Verdant Tea

These spectacular orange mottled gongfu teacups reflect artist Yi Xuan’s research into complex ash-glaze and earthen mineral glaze combination techniques that involve multiple firings and layers to capture the depth and complexity of cai shao wood firing with the nuance and control of electric firing, yielding a delicate crackling almost celadon-like effect. Each piece is entirely handmade, one of only five to come out of the kiln this year! Each of the five pieces has slight natural variation, part of the beauty of truly hand-made work from one of China’s preeminent ceramics research scholars.

Experimental Porcelain Artist Yi Xuan hosts professors, research students and collectors at her family home and kiln built into the side of a mountain on the outskirts of Dehua. When everyone gathers to have tea together, Yi Xuan uses only her own work to brew, and one of the top requests she kept hearing was for presentation plates that could act as teh foundation for a gaiwan or teapot, the saucer for a cup, or a plate to show off the tea leaves before brewing. This year, she decided to fire a very limited number of plates using her wild ash glaze finishing process. She released half to us and keeps half at her studio to offer guests as they sip. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact plate pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Experimental Porcelain Artist Yi Xuan hosts professors, research students and collectors at her family home and kiln built into the side of a mountain on the outskirts of Dehua. When everyone gathers to have tea together, Yi Xuan uses only her own work to brew, and one of the top requests she kept hearing was for presentation plates that could act as teh foundation for a gaiwan or teapot, the saucer for a cup, or a plate to show off the tea leaves before brewing. This year, she decided to fire a very limited number of plates using her wild ash glaze finishing process. She released half to us and keeps half at her studio to offer guests as they sip. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact plate pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Experimental Porcelain Artist Yi Xuan hosts professors, research students and collectors at her family home and kiln built into the side of a mountain on the outskirts of Dehua. When everyone gathers to have tea together, Yi Xuan uses only her own work to brew, and one of the top requests she kept hearing was for presentation plates that could act as teh foundation for a gaiwan or teapot, the saucer for a cup, or a plate to show off the tea leaves before brewing. This year, she decided to fire a very limited number of plates using her wild ash glaze finishing process. She released half to us and keeps half at her studio to offer guests as they sip. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact plate pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Experimental Porcelain Artist Yi Xuan hosts professors, research students and collectors at her family home and kiln built into the side of a mountain on the outskirts of Dehua. When everyone gathers to have tea together, Yi Xuan uses only her own work to brew, and one of the top requests she kept hearing was for presentation plates that could act as teh foundation for a gaiwan or teapot, the saucer for a cup, or a plate to show off the tea leaves before brewing. This year, she decided to fire a very limited number of plates using her wild ash glaze finishing process. She released half to us and keeps half at her studio to offer guests as they sip. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact plate pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

These stunning iridescent tea cups are entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

Artist Yi Xuan took this cup through two full firing processes, first, an electric firing to set the porcelain, then a dip in a hand-blended ash glaze and an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the cup has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. The result of this painstaking process is a unique, deep, complex cup that shows off the heat signature of the kiln and the way glazing interacts with unglazed porcelain across multiple firings. Work like this is what puts the Yi Xuan Ceramics Research Institute on the map!

This beautiful tea cup is entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This cup is not glazed - its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This beautiful tea cup is entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This cup is not glazed - its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This beautiful tea cup is entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This cup is not glazed - its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This beautiful tea cup is entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This cup is not glazed - its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This beautiful tea cup is entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This cup is not glazed - its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This beautiful tea cup is entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This cup is not glazed - its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand. This cup was shaped with higher tall sides to direct and concentrate the aromatics of classic Wuyi Oolongs or Tieguanyin.

These stunning green, glassy cups represent an entirely new body of work for experimental porcelain artist Yi Xuan. While Yi Xuan has been focused deeply on the effect of ash glaze and iron oxides in the kiln for the past year, these “Dragon Scale” pieces reach towards celadon craft and glazing technique. She applies this perspective to the higher heat, higher stakes porcelain firing process instead of traditional stoneware, and with a “cao mu hui” or ash-based glazing.. Her work hand-sculpting each piece makes them fully unique - with mottling, depth, texture and even flashes of silver hidden in the glazing work. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual cup finds a new home, it is gone.

These stunning green, glassy cups represent an entirely new body of work for experimental porcelain artist Yi Xuan. While Yi Xuan has been focused deeply on the effect of ash glaze and iron oxides in the kiln for the past year, these “Dragon Scale” pieces reach towards celadon craft and glazing technique. She applies this perspective to the higher heat, higher stakes porcelain firing process instead of traditional stoneware, and with a “cao mu hui” or ash-based glazing.. Her work hand-sculpting each piece makes them fully unique - with mottling, depth, texture and even flashes of silver hidden in the glazing work. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual cup finds a new home, it is gone.

With her unique soda glaze, artist Yi Xuan unites the organic and spontaneous nature of her wood kiln with the pristine, immaculate smoothness for which Dehua porcelain is so famous. The rich cream colors that on this piece reflect the way each wood-fired piece from Yi Xuan is truly one of a kind, but in a different way than her iridescent ash glaze work. This stunningly thin and light tea bowl is modeled on the Song Dynasty wine goblet, a form used extensively in Jian Zhan firings. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact cup pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Experimental Porcelain artist Yi Xuan actually took a six month position part time at a high-end coffee shop to immerse herself in espresso culture with the goal of better understanding the way other beverages can intersect with porcelain art. This “residency” of sorts inspired her to want to take on the challenge of an espresso style cup complete with stunningly-thin handle. The entire cup was delicately hand-sculpted in fine porcelain. It took many firings to get a successful piece out of Yi Xuan’s extreme high-fire high temp wood kiln. The intense heat usually cracks and shatters pieces as thin and fine as this, especially with a long handle. This cup is a triumph of Yi Xuan’s kiln and a testament to her skill and adaptability. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact cup pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Experimental Porcelain artist Yi Xuan actually took a six month position part time at a high-end coffee shop to immerse herself in espresso culture with the goal of better understanding the way other beverages can intersect with porcelain art. This “residency” of sorts inspired her to want to take on the challenge of an espresso style cup complete with stunningly-thin handle. The entire cup was delicately hand-sculpted in fine porcelain. It took many firings to get a successful piece out of Yi Xuan’s extreme high-fire high temp wood kiln. The intense heat usually cracks and shatters pieces as thin and fine as this, especially with a long handle. This cup is a triumph of Yi Xuan’s kiln and a testament to her skill and adaptability. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact cup pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

This hand-built piece by artist Yi Xuan looks like it was hewn from a solid piece of stone, the way she shaped this by hand to preserve a solid anchoring feeling accentuated by her unique two step firing that involves an electric kiln firing to set the unglazed porcelain, followed by application of a blended ash glaze and finally an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the cup has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. Holding the cup in hand, it feels like holding an ancient piece unearthed after thousands of years.

This hand-built spectacular moonlight white tea cup reflects artist Yi Xuan’s research into complex ash-glazing techniques that involve multiple firings and layers of glaze to capture the depth and complexity of cai shao wood firing with the nuance and control of electric firing, yielding a delicate crackling almost celadon-like effect. Holding the cup in hand, it feels like holding an ancient piece unearthed after thousands of years. Yi Xuan stamped this cup with her seal in the middle of the base for a beautiful contrast where the character "玄" fills in.

This hand-built piece by artist Yi Xuan looks like it was hewn from a solid piece of stone, the way she shaped this by hand to preserve a solid anchoring feeling accentuated by her unique two step firing that involves an electric kiln firing to set the unglazed porcelain, followed by application of a blended ash glaze and finally an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the cup has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. Holding the cup in hand, it feels like holding an ancient piece unearthed after thousands of years.

This hand-built piece by artist Yi Xuan looks like it was hewn from a solid piece of stone, the way she shaped this by hand to preserve a solid anchoring feeling accentuated by her unique two step firing that involves an electric kiln firing to set the unglazed porcelain, followed by application of a blended ash glaze and finally an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the cup has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. Holding the cup in hand, it feels like holding an ancient piece unearthed after thousands of years.

This hand-built piece by artist Yi Xuan looks like it was hewn from a solid piece of stone, the way she shaped this by hand to preserve a solid anchoring feeling accentuated by her unique two step firing that involves an electric kiln firing to set the unglazed porcelain, followed by application of a blended ash glaze and finally an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the cup has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. Holding the cup in hand, it feels like holding an ancient piece unearthed after thousands of years.

Museum-level, monumental, dramatic, and fully one-of-a-kind, this is artist Yi Xuan’s tribute to the old-school Song Dynasty matcha bowl. Big enough to hold a full gaiwan or yixing teapot infusion, this is the ideal solo gongfu vessel- reflecting tea’s aromatics like the fine high-fired porcelain it is, but with deep sculptural beauty that elevates the tasting experience. The way she hand-sculpted this cup makes it look rough-hewn, like it was excavated from an ancient Song Dynasty kiln site, but with a shimmering swirling iridescence- an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact tea bowl pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Museum-level, monumental, dramatic, and fully one-of-a-kind, this is artist Yi Xuan’s tribute to the old-school Song Dynasty matcha bowl. Big enough to hold a full gaiwan or yixing teapot infusion, this is the ideal solo gongfu vessel - reflecting tea’s aromatics like the fine high-fired porcelain it is, but with deep sculptural beauty that elevates the tasting experience. The way she hand-sculpted this cup makes it look rough-hewn, like it was excavated from an ancient Song Dynasty kiln site. Sitting around the tea table together, Yi Xuan calls this style her ‘classic porcelain’ with a smile on her face. What she means is that these cups are her only work that get a traditional white glaze, a nod to her training and discipline as a potter in China’s oldest center of porcelain culture. Of course, this work is nothing like “classic” porcelain, with its subtle coloration that comes from Yi Xuan’s unique wood-firing process, and the celadon-like crazing. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact tea bowl pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Museum-level, monumental, dramatic, and fully one-of-a-kind, this is artist Yi Xuan’s tribute to the old-school Song Dynasty matcha bowl. Big enough to hold a full gaiwan or yixing teapot infusion, this is the ideal solo gongfu vessel - reflecting tea’s aromatics like the fine high-fired porcelain it is, but with deep sculptural beauty that elevates the tasting experience. The way she hand-sculpted this cup makes it look rough-hewn, like it was excavated from an ancient Song Dynasty kiln site. Sitting around the tea table together, Yi Xuan calls this style her ‘classic porcelain’ with a smile on her face. What she means is that these cups are her only work that get a traditional white glaze, a nod to her training and discipline as a potter in China’s oldest center of porcelain culture. Of course, this work is nothing like “classic” porcelain, with its subtle coloration that comes from Yi Xuan’s unique wood-firing process, and the celadon-like crazing. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact tea bowl pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Museum-level, monumental, dramatic, and fully one-of-a-kind, this is artist Yi Xuan’s tribute to the old-school Song Dynasty matcha bowl. Big enough to hold a full gaiwan or yixing teapot infusion, this is the ideal solo gongfu vessel- reflecting tea’s aromatics like the fine high-fired porcelain it is, but with deep sculptural beauty that elevates the tasting experience. The way she hand-sculpted this cup makes it look rough-hewn, like it was excavated from an ancient Song Dynasty kiln site, but with a shimmering swirling iridescence- an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact tea bowl pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Museum-level, monumental, dramatic, and fully one-of-a-kind, this is artist Yi Xuan’s tribute to the old-school Song Dynasty matcha bowl. Big enough to hold a full gaiwan or yixing teapot infusion, this is the ideal solo gongfu vessel - reflecting tea’s aromatics like the fine high-fired porcelain it is, but with deep sculptural beauty that elevates the tasting experience. The way she hand-sculpted this cup makes it look rough-hewn, like it was excavated from an ancient Song Dynasty kiln site. Sitting around the tea table together, Yi Xuan calls this style her ‘classic porcelain’ with a smile on her face. What she means is that these cups are her only work that get a traditional white glaze, a nod to her training and discipline as a potter in China’s oldest center of porcelain culture. Of course, this work is nothing like “classic” porcelain, with its subtle coloration that comes from Yi Xuan’s unique wood-firing process, and the celadon-like crazing. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact tea bowl pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Museum-level, monumental, dramatic, and fully one-of-a-kind, this is artist Yi Xuan’s tribute to the old-school Song Dynasty matcha bowl. Big enough to hold a full gaiwan or yixing teapot infusion, this is the ideal solo gongfu vessel - reflecting tea’s aromatics like the fine high-fired porcelain it is, but with deep sculptural beauty that elevates the tasting experience. The way she hand-sculpted this cup makes it look rough-hewn, like it was excavated from an ancient Song Dynasty kiln site. Sitting around the tea table together, Yi Xuan calls this style her ‘classic porcelain’ with a smile on her face. What she means is that these cups are her only work that get a traditional white glaze, a nod to her training and discipline as a potter in China’s oldest center of porcelain culture. Of course, this work is nothing like “classic” porcelain, with its subtle coloration that comes from Yi Xuan’s unique wood-firing process, and the celadon-like crazing. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact tea bowl pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces that can never turn out the same again. Once this individual piece finds a new home, it is gone.

Pouring tea into such a deep nuanced pitcher lights up the subtle color variation brought on by artist Yi Xuan’s incredible three day high-temperature wood-firing process. The natural iridescence and metallic swirling is an artifact of the extreme heat patterns reflecting in the kiln. This pitcher is not glazed, its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing. The pitcher is built out of improbably thin porcelain, not clay, since only Yi Xuan’s special porcelain blend can stand up to the outrageous heat of her kiln. The unglazed porcelain makes this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

Pouring tea into such a deep nuanced pitcher lights up the subtle color variation brought on by artist Yi Xuan’s incredible three day high-temperature wood-firing process. The natural iridescence and metallic swirling is an artifact of the extreme heat patterns reflecting in the kiln. This pitcher is not glazed, its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing. The pitcher is built out of improbably thin porcelain, not clay, since only Yi Xuan’s special porcelain blend can stand up to the outrageous heat of her kiln. The unglazed porcelain makes this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

Artist Yi Xuan has studied ceramics traditions from across the world, including a three year research project on coffee culture that exposed her to larger mugs. This hand-built piece looks like it was hewn from a solid piece of stone, the way she shaped this by hand to preserve a solid anchoring feeling accentuated by her unique two step firing that involves an electric kiln firing to set the unglazed porcelain, followed by application of a blended ash glaze and finally an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the cup has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. Holding the cup in hand, it feels like holding an ancient piece unearthed after thousands of years.

This teacup is large enough to hold in two hands and use for matcha or hold the full brew of a small yixing pot for solo brewing. Artist Yi Xuan was so proud of how this piece turned out that she applied her ancient-style seal to the bottom of the cup, where unglazed porcelain shows through the swirling colors of her hand-blended ash glaze. The rippling shape of the cup feels deeply intentional in its sculpting, and shows off the deep red and white so beautifully. Artist Yi Xuan took this cup through two full firing processes, first, an electric firing to set the porcelain, then a dip in a hand-blended ash glaze and an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the cup has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. The result of this painstaking process is a unique, deep, complex cup that shows off the heat signature of the kiln and the way glazing interacts with unglazed porcelain across multiple firings. Work like this is what puts the Yi Xuan Ceramics Research Institute on the map!

This set of four tea cups by artist Yi Xuan is inscribed with the classical four character expression 松风水月, a line from a Tang Dynasty Li Ye poem describing a scene of perfect tranquility- pine trees bending lightly in the wind and moonlight on the water. This reference to natural beauty in transition pairs with the spirit of Yi Xuan’s own work- a portrait of her wood-fired kilns fleeting heat signature, and the spirit of gongfu tea itself. The iridescent cups are entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. These tea cups are not glazed - their color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

Artist Yi Xuan loves old-school Fujianese Gongfu tea, where three or seven cups are lined up in a triangle, and tea is poured straight from a gaiwan into the cups for guests so it can be appreciated at peak aromatics. This set of three small gongfu tasting cups is perfect for serious oolong tasting. These stunning pieces are entirely hand-thrown by artist Yi Xuan and came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. The cups are not glazed- their color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making them incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

Artist Yi Xuan took this pitcher through two full firing processes after hand shaping this beautiful piece, first, an electric firing to set the porcelain, then a dip in a hand-blended ash glaze and an extensive multi-day wood-firing in her old-school kiln, reaching temperatures so high that the pitcher has to be hand-built from her custom porcelain blend instead of traditional clay. The result of this painstaking process is a unique, deep, complex pitcher that shows off the heat signature of the kiln and the way glazing interacts with unglazed porcelain across multiple firings. Work like this is what puts the Yi Xuan Ceramics Research Institute on the map!

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

Yi Xuan’s experimental giant wood-fired kiln set into the hillside on the outskirts of Dehua glows all through the night as she fires a batch of porcelain. The intense heat, smoke and chemical transformation possible in the kiln turn what would otherwise come out a lustrous shining white, this beautiful shade of red-orange. Making pieces this thin and fine put them at risk of cracking in the kiln, but Yi Xuan tales that risk to honor the detail that Dehua is famous for. The result is a gaiwan as light in the hand as Jingdezhen’s famous porcelain, but with a natural, hand-thrown feel and color that makes tea leaves really shine. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact Gaiwan pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces with patterns that can never line up quite the same again. Once this individual gaiwan finds a new home, it is gone.

Yi Xuan’s experimental giant wood-fired kiln set into the hillside on the outskirts of Dehua glows all through the night as she fires a batch of porcelain. The intense heat, smoke and chemical transformation possible in the kiln turn what would otherwise come out a lustrous shining white, this beautiful shade of red-orange. Making pieces this thin and fine put them at risk of cracking in the kiln, but Yi Xuan tales that risk to honor the detail that Dehua is famous for. The result is a gaiwan as light in the hand as Jingdezhen’s famous porcelain, but with a natural, hand-thrown feel and color that makes tea leaves really shine. This truly one-of-a-kind piece is the exact Gaiwan pictured. Yi Xuan’s process and her kiln make for stunningly unique pieces with patterns that can never line up quite the same again. Once this individual gaiwan finds a new home, it is gone.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.

This stunning hand-built, wood-fired Gaiwan is from artist Yi Xuan’s personal collection, a piece that came out of the kiln with natural swirling iridescence, an artifact of the extreme heat of her three day firing process that gets so hot she has to build her work from a special hand-blended porcelain mix instead of traditional clay which would otherwise break apart in the kiln. This gaiwan is not glazed- its color comes entirely from iron-oxide dusts present in her porcelain reacting to the heat of the firing, making this piece incredibly thin and light, a true pleasure to hold in the hand.