The hands behind the studio

Ten years of working with clay, from the first wobbly thrown bowl to wood-fired installations. This page is a record of that path: the kilns I have built and fired, the glazes that failed before they worked, and the quiet decisions that shape every piece that leaves the studio.

LJ

Li Jun Liang

Ceramic Artist & Studio Potter

Independent studio practice based in Pretoria, working across sculptural vessels, functional tableware, and site-specific installations.

Member since2014

Studio locationPretoria, GP

Workshops held18

Account Overview

Your profile, studio records, and recent activity in one place.

Active member

Projects

24

Documented works

Exhibitions

9

Regional galleries

Shop items

12

One-off pieces

Recent Activity

New piece added to shop

Ash-glazed stoneware mug, wood-fired

2 days ago

Workshop completed

Beginner hand-building, 6 participants

1 week ago

Exhibition documented

Clay Memory installation, Gauteng

3 weeks ago

Studio timeline

A running record of firings, exhibitions, and workshop days that shape the practice. Dates are kept loose on purpose; what matters is the sequence of experiments and the lessons each one left behind.

October 2024

Wood firing at the downdraft kiln

A six-day firing with eucalyptus wood from a local sawmill. The ash glaze series came out with heavier deposits than expected, especially on the shoulder of the tall vessels. Notes from this run changed how I stack the kiln for the next season.

August 2024

Group show at the Pretoria Art Museum

Three sculptural vessels from the ash glaze series were included in a regional ceramics survey. The curator placed them next to a collection of historical stoneware, which made the surface textures read differently than in the studio.

May 2024

Beginner hand-building workshop series

A four-week Saturday class covering pinch pots, coil building, and slab work. Twelve participants finished the course, and three have since returned for open studio sessions. The format will run again in early 2025.

February 2024

Porcelain carving experiments

Started a new body of work with translucent porcelain and low-relief botanical carving. The first batch of plates warped in the glaze firing, so I adjusted the clay recipe and the drying pace. The current collection comes from the second and third attempts.

November 2023

Artist talk at the Pretoria Art Association

A short talk on the relationship between throwing technique and surface finish, with a live demonstration of trimming a foot ring. The audience questions focused on how I source local clays and why I keep some pieces unglazed.

July 2023

Site visit to the decommissioned brick factory

The first visit to what would become the Clay Memory installation. I collected clay samples from the old pug mill area and spent the afternoon photographing the kiln ruins. The material connection to the site shaped the whole project.

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