Some of My Past Urushi Lacquer Work

A few days ago we took product shots for our next sale. Which got me thinking….I have photos of all my work going back over a decade, but once the sale is over the photos disappear from our website. Never to be seen again. So I thought I’d post some photos of my urushi work past and present for your enjoyment.

My first introduction to urushi lacquer was at the 2016 Täljfest at Sätergläntan in Sweden. Madoka Kutsuwa—an urushi lacquer artist—give a lecture and demonstration on urushi and its application. She was there with her husband Masashi an accomplished woodworker, author and teacher, and their young daughter Fuku. Since then we have become friends. In 2018, Masashi invited me to teach green woodworking in Japan. On that trip Jazmin and I learned some of the basics of urushi lacquer with Madoka. The following year we returned and Jazmin spent more time with Madoka while I taught another 5 day green woodworking workshop.

Jazmin learning about mixing red lacquer with a spatula

A lot of cool things happened since our meeting. Masashi introduced me to wagatabon tray maker Shinichi Moriguchi and with my help he and Masashi taught a course at North House Folk School. A few years later Masashi (translater) and spoon carver Kotaro Okubo along with his wife Shuko came to Wisconsin where Kotaro taught a nankin kanna spoon carving class at our school—Woodspirit School of Traditional Craft.

I’m a little nostalgic because we are planning another trip to Japan in May. We’ll be visiting the Kutsuwa’s, the Okubo’s and some of our other friends there.

Learning about urushi came at a good time. I was looking for a wood finish that would be good for the cups and bowls I make. I was tired of using linseed, tung, and walnut oil. Frankly—they stink. The “drying oils” are not very strong polymers. Over time they break down from daily washing—even the heat cured stuff. And I’ve tried everything—boiling in milk, boiling in oil, heat curing, oil/wax blends, etc….all with mixed results. And to top it off they have a taste and odor. There’s nothing like sipping a fine oolong tea from a wooden cup with a stinking film of linseed oil floating on the surface. I needed something else if I was to feel good about promoting the use of wooden tableware.

Cured urushi is likely the strongest and most stable natural polymer there is. I wrote about it here. Its been used for over 8000 years. That’s enough for me. It usually has no scent or taste. Sometimes there is a break in period where there is a slight smell. To me it smells like the mild sea air. But after a little use it’s free of scent or taste. And it’s great for both hot and cold food and drink including alcohol.

But nothing’s for free. It takes training and skill to learn to use and cure properly. It’s urushiol after all. After 7 years of working with it, I still feel like a novice. I’m coming to understand that there’s more than a lifetime of knowledge to learn working with urushi. And using it has pushed my work in directions I could never see coming. And I’m rolling with it. Figured wood looks awesome with it. But it also shows every flaw in the surface. This is usually from dull tools, bad technique or simply lack of patience. It’s interesting because the bowls or cups I made with the pole lathe it was the surface textures that was part of the charm and beauty. I’m trying to find a middle ground.

Examples of fuki urushi with raw and black lacquers

We focus on a few styles. Fuki or wiped urushi is the main technique. Jazmin and I both use this method. Basically you brush on a thin layer of ki (raw lacquer) and wipe it off. This adds a very thin layer with each coating. We do a minimum of 5 layers, but 8-10 is not unusual. It all depends on how things are looking after each coat is cured.

The other type that I have been focusing on is brushed layers called nuritate. There are 3-4 base coat layers some wiped, some brushed. I lightly sand between coats of thicker brushed layers. The last layer is brushed with no sanding afterwards. For the top coats I use a couple of different types of lacquer. And sometimes different colors too. This technique is very challenging because if there is any dust in the lacquer, the brush or from the air it causes little bumps or blisters on the surface. It’s like varnish in that way. When this happens I have to sand back a little and add another hopefully dust free layer. Lacquer artists in Japan go to great lengths to mitigate dust in the air, the lacquer, the object being coated and the brushes too. It’s fussy and a level of detail that I struggle with.

But because lacquerware is something that will last for generations (that’s hard to get my head around sometimes) it’s worth the effort. I hope my work will be enjoyed for half of that.

Following are some photos with commentary. Enjoy!