Studio Yunomi – Handmade Expressive Footed, Un-Handled Cups

I regularly refer to pottery as a medium that’s both experimental and creative. I think it’s impressive that you can make something so functional from such a primitive material, even the glazes are rooted in the earth’s surface. It’s also nice that you can go from a rustic stoneware clay to a piece of fine porcelain that’s very pure and precise, thus meaning you can challenge the medium in a number of ways. So it’s not surprising when a potter picks a certain shape and repeats it over and over again, the final result will never be exactly the same, there’s too many unpredictable forces at work.

American potter David Moak owns Studio Yunomi in Atlanta, Georgia where he has really explored and challenged the Yunomi as an object and the different complexities in such a simple shape. The Japanese word for hot drink, a Yunomi is a footed, un-handled cup that people use for day-to-day tea drinking. A Yunomi is special in the fact that they can be used by anyone, and it is one piece of functional ware that many people cherish and spend a lot of time with.

Aesthetically these are austere with only subtle changes running across the surface, but deep below the glaze there’s little touches and defects that really ring true to the concept behind this tableware. I found a nice quote regarding the Yunomi, “Truth is seeing the new in the ordinary”, I couldn’t agree more.

studioyunomi.com

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