Claire Landais-Sauvage made this tea bowl by combining three different wild clays, white sand, and grog. Shaped by hand over a number of days, the chawan took form organically, with a rolling rim and slightly flaring lip. The glaze is an unusual combination of ochre, kaolin, and a flux.

However, the flux didn’t take effect, leaving the kaolin unmelted. And when Landais-Sauvage pulled the bowl from the fire, its surface remained dusted with a galaxy of white against warm tones of purple, grey, and orange. Like so many discoveries in ceramics, an often unrepeatable combination of circumstances can result in unexpected magic.

Holding this chawan in her hands, Landais-Sauvage recalled as a child peering out her window on a very cold and grey winter day. As she kept staring, the sky transformed before her eyes, and she was able to perceive that moment when it just began to snow. “It’s snowing!” is a fine example of how Landais-Sauvage finds remarkable parallels between her chawan and the landscapes around her.

New from the artist’s studio. Comes with Landais-Sauvage’s written account of the tea bowl’s making.