Cultures of Fire

Marcus Bussey wrote a beautiful poem for DragonFire. The poem was illustrated by a young talented artist, AnnGee Neo.

In the beginning was Light!
The primordial silence was shattered
by the Big Bang
when all that is began to unfold.

After many experiments in form
Humanity emerged,
Children of the Light,
recycled star dust.

In our hands Light became Fire.
Our love of Fire gave birth to Culture.
Around the camp fire we gathered
to tell stories, cook food, share memories.
We tamed Fire and Fire tamed us.

The magic of Fire birthed
the alchemy of Culture,
and Culture lead to Technology as surely
as a seed becomes a tree.

From the intestines of the Fire
vessels emerged to hold our food,
to carry our drink, to cherish our Dead.

From the fiery furnace of the Dragon’s belly
came bricks to build homes, villages and cities.
As these things arose communities grew and flourished.
Just as we kindle the Dragon’s Fire
it gives birth to Us.

Poem by Dr. Marcus Bussey
Illustrations by AnnGee Neo

Muse

Wood firing and Thow Kwang dragon kiln is featured in MUSE!

MUSE is a quarterly publication on museum and heritage-related events by the National Heritage Board.

DragonFire at Library@Esplanade

We gave a talk, Earth, Wood & Fire: Wood firing and the Dragon Kilns in Singapore, at the Library@Esplanade during the Jubilee weekend, on the eve of National Day. All the potters came out in full force to share.

When we were planning the presentation, we didn’t want to do the usual slideshow presentation, – we wanted the audience to participate and have a hands-on experience. We decided on a round-robin format whereby the audience would move from station to station. After proposing this idea with the organisers and looking at the logistics in terms of space and layout, we had the go ahead.

We gave the round-robin presentation over the course of 1 hour. There were 3 stations, each manned by 2 or 3 potters. At Station 1, the potters gave a coiling and slab making demo; Station 2, they showed the DragonFire app, focusing on the time lapse videos and the 360 degree effects; and the potters at Station 3 with an assortment of leather-hard, bisque, wood-fired and non-wood-fired samples explained the effects of wood firing. The talk began with an introduction on the history of the ceramic industry, after which the audience would be divided into 3 groups and went to one of the stations. After 15 minutes, a bell rang and they moved to the next station. At the end (after 3 rounds), everyone assembled in the seating area again for a Question and Answer session.

Carolyn began with a brief history of the ceramics industry in S’pore

Round-robin in session

Station 1 was where everyone had a hands-on demonstration on coiling and slab making.

Tia & Tuan Yong showed how to hand-build a pot

Station 2 featured the dragonfire app focusing on the timelapse videos on pot making and wood firing effects.

Hua Hoong and Jeannette (Dezainwerkz) brought wood firing to the library space via the DragonFire app

Station 3 highlighted the wood-fired pieces and the audience was able to touch and feel them.

Yulianti, Hee Lai and Siew Kuan were at hand to answer queries on wood firing

The audience was attentive and interested in wood firing, the questions came fast and furious! A big thank you to Khoo Ee Hoon, the staff of the Esplanade and the Library@Esplanade for the opportunity to share our passion for ceramics and wood firing.

Photographs by Carolyn Lim & Chua Hee Lai

Heritage Grants Showcase

Organised by the National Heritage Board, the Heritage Grants Showcase was held at the National Museum. We shared with the public our experience in developing the Dragonfire app and its concept. Other grant recipients were also present to show their work. There was an interesting mix of projects from card games to paintings and publications. Carolyn Lim, Chia Hua Hoong, Tan Tuan Yong, Jeannette Lau, Ng Siew Kuan and Yulianti Tan were at hand to answer questions from the public.