Jay glazing kodama. These figures will be placed in both natural and cultural sites as guerrilla art. This production is inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's anime Princess Mononoke

Jay Michael Hanes has a special interest in the historical development of the raku process and its relationship to the art of tea. His practice is academically informed, yet his method is self-taught. He likes his chawan to be quiet and intimate but sometimes bold or whimsical. Each is a meditation and created as an instrument of peace.

Jay has recently reestablished his studio, Great Water Ceramics, in Western Pennsylvania. In 1987, Jay turned from commercial art to teach art in public schools. Then, while working with secondary school students he became interested in studying raku and chado. Later, he received advanced degrees in art education from Florida State University and Ohio State University. For his dissertation he studied dissident group art, making a case for the Boston Tea Party as an early example of collaborative activist art in American history.

Through study of Vedanta, Buddhism, and Taoism Jay was led to yoga, meditation, and T’ai Chi Ch’üan, galvanizing his interest in raku teabowls. His inquiry of tea aesthetics was refined while studying chado with Sensei Kaji Aso at the House of Flower Wind in Boston. There he learned the importance of making a good cup of tea.

At present he teaches art education at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, offers tea to local groups, and produces raku chawan at his home studio in Meadville, PA. Jay lives with his wife and dance educator Eleanor and 11 year-old son and webmaster Hawk, three cats and a dog, all together in a stone house surrounded by rhododendrons and azaleas. Currently, he is building a kiln shed from salvaged hand-hewn Pennsylvania Dutch barn beams and used roofing tile for traditional Japanese red and black style raku kilns.

In the current world condition with crisis in government and abuse of power, Jay is committed to working for peace as an artist and educator. He is compelled to produce chawan for the beautiful tea ritual as metaphoric instruments of peace. Chado is for Jay, as it has been from its inception, a way to cultivate awareness in the present, develop quality friendships, and challenge the aggrandisement of power. He asks, "Is it time for another tea party?"