Ceramics with wabi
by Douglas Hooten
The wabi aesthetic has its roots in the sixteenth century Japanese tea ceremony. Wabi as it pertains to ceramics is a feeling of oneness with nature. Some of the ways wabi is generated through variations in form finish and texture. These variations are often subtle, but give a softness and comfortable feel when holding it and the undulations of the rim can give the feeling of a landscape's horizon. The vatiations to form and finish result in a ceramic that has the feeling that it has grown from nature or is at a stage of decomposing into nature.
Raku firing is the best way for me to create ceramics with wabi.
Because raku ceramics are fired at relatively low temperatures and exposed to temperature shocks, raku ceramics are less durable and their glazes are not as stable as high fired 'functional' pieces. For these reasons raku wares should be considered to be nonfunctional artworks. Each of my ceramics is unique. I hand form or wheel throw the basic shape, then carve or hand modify each piece at three different points in it's drying process, bisque fire to cone 04, apply the glaze material and finally raku fire them.
