'chawan' tea bowls
Chawan means ‘tea bowl’ in Japanese. Japan’s relationship with the chawan stretches back centuries, developing alongside the introduction and evolution of tea culture /
Early Jian ware tea bowls from China, known in Japan as Tenmoku, were highly prized for their refined aesthetic. Later, a more humble and rustic sensibility emerged through forms such as Ido chawan. If Tenmoku bowls feel almost celestial, Ido chawan seem to rise directly from the earth /
This duality captured my attention in my own making practice: the dance between perfection and chance, control and freedom. It reflects not only something of my own temperament and the way I navigate life, but also the way I respond to and work with clay /
My chawan are a joy to make because they offer a moment of release. I step away from the desire to control the outcome and allow the clay, slip and glaze to reveal something of their own character. I become less the author and more the conduit within an organic unfolding /
Each chawan is unique; a particular moment captured and expressed through clay. Slip and glaze are applied spontaneously — one touch, one stroke — allowing each surface to retain the immediacy of its making. The foot is carved in response to traditional chawan forms, and I inscribe my name into the base using Japanese kanji /
I offer two colour ways: an orange and milky cream Shino glaze; and a rich gold and black glaze, evocative of a rocky landscape, with delicate Japanese-inspired trees nestled into its craggy surfaces. Which one will you choose? Or perhaps… which one will choose you?
'Chawan' Tea Bowls
Chawan means ‘tea bowl’ in Japanese. Japan’s relationship with the chawan stretches back centuries, developing alongside the introduction and evolution of tea culture. Early Jian ware tea bowls from China, known in Japan as Tenmoku, were highly prized for their refined aesthetic. Later, a more humble and rustic sensibility emerged through forms such as Ido chawan. If Tenmoku bowls feel almost celestial, Ido chawan seem to rise directly from the earth /
This duality captured my attention in my own making practice: the dance between perfection and chance, control and freedom. It reflects not only something of my own temperament and the way I navigate life, but also the way I respond to and work with clay /
My chawan are a joy to make because they offer a moment of release. I step away from the desire to control the outcome and allow the clay, slip and glaze to reveal something of their own character. I become less the author and more the conduit within an organic unfolding /
Each chawan is unique; a particular moment captured and expressed through clay. Slip and glaze are applied spontaneously — one touch, one stroke — allowing each surface to retain the immediacy of its making. The foot is carved in response to traditional chawan forms, and I inscribe my name into the base using Japanese kanji /
I offer two colour ways: an orange and milky cream Shino glaze; and a rich gold and black glaze, evocative of a rocky landscape, with delicate Japanese-inspired trees nestled into its craggy surfaces. Which one will you choose? Or perhaps… which one will choose you?
