2015 NCECA - What Makes a Tea Bowl by John Baymore

John Baymore

Adjunct Professor of Ceramics

New Hampshire Institute of Art

What makes a teabowl a Chawan?

Chado - Chanoyu茶道 -- 茶の湯

Making Chawan for actual Japanese Tea Ceremony

usage is the core focus of this presentation.

In producing teabowls for uses other than this

specialized practice, such as those for

steeped teas, for home drinking of matcha,

those intended as sculptural explorations,

and the like……..

much of what I’ll talk about is of limited application.

Semantics

Words matter. Specificity can be important.

“The difference between the almost right word & the

right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference

between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

Mark Twain

Semantics

Semantics

teabowlvs.

yunomivs.

Chawan

Lost in Translation

Director: Sofía Coppola

Writer: Sofía Coppola

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Akiko Takeshita, Ryuichiro Baba, Catherine Lambert

Used under “Fair Use”

湯飲みYunomi

湯 Yu - meaning “hot water”

Nomi - meaning “to drink”飲み

湯飲みYunomi

Literal translation is “hot water drink”

湯飲みYunomi

The best English language equivalent is maybe

“CUP”

or possibly even

“HOT BEVERAGE CUP”

湯飲みYunomi

Nowhere in that name do we find this Kanji character

茶

茶碗Chawan

The Kanji used above here are specific

to a container for

camellia sinensis (tea).

湯飲み vs. 茶碗

Yunomi Chawan

Some CommonChawan Shapes

井戸型Well Type

Ido-gata

半筒型Semi-cylindricalHan tsutsu-gata

Freer/Sackler Collection

Freer/Sackler Collection

呉記型Goki TypeGoki-gata

Some Basics

Chanoyu

Chanoyu

Chanoyu

ChanoyuMatcha is powdered tea

Whisking powdered Matcha

ChanoyuMatcha is powdered tea

Chanoyu

Koicha - Thick Tea

Usucha – Thin Tea

About Chawan

“It has to be a well-balanced,

pleasantly-weighted form that brings

together all aspects of composition

from the way the lip is angled, to the

curves of the body and how that will

influence the inner “pool,” all the way

down to the underside where the

kodai-foot is carved.”

Robert Yellin

Japan Times

“Chawan: Simply, some of the hardest works of pottery to create”

September 25, 2013

Evaluating Chawan

What do Chawan have to do with skiing?

Easiest More Difficult Most Difficult Caution

ChanoyuChawan Rating System

Easiest More Difficult Most Difficult Caution

The Expected

“The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.”

Various Technical Considerations

取り合わせToriawase

Rank has Privledges

In the right context…a hubcap could be a Chawan.

Easiest

Easiest• Very light weight and good balance• Very smooth glazes and surfaces• Distinct and regular foot• Tried and true forms• Good height and width for whisking• Simple surfaces and decorations• Very much fitting that which is “expected”

Easiest

More Difficult

More Difficult• Light to moderate in weight• Slightly less centered balance• Moderately rough glazes or surfaces• Slightly unusual and asymmetrical forms• Not easy shape in which to whisk• Stronger visual surfaces / decorations• Slightly challenging the “expected”

Most Difficult

Most Difficult• Very heavy weight• Rough surfaces in mikomi / kuchi• Challenging forms• Non-central balance point• Difficult to grip the foot• Highly complex surfaces and decorations• Visually hard to fit into “Toriawase”• Not much fitting that which is “expected”

Caution!

Caution!• An extreme of weight (usually very heavy)• Totally abnormal size• Extremely rough surfaces and/or glazes• Totally unusual / sculptural forms• Excessively bold/aggressive decoration• Not at all fitting that which is “expected”

OverarchingEverything

Tradition旧典

The Expected

“The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.”

Tradition puts us in a bit of a box.

旧典Tradition

Emotion

Gender

Death

You have lived long and prospered, Leonard!R.I.P.

Endless possibilities within a tight set of “norms”.

Key ConsiderationsFor Chawan

#1

Size

Saizu : サイズ

13 cm

8 cm

Or very close to this

1 : 1.618

1 : 1.618

Honami Koetsu Chawan 17th Cen. Victoria and Albert Museum

1 : 1.618

Momoyama Jidai Nezumi Chawan Gotoh Museum

1 : 1.618

Arakawa Toyozo Shino Chawan 20th Cen.

Why?

13 cm

Why?

Why?

Need to ‘nestle’ into human hands.

Dou 胴

#2

Weight

Weight 重量

Overall about454 grams

-1 pound -

Or very close to this

Weight 重量

Typical fired is between 300 grams and 600 grams.

If wet clay is about 30% waterweight, that means a finished form made with about 390 grams to 780 grams of wet clay.

0.86 to 1.7 pounds

Weight 重量

When fired, they are about 350 grams.

For the “standard” aka rakuforming process, the startingdisk of clay before formingand carving is 1 Kilogram.

2.2 pounds

#3

Balance

Center Of Mass 質量中心

Balance at center

Distribution of weight matters a lot.

#4

Interior Surface

Relatively smooth surface.

Mikomi 見込

Transition between wall and floor not “creased”.

Mikomi 見込

The whisk’s tines are very fragile.

Mikomi 見込

Transition between wall and floor not “creased”.

Mikomi 見込

Koshi ‘- transition curve

#5

Quality of the Rim

Contact with the lips.

Kuchi Zukuri 口造

Ritual wiping of the rim of the bowl

Chakin 茶巾

Chakin 茶巾

Chakin 茶巾

Chakin 茶巾

#6

The “grip-ability” of the Foot

Koudai 高台

Using the Kensui 建水

Using the Chakin 茶巾

Presenting the Bowl

#7

The “Tea Pool”

There usually is a depression called the “Tea Pool”.

Chadamari 茶だまり





Aesthetic Concerns

#A

Quality of the clay body

The unique qualities of the clay body.

Tsuchi Aji 土味

The unique qualities of the clay body.

Tsuchi Aji 土味

#B

The “Front”

One side of the bowl is the focal point.

Shomen 正面

One side of the bowl is the focal point.

Shomen 正面

#C

“Landscapes”

It takes a long time to get to know it.

Keshiki 景色

Keshiki 景色


Keshiki 景色


Keshiki 景色


Making Better Chawan

Study some Tea

http://www.urasenke.or.jp/texte/

THANK YOU!

Addendum

It’s a Business!

円or

$

100 made80-90 smashed

Business

If you sell only a small fraction

of the pieces you make,

you have to charge for the

lost labor time and materials

in the pieces you will sell.

Business

“If I made more of them,

the price would not remain high.”

Business

It is not only about maintaining

the highest aesthetic standards,

it is also about maintaining the

market value of the investment

in your work others have made.

Business

Example: recent national teabowl exhibition

Entry fee: $30

Shipping work: At least $20

Sale Commission: 40%

Piece Price Limit: $250 each

Business

Fixed costs: about $50 (maybe more)

Maximum to the artist: $150($250 limit x 60%)

Maximum Net: $100

Business

Skilled car mechanics get $75 an hour!

64 pieces in the show

Business

68% priced under $100(60% = $60)

38% priced $50 and under(60% = $30)

4% were less than the entry fee!

Average price was $80

Business

68% made $10 or less if the piece sold!

38% made absolutely nothing or

lost money if the piece sold!

Business

THANK YOU!

2015 NCECA - What Makes a Tea Bowl by John Baymore

Art & Photos