Wayne Ngan Decorative techniques

Below is a broad and general categorization of some characteristic ways Mr. Ngan decorated his work. While for collectors of his work you can tell a Ngan pot by its form alone, his decorative techniques are another clear telltale sign that a piece is his. Below are some examples you may find helpful.

Hakeme

Hakeme means "brush stroke" in Japanese but it is a technique that was first developed in Korea as a means of adhering white slip to a clay body. ​It is the technique of applying a coat of slip with a hard bristled brush to a piece of pottery. Brushes can be made from a variety of materials such as broom corn or rice straw. 
​According to Doris Shadboldt, the curator of Mr. Ngan's solo exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1979, he first saw examples of hakeme in some old, well worn books he had on Korean and Japanese pottery. After some ten years of experimentation with kitchen brushes or bits of broom he was able to complete the technique to his own satisfaction.

Sgrafitto

Sgrafitto is a technique where an underlying layer is revealed by scratching away the top glaze layer.. Mr. Ngan produced decorative examples of his animal and bird sketches this way.

Combing

This is a decorative technique he used through out his career. I have see these comb marks on pieces from the 1960s right through to the 2000s.

Lugs

 Lugs are simply small lumps of clay fastened to the sides of a pot. Sometimes he would shape them or simply apply a twisted coil. Knots of clay are common and on finer pieces he would fashion looped straps of clay with stamped ends. Lots of variation here.

Finger Trails

On some tenmoku pieces I've come across, Mr. Ngan would add a decorative touch by wiping away some of the top glaze with his fingers to leave trails behind after the final firing. While his hand is all over every piece of pottery he made, I like these because the sign of his hands in his work are so obvious

Paddling

This repeating paddle mark is a hallmark of his decorative work. Mr. Ngan had several wooden paddles with designs on them.  The imprints are from careful striking on the side of the pot to shape it and create a pattern. He did this throughout his career and it is one way to identify one of his unmarked pieces. 

Cut Marks

On pieces such as these shown, sometimes Mr. Ngan would score a deep incision into the clay. Deep enough to shape and create a decorative fluorish but not to completely puncture the surface. Its an impressive technique as I imagine there is not much room for error.

Brushwork

Decorative brushwork could fill a page all on its own. The vast creativity he possessed created countless variations. He used brushes of different sizes and textures to create different weights and strokes.
Some recurring patterns emerge over time; birds, lilies, circles, dots applied with his fingers, etc. Mr. Ngan also seemed partial to large sumi-e style strokes. According to one of his classmates at the VSA in the early 1960s, he relayed,  "Wayne was also in a couple of my drawing classes and I have great memories of him at the back of the studio working on big Sumi-e style pieces with huge brushes while the rest of us hunkered over our desks working with small brushes and pencils."

The "Sun Spot"

I have no idea if this is what Mr. Ngan would have called it but this is a recurring theme I've seen many times - the inclusion of a prominent large spot that looks to me like a red sun. I've also seen paler versions of this motif in lighter colours.