lucky finds and collections expanding

i really adore the table settings in japanese blogs i come across. trays, various shapes, colors in light and dark, hard and soft surfaces; wood, fabric, pottery, glass, all elements of displaying a meal. i felt like sewing a coaster for my tea kyusu to add the sense of softness and a touch of color to my teaware collection; which was starting to become lacking in both. i didn't want to overcrowd the pottery with too much color, but this linen swatch pairs very well.

i also scored three lovely pieces at a church rummage sale the other day; an oval and faceted cup, a cherry bark loose tea scoop, and a glazed stoneware bowl. it's the best five dollars i've spent in awhile.

a little wonky in shape, but it fits the hands well, and would be a great mug for smaller portions such as gyokuro tea.

inlays of smaller grained sections of bark, a classic gourd shape. i couldn't believe my luck for spotting this little treasure! sometimes larger pieces done in cherry bark can be a little much, and you loose sense of the details, but this is a perfect amount to gaze at and appreciate.

green, black, and brown glazes layered between white; it's reminiscent of marble almost. it could have been created for the japanese tea ceremony, as the shape and size is like that of other matcha tea bowls i've seen.

end of an era

my birthday was a couple of days ago, and provided me with an excuse to check out the delectable goodies from local pastry shops. i couldn't decide on one special yummy thing, so i bought several mini yummies instead. i still find it rather odd to be out of my twenties; it's always felt like such a momentous era in one's life.

a theme

i tend towards blues, creams, and browns in pottery. i don't think i do this with a specific purpose; more an inclination towards those hues. red is my least favorite color, followed by orange, but i do like pink rather a lot. primary and secondary hues aren't really my cup of tea (outside of yellow), they are just too strong and bright when used other than as an accent hue. tertiary hues and pastels though, those are lovely. give me a yellow-green, blue-purple, blue-green, or red-purple any day and i'm a happy kid. whites and creams allow me to admire the green shades of my tea, one of the nicest parts of drinking it. an explanation for the celedon color would be it's traditional, so you come across it a lot.

my collection of tea preparing pieces (clockwise from top left): bamboo chasen with celedon stand, tokoname kyusu, stoneware chawan for matcha, water cooler (my grandmother's), tea cup for sencha, hand thrown tea cup for bancha, tea chest in the upper right corner, chakin in lower right corner, teaspoon in lower left corner. it's a mishmash of pieces, i know, but i like each one and they make me happy (the only one i have to impress is myself, any how).

enthusiastic collecting

since coming back from japan, i've found much delight in having a cup of green tea for breakfast. lately, my taste runs to the earthy genmaicha tea. i also love the taste of matcha (i still haven't purchased a bamboo chasen yet) and sencha.

the utensils for serving japanese tea are interesting; the ones i've garnered have focused my attention on exotic woods and unique pottery glazes. i already had a small green and brown tea cup for the winter months, and recently bought a handthrown tea bowl for the summer (the width and size allowing the tea to cool faster) on my trip to asheville. the kyusu tea pot's squat shape and long handle are perfect for brewing enough loose tea for one, as well as being visually cute (it's glaze reminiscent of birch trees).

i was browsing ebay for kiri wood (paulownia) boxes and happened upon this tea chest which i believe is used for storing the teaware. kiri wood is velvety smooth and lightly burned to bring up the grain, as well as being resistant to rot (a wonderful thing when living in an area of high humidity); i am most attracted to the silvery color though.

i am still hoping to come upon a shifuku wrapped chaire, and a kiri wood box tied with kumihimo. one day.

tea please

i like tea; it's warm, flavorful, pretty, good for you, tastes lovely, goes well with baked goods. lately, i've started drinking a mug of green tea every day to help me relax when i get home from work. i've been using my hot cocoa mug, but started to feel that maybe it would be nice to have a dedicated tea mug.

while sampling delicious honey at the savannah bee company store i came across a beautiful honey pot in my favorite shade of blue green. the colors used, undulating shape, mixture of matte and glossy finish, really drew my attention. plus the little bee lid was very cute, i figured it could keep my tea warm for me.

this lovely vessel was created by a local potter, giana eden, so i was definitely happy to make it a part of my tea ceremony. i don't know, but i feel good when i purchase works by other artists, maybe it creates good artist karma or something.