Kyusu Tea Set with four cups

Original tea pottery by Petr Novák

Teapot kyusu (side handle)  h 8 cm, w 9 cm, 240 ml
4 cups  h 4 cm, w 7 cm, 80 ml
Cups - Technical porcelain wood-fired at approx. 1300°C. Inside celadon glaze. Outside unglazed, just burnt ash and a white glaze splash. Teapot - dark earthenware.

Find the author´s introduction in the Story.

Petr Novák and Mirka Randová founded the Ceramics studio Doupě o.p.s., where they work on their ceramics and teach. Both have participated in many symposiums and ceramics exhibitions, they are also regularly invited to the Tea Bowl Festival in South Korea. They use wood-firing technique and make their glazes by themselves from materials available in the Czech Republic.
www.kcdoupe.cz

“Woodfiring
is not only our continuing of our ancestors’ traditions, but also trying to produce pottery that carries more than exceptional technology; pottery that speaks the language of our souls, ceramics that reflect our way of life. Each piece is started on the potter’s wheel, then adjusted and modelled. Glazes, which we mix ourselves, are selected and tested with regard to this type of firing. The result of the alchemy of glazes, fire and clay is unique pottery. It is a path of searching and discovering, a path of harmony with nature, a challenge to the symmetry and lifeless factory production. Woodfiring at 1300°C is a culmination of one life-stage of the ceramic product and at the same time a celebration of its following journey...”

Peter about his work:
My tea drinking has a longer history than my clay work, so from the beginning of my ceramic journey I naturally focused on tea pottery which belongs to tea as fresh water or good company. On my journey, I search for boundaries between the natural imperfection of the wabi style and handcraft. A connection between the taste of tea and the material, a combination of discreet aesthetics and functionality. I am assisted by a living fire, the Phoenix, endowing each cup and teapot with a mood and life of their own.