A Visit to a Dragon in Singapore!
Please enjoy this encore blog posting!
On day three in Singapore, Sophie, Memrie, and I got an early start and met up with the television crew at TK Pottery Jungle. TK stands for Thow Kwang, or Pottery and Prosperity in English, and is home to one of the last dragon kilns in Singapore. This behemoth kiln measures 130-feet long, 16-feet wide and contains three main parts – a front firing chamber, the main chamber where ceramic pieces to be fired are placed, and a chimney at the tail end where smoke is emitted. When it is lit and glowing, the kiln resembles an irate fire-breathing dragon. Fired just twice a year, I was thrilled to have the honor of lighting the kiln during our visit.
Upon arrival, we were met by Yulianti Oey and her husband, Tan Teck Yoke, who is a second-generation potter in Singapore. His father was the founder of the TK industry and Tan Teck Yoke inherited the family business when his father passed away. I hope you will enjoy this little tour of TK Pottery Jungle.
1 Here I am with Yulianti Oey as she explains to me how this magnificent dragon kiln works.
2 I was very honored because I was invited to light the enormous Dragon Kiln.
3 To fire up the 130-foot kiln, mounds of wood are required!
4 This behemoth kiln is fired only twice a year.
5 This dragon kiln was built in 1940 and it is capable of firing up to 5,000 individual pieces of ceramic works in one session!
6 Before each lighting of the kiln, a sacred Taoist prayer ceremony is held. This is an offering of roasted duck and pork and fresh fruit.
7 Yulianti Oey passes the religious offerings to her husband Tan Teck Yoke.
8 The offerings are placed on the kiln's alter, honoring the God of the Kiln.
9 Tan Teck Yoke adjusting the alter
10 More offerings for the ceremony
11 Mary Ann and Frankie always work hard to get interesting camera angles. The heat was oppressive that day and the kiln had not yet been lit!
12 Here I am preparing to light the kiln.
13 The flame comes from one sacred candle, used in the Taoist ceremony.
14 Igniting the wood
15 Then, Tan Teck Yoke lit some ceremonial incense.
16 After the initial lighting, the TK staff got busy loading more wood into the kiln.
17 Meanwhile, the crew was taping.
18 The fire quickly grew.
19 Soon after lighting, smoke began to seep through the expansion cracks of the kiln.
20 As the fire intensifies, the kiln actually begins to glow, causing its long shape to look just like a raging fire-blowing dragon.
21 Pots are loaded into the kiln through a number of entrances, which are seal off before the kiln is lit.
22 Here's a diagram of the dragon kiln.
23 A potter busy at work creating a rather large piece
24 This is very physical work as this potter's wheel is powered by leg strength.
25 A smaller electric wheel
26 And another
27 There is a pottery school at TK Pottery.
28 Glazes and tools of the trade
29 Here are some interesting pots made by the students.
30 Clay being readied for the wheel
31 Clay for other projects
32 A very beautiful abstract vase fired previously in the kiln
33 More pottery creations on display
34 The shop is located in an adjacent building.
35 A personal TK collection on display
36 This sign is warning visitors not to feed the many monkeys located around TK Pottery. They are wild and can be dangerous.
37 A view of the store - It is very large.
38 TK has collaborated with renowned pottery and porcelain-works in China and Taiwan to develop and transfer traditional and Chinese ceramic artistry to Singapore.
39 They also sell non-ceramic items, such as these carved marble dragons.
40 And these colorful stones
41 We liked how this giant wooden wheel was made into display shelving.
42 These are ornate ceremonial pieces.
43 Buddhas and such
44 A view of the shop taken from the second floor
45 Here I am with Yulianti Oey and Tan Teck Yoke.
46 Signing a book for Tan Teck Yoke and Yulianti's daughter and her friend
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Martha, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | January 2nd, 2013 at 5:16 am
Hi Martha, Thank you so much for sharing this blog about that "Dragon in Singapore"! Absolutely remember seeing it before and it was so much fun to see it again! I remember seeing the video on your great TV Show, also, and certainly miss it like crazy! Having taken pottery classes way back in the late 1950s and making lots of pottery in college was one of my favorite things! I still have a beautiful pottery with a lid that I won a blue ribbon for in a contest! I recall seeing you making pottery in other videos and you were great, also! These photos and comments are absolutely wonderful and inspiring! You looked so beautiful in all of your photos and it was easy to see how much fun you were having and I love seeing these photos over and over again! Thank you so much for your wonderful tweets about your New Years Eve delightful time in NYC! Hope you are having another great day and Happy New Year to you and all of these great followers! Off to see The Daily Wag about "A Surprise in Our Toybox!" Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | January 2nd, 2013 at 9:33 am
I read a comment in a previous blog that indicated this dragon kiln was going to be destroyed to build apartment blocks. I don't know if that meant city blocks or literally blocks for apartments. Either way, I find that very sad and in this case, I don't think progress is a good thing. Let tradition prevail and I'm hoping they will build or have already built apartments somewhere else! Trish
Posted by: Trish | January 2nd, 2013 at 9:41 am