The Alchemy of Obvara
Simply put, we love ceramics; the tactile craft, history, beauty and usefulness that all make it such an amazing artform. Local Oconomowoc artist Lee Halweg is featured in the shop, along with several other makers. What originally drew us to his work happened through his first visit. We got to talking, and the next thing you know, we found ourselves visiting Lee and his wife June’s home, toured his studio, heard his story and fell in love with the work.
“It’s a magical process, and one that never ceases to surprise us. ”
Obvara (pronounced ab-vara is one of the several glazing techniques Lee has finely honed, and is sometimes known as "Baltic raku.” It originated in Eastern Europe in around the 12th century, and is known today as "hardened ceramics" or "blackened pots" in Latvia, "sourdough pottery" or "yeast pottery" in Lithuania, and "scalded ceramics" in Russia.
The magic begins of course with Lee’s exquisitely thrown and/or hand-built pieces. After bisque firing the pieces, a mixture of water, flour, yeast and sugar is fermented for three days. Lee’s hand-built high-fire kiln is taken to 1570 to 1652 degrees fahrenheit, and pieces are loaded in. Once the pieces reach temperature, they are carefully removed with steel tongs and the Obvara fermented mixture is poured over the hot pieces. Almost instantly, the surface comes to life in smoky blacks, honey browns and subtle charcoal grays. This magical reaction happens through a chemical bonding that takes place when heat, clay and the organic material in the Obvara collide. The pieces are then quickly submerged in water to immediately halt the chemical process and cooled.
From there Lee cleans the pieces with water and and a light abrasive cloth and set again to dry. He then waxes each piece with museum quality Renaissance wax, which creates an almost buttery luster that seals the piece. The whole process is truly a form of alchemy; some aspects are highly controlled, while others are completely random in how the colors, patterns and values emerge.
