Artist Statement
A raku chawan represents a sense of intimacy as it touches the lips, It symbolizes communication between the participants who share the thick tea. Each chawan that I produce is formed by hand close to the traditional manner to produce the rough-hewn natural quality that Rikyu so admired. Rikyu chose the bowls made by Chojiro to fit his ideal of wabi tea. To echo the thoughts of Jennifer L. Anderson from An Introduction to Japanese Tea Ritual, "a raku tea bowl of thick tea is considered the preeminent symbol of chanoyu." I wish to add that they are very pleasing to hold.