f8e\u6fc3\u9089\u3055\u3093\u306fNHK\u306e\u756a\u7d44\u300c\u30d7\u30ed\u30d5\u30a7\u30c3\u30b7\u30e7\u30ca\u30eb \u4ed5\u4e8b<\/span>\u306e\u6d41\u5100\u300d<\/span>\u3067\u51fa\u6f14<\/span>\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f<\/a>\u3002\u300c\u9b3c\u5e2b<\/span> \u7f8e\u6fc3\u9089\u60e0\u4e00\u300d<\/span><\/a>\u3002<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPlacing the New Piece<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPressing It Firm<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStrengthening The “<\/span>Weld”<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

As I mentioned in the previous post, my visit to the workshop was as a\nguinea<\/span> pig during a test<\/span> run of Tour du Lac Biwa's “<\/span>Special\nJapanese Gargoyle Workshop and Hot Spring Tour<\/a>”<\/span>. I also got<\/span> to do the\nother parts of the tour (all for free!), except we had to cut the\nhot-spring visit short because a typhoon<\/span> was coming in and we worried that\nthe train line would shut down, and I had<\/span> to be home for a late<\/span>-afternoon\nappointment that I couldn't<\/span> take a chance<\/span> on missing.<\/p>\n\n

I've much else to post from this tour, and from other tours I got<\/span> to\ntake part in. Sadly, a lingering<\/span> cold this week caused me to miss a\ntour<\/span> that involved zip-lining and kayaking. Maybe next time!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picking up from yesterday's \"Gargoyle-Tile Workshop Visit Part 1: Factory Tour\", we'll look a bit on how these complex decorative tiles are made.<\/p>

These are essentially pottery, so crafting is \"simple\": create the shape you want out of clay, let it air dry for a few months, then fire it in a kiln for 30 hours at a bazillion degrees.<\/p>

It's not that simple, of course. First off, with the lead time to the final firing measured in months, they can't afford to have pieces crack in the kiln, so they've developed crafting and firing techniques that completely avoids cracks. [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}