What is Shino? Shino is a very simple clay based glaze. Because this glaze is ridiculously sensitive to heat, the final outlook of a shino piece can only be determined when it is unloaded from the kiln.

Developed in the Mino area of Japan in the 16th century, shino was initially used as decorate tea ceremony ware. Shinos are not the most popular glazes nowadays because they are overshadowed by modern glazes that come in a wide range of colors and are more easily controlled.

The uniqueness in Shinos is that they run, crawl, pinhole, and give an imperfect surface. These may be considered as faults in other glazes, but being "shino" glaze, they are desired effects. Shino is indeed in a class of its own.

To showcase the endless possibilities and sheer beauty of Shino glazes, Cindy, our resident Potter, has decided to Shino-nize her latest creations especially for this show: The Unusual Shinos Show - will be held at Clay Expression Pottery Studio & Showroom Ikano Power Centre, 10th April - 7th May 2006 Up-Coming Events

Who is CINDY KOH?Believe it or not, Cindy, our resident potter/ artist here at Clay Expression, is an accidental potter. It’s true. She did not grow up fantasizing about creating new glazes or making new shapes, but instead, she always thought herself destined to be a food technologist.

The only reason she is dabbling with non-edible glazes instead of food right now is because she stumbled onto ceramics during her university days, and has not looked back since. It can be said that she found her Calling in Clay.

Simplicity, is the one word to describe Cindy’s pieces. Though her work has evolved and continues to evolve as she ages and matures as a potter and a human being, the simplicity of her pieces still shines through. Cindy likes her pieces to feature simple clean yet fluid lines and shapes. Even her glazing technique can be simple yet commanding of attention. Complexity is not something celebrated by the artist, for she feels life is complicated enough as it is.

Why The Unusual Shinos Show? Lately, Cindy has been feeling the urge to Go Back to Basics. And what better way to do that than to work with one of the most basic glazes around, shinos. With The Unusual Shinos Show, Cindy will showcase the many looks of shino on basic forms. Basic never looked BETTER!

Cindy Koh
Bs. in Arts (Ceramics)
and Associate studies in Business Administration University of Evansville,
Indiana, USA 1995