So here they are…my first real unicum, handmade chawans.
I was surfing up and down the web looking at new teaware for decades. Found a nice piece here and there, but mostly they were too expensive. Plus there wasn´t too much good Raku stuff from Japan, i could find. So i put my focus on local german artists, such as Janus Gunder.
I got to his page by accident, but fell in love with his raku work right away.
Mister Gunder was born in 1963 in Selesia, and is working on his very own art since the early 1980´s. His first studio (JaGuDesign) opened up in 2001. Focussing on works made of artificial and natural stones. Since 2004 he is also creating brazen scupltures. The same year traditional Japanese Raku Pottery became part of his oeuvre.
After having had a close look on his webpage, and those lovely chawans displayed, i had a very friendly chat with mister Gunder. Showing him the pieces i liked most, a package arrived at my door in basically no time. Thanks for that again!
From this day on the chawans have been good companions, making my teatime a real treat.
Excited?
Here are some pictures of the red chawan, i usually use for senchas.
And here´s the blue one….used for Matcha only!
So that´s a beauty!
today i feel like commenting my own post. as you might have noticed on the pics of the red chawan, i already got those brown tea stains on the inside of the cup.
anyone of you got an idea how to get rid of them?
not that i find them particular ugly, i just liked the bright white color of the cup before.
read aobut using baking soda…but i´m not sure..
could you help me out?
regards stephen
Zenchas,
The red bowl is eye catching. One could imagine how it would feel in one’s hands. Its vibrant red gloss flanked by rough side patches where the underling muted, darker brownish clay is exposed. What a treat for ones fingers. How would you describe this sensation?
The cracks make this piece. On the outside they seem to be growing out of its rooted base and resemble the branches of a bare winter’s tree. Inside the thick dark cracks balance this piece as they drop off near the shallow of the bowl, stepping aside for the smaller more elegant cracks that could have easily been out staged by their thicker, more prominent relatives that tower above. The staining of the inside only adds to this beauty and feel of this bowl. One would definitely just leave it alone.
It’s shape and foot doesn’t seem to be this bowls strong points but least they step aside leaving one pondering the beauty of its colour, texture, and overall effect.
One could imagine it filled with frothy matcha.
Just a question…
Why did you choose it for senchas and not matcha?
Your blog is great. Keep it up.
Peace
Thank you Matt for leaving this great reply! What else could i say to describe my chawans more precisely than you did? It in fact is a sensation holding the cup in ones hands. it´s easy to associate this cup to it´s origin: nature. that´s of what it´s made. the earthen clay, fire, wood…and therefore matches just perfect to tea. which i consider to be an art too. In processing an ceremonial drinking.
To answer your questions. i just like the look of the white, cracked, inner surface of the cup, shining through the green sencha liquid.
In the blue chawan you don´t get this look. Instead there the frothy green matcha and the blue color of the cup seem to match pretty good. And second, the red chawan isn´t sized properly for matcha preparation. it´s too small in diameter.
stephen
Wow, that red chawan is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!
It is always incredible to me that Japanese made pottery that ‘modern’ 500 years ago. The Japanese aesthetic sense through out history really is something special.
Peko-P
@peko
and even more astonishing, how eastern asian artisan craftwork made it´s way to europe. Still being inspired, there is so many artists over here, creating traditional japanese or chinese pottery. It´s always a pleasure to see people facing up to crafts that will hopefully never be forgotten.
I whish we could live the asian lifestyle a little bit more over here, and hope your people try to preserve it as good as possible!
Regards Stephen