Steve Sauer "Gallery of Chawan"
Clicking on the photo or text below will give you a larger view of the work, and purchasing information.
Clicking on the photo or text below will give you a larger view of the work, and purchasing information.
Hiki-dashi Exhibition With Steve Sauer Steve will be giving a Hiki Dashi exhibition at the June 03-04 2021 Wood Fire Conference
- Steve Sauer Japanese pottery has its origins in the Jomon era, thousands of years ago. No one knows whether rules of form existed at that time or not. The pottery of each kiln and each era has had its own characteristics, but it is thought that styles of pottery have developed through adjustments by individuals in the process of being passed down from father to son or from master to disciple.
There are no rules in a street fight beyond self-restraint, but there are rules for karate and judo and other sports, for traditional culture, and for all traditional arts. It is possible to enjoy sports or the arts to a certain extent without rules, but rules make them even more enjoyable. One never hears of spectators at a street fight, and it is said of some fights that "not even a dog will eat" them, meaning that no one likes them. From a certain point of view, dog fights and cock fights may be much like street fights, but there are still rules governing the way the fight is carried out and how to determine the winner. Most events or objects meant for observation or contemplation are subject to rules, and they give greater pleasure to viewers because of this.
I have never given much consideration to rules in pottery, aside from certain conventions of old Karatsu appreciated by connoisseurs, such as mikazuki kodai("crescent moon foot," foot thinner on one side than the other), chirimenjiwa ( "crepe wrinkles," wrinkled effect on clay surface caused by use of modeling tool near foot), and shirimakuri ("raised skirt," exposure of the surface where glaze is not applied at the base). However, Anjin Abe claims that there are definite rules that govern the making of Momoyama tea bowls. - Abe Anjin - Modern Bizen Master
Special guest Steve Sauer Will be preforming his Hikidashi exhibition at Joe Robinsens East Creek Anagama
Joe Robinsen will be hosting the 3 day event.
photo credit: Joe Robinsen
I am an American ceramic artist, born December 1945, and raised in the Pacific NW. In College I majored in oil painting with a minor in Art History. I later switched to clay and am a self taught potter, with the exception of a hands on life changing course with the Ruth Duckworth. Many wonderful potters, clay artists and friends have selflessly guided me along the way. I would not be who I am today with out the fantastic community, and more locally, family of wood fired Artists that works so hard to make each firing successful.
Jack Troy will be the Key note speaker "Northwest Wood Firing Conference" Newberg, OR June 03-06 2021.
Ruth Duckworth was a British sculptor who was best known for her smooth ceramic works of abstract forms derived from nature. Finding much of her inspiration from early Bronze Age Cycladic sculptures, Duckworths works have smooth and elongated silhouettes with slight details to insinuate the face and limbs. Born Ruth Windmuller on April 10, 1919 in Hamburg, Germany to a Jewish father and Christian mother, she was forced to leave Germany in 1936 and study abroad at the Liverpool College of Art in the United Kingdom due to Nazi restrictions on Jewish students. She initially worked as a tombstone engraver in England, and later moved to Chicago to teach at the University of Chicago in 1964. Her works are in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among others. Duckworth died on October 18, 2009 in Chicago, IL where she had spent the last 45 years of her life.
"In Asian tea culture, the chawan bowl, or simply a chawan, is the name given to a large category of tea bowls used on many different occasions. Whether for informal gatherings or highly ritualized tea ceremonies, the chawan bowl is chosen carefully and is considered a central component of the tea-drinking ritual. History of the Chawan Bowl Originally from China, the better-known Japanese chawan bowls were probably imported from the mainland sometime in the 1300s. Like much else in Japan, the history of tea bowls is a mixture of foreign and home-grown influences. For hundreds of years, nearly every chawan bowl in use in Japan was imported from China. By the 1400s, Japanese monks and tea masters began using Korean and Vietnamese rice bowls and even making their own chawan bowls for tea. Eventually, a uniquely Japanese chawan industry sprung up. Highly talented craftsmen who fired special chawan bowls were among the most revered artisans in the entire country by the late 1700s. Important Facts about Chawan Bowls Classification of chawan bowls is a complicated endeavor, but the simple version is this: the bowls are described by where they are from, their shape, the material of which they are made, and their color. The most common shapes (there are many) are round, flat and cylindrical. In addition to the shape classification, many modern chawan bowls are named by their function, whether for thick or thin tea, for example. For chawan bowls that originate in China, or are of Chinese design, the Japanese use the term karamono, while cups of Korean origin are called koraimono. Japan-made chawan bowls are called wamono, and are usually categorized based upon the province or origin and even the specific kiln they were fired in. The following list offers a much-abbreviated summary of the various types of chawan bowls, noting the Japanese name for the bowl as well as its generalized shape. These terms are widely used when discussing or selling chawan bowls. "
Steve Sauer 45 years of Making. A collection of meaningful works from the past
