Student of the 5 Kilns

Introduction

My name is Jia-Yuan Li. I am a San Francisco based ceramics potter; my journey with clay started in 2012, with the teachers and students of the Sharon Art Studio, in Golden Gate Park. The inspiration for my pottery comes from the art and traditions of East Asia, its mythologies and cultures. I am inspired by the pieces in museums held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, Shanghai Museum East, National Museum of Korea in Seoul and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. My art is also equally inspired by the landscape and seascapes of the California coast.

The 5-kilns that I refer to in the name of this website comes from the famous 5 Great Imperial Kilns of ancient China, the sources of classic ceramics designs that capture the culture of dynasties and the inspiration of many modern modes . https://www.christies.com/en/stories/glazes-a-chinese-ceramics-collectors-guide-86302474ea03458fbb1bfc02bef58159

Every piece on this website is made by hand from beginning to end, without any molds. Therefore, every piece is unique and there will never be two that are identical. I also do not make pieces in large batches so the supply is always limited. Most pieces are made on a potter's wheel, trimmed, and hand-carved. Other pieces are built entirely by hand. The pieces are then bisque fired, glazed and then they undergo high-fire to bring out the brilliance of the glazes. The blue celadon pieces, including many that are carved, are made from the whitest porcelain clay that shows off the bright clear light blue glaze. Pieces with other colors are made from darker clay. The interplay of the color of the clay and the minerals in the glazes produces the jewel-like quality on these pieces.

Administrator's Garden, Suzhou, China

Carved Celadon Porcelain

Dream of the Red Chamber

This is the title of a classic Chinese novel written in the 18th century. Over the years, it was adapted for the stage, as a Chinese opera, in films and later it was written as a Western style opera. I attended an adaptation of this novel when it was performed at the San Francisco Opera in 2022. (https://www.sfopera.com/operas/dream-of-the-red-chamber). The tale begins with the telling of a story of a stone that nursed a crimson pearl flower with the dew it collected for 3,000 years. The stone and the flower prayed to be incarnated as human beings so they can experience a mortal existence. Their wish was granted. The stone was born into a wealthy family as a boy and the red flower was born as a girl. Thus began a story of love, political intrigue and the decline of a powerful family. This vase was hand carved and inspired by that story and depicts a flower growing in the crevice of a rock. In the West, we are used to stories that take place within a season or maybe a lifetime (happily ever after) but only in a country as ancient as China can there be stories that span thousands of years.

Power Seeking Wisdom

The dragon is a symbol of power, strength and authority throughout the Far East. The carving on this vase depicts a dragon looking for its pearl, which is sitting on a cloud just to the upper right side of the vase, almost at his finger tip. This pot was glazed in a very light blue celadon. The pattern where the glaze pooled gives this piece an iridescent quality.

The Lotus Bud

This is a bud base in the shape of a lotus blossom, a powerful symbol in Buddhism. The lotus bud starts its life in the bottom of the pond, in the dirty mud. As the lotus grows, it slowly reaches for the sunlight until one day, it emerges onto the surface to water and bloom in its full glory. The lesson from the lotus is that no matter how difficult your current circumstance is, as long as you keep reaching for the sun, you will shine in your success.

Cloud Illusions

I love the pattern of clouds in the sky. This vase is carved with stylized clouds modeled after ones found in the artwork of the Far East. This type of clouds can be found on various object d' art throughout the centuries from Tibetan weavings to Chinese paintings to Korean celadons to modern Japanese manga.

Dragon Watching

This is inspired by a whale watching trip in Monterey Bay. I imagined that our ancestors must have looked up in the sky to watch for dragons. Like in whale watching, it's rare that you see the entire animal. Rather, one would see an arched back, a fin or a tail among the waves of the ocean. In this case, the dragon is swirling among the clouds and you see parts of him but you never see his face.

Dragon Watching

Sometimes when I am obsessed with an idea, I re-use it repeatedly in many pieces. This is a second vase with carvings inspired by the idea of dragon watching in the sky. Like the other piece, the head of the dragon is never visible but when you traced the serpentine body around the vase, you almost anticipate that the face of the dragon will be revealed in the next horizon.

Gourds

In Chinese culture, the gourd is a symbol of good luck, fertility and health. It is carried by the Li Tie Guai, one of the Eight Immortals in the Taoist pantheon. Li TieGuai often depicted as an old crippled beggar with an iron crutch and a gourd in his hand from which he dispenses a special medicine to relieve sickness and suffering, especially that of the poor. Li TieGuai is the embodiment of compassion and empathy and he is an example to everyone in his service to others.

Tea

Mid-Autumn Moon Teapots

The design of these teapots is inspired by an image associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, a major holiday in the Chinese culture celebrating the harvest. Associated with this holiday is the story about the Goddess Chang'e who lives on the moon with her pet rabbit. She is often depicted in a long loose dress, with ribbons floating all around her. She is often seen in front of a full moon. Her image often adorns the boxes used to hold mooncakes, a dessert eaten on this holiday. I designed these teapots so that this image is distilled to its essence: her ribbons and the moon.

Although the ribbon handles on these teapots look delicate, they are made from porcelain, which is a very strong and hard material. The handles can carry weight far exceeding that of a full pot. They are made to be used every day. Although these teapots can be machine washed, I hand wash mine to minimize potential damage due to bumping into other dishes in the dishwasher machine.

California

Devil's Slide at night, Pacific Coast, California

Pacific Waves

I made a series of vases in this style, because I was inspired by the folds of the pottery seen in the works of George Ohr (1857-1918) (the Mad Potter of Biloxi) ( https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?q=George+E.+Ohr&sortBy=Relevance ) The creations you see here don't resemble George's pieces at all. They are uniquely mine. Making these vases is tricky because, at some point, l lose control of the piece and the shape is essentially made by the centrifugal force generated from the spinning of the potter's wheel. The twists come from the friction between my hand and the ridges of the clay but I don't control how the folds will occur. The shapes also embody the fear, trepidation, and beauty of surrendering to the forces of nature.

In Private Collections

Pumpkin

This teapot was inspired by ancient Chinese and Korean celadons which uses the shape of gourds or pumpkins to inspire the design of teapots and lidded jars. This teapot was made with the whitest porcelain and blue celadon glaze. Pumpkin is currently in a private collection.

Blueberry

The name of this vase is "blueberry". The glaze is actually a blend of two distinctly different shades ("Eye's Green" and "Chun") that combined to produce this beautiful blue color. Blueberry's currently lives with someone who loves him very much and shares his recent photos with me regularly. As you can see, he is working hard.

Dragon Watching

This piece belongs to the "Dragon Watching" series and inspired by a whale watching trip in the Monterey Bay. This dragon is playing in the clouds. This piece is currently in a private collection.

Dragon Gate

Sometimes I explore a specfic theme in different ways. This piece is another one that was inspired by the legend of the dragon gate. The dragon gate sits on top of magical waterfall. Only a fish that was strong and brave enough to endure the trek from the bottom of the crashing waves to reach the top will pass through the dragon gate to become a dragon. This piece is in a private collection.

Dragon Gate

This vase is inspired by the story of the dragon gate, an ancient lore about the origins of dragons. On this vase, the fish is traveling up the waterfall alone. When she reaches the top where the dragon gate stands, she will transform into a powerful dragon. The pine tree along the way is a symbol of strength and portends a successful journey. This vase is currently in the collection of a law student and I hope this helps bring her luck on her journey. On the back of this vase is a design of swirling incense smoke, symbolizing the prayers of her parents, her family and her ancestors. There are also a pair of bats which are also symbols of good fortune in Chinese culture. Porcelain is a delicate material and in high temperature, it sometimes slumps. Though the shape of this one is not quite uniform, the carving on this is intricate. I studied many paintings, both Chinese and Japanese to help be conceptualize the image of the waterfall. I let the shape of the vase create the illusion of a slipper slope. It looks like, at any moment, the little fish will fall off and be dashed in the rapids below. But, as you can see, the fish is strong and I believe it will reach the dragon gate. It is the master of it's own fate.

Summer Garden

The clay that made this pot is a white clay with a little hint of sand color. It gave this piece a rustic look. The green celadon glaze reacted to the texture of the pot underneath and emphasized the texture of the carving. The green glaze pooled in the carved ridges, leaving the elevated areas lighter in color. The flower is a peony, which is the queen of late spring and early summer. This flower is a powerful symbol in Chinese art. The peony represents wealth, prosperity and feminine beauty, everything that describes its current owner. The reverse of this vase is a carving of a lotus flower, which is a strong symbol of moral strength and integrity, another two words that describe its current owner well.

Folds

In this piece, I wanted to use the clay to explore the form of folds. When a part of the clay is folded, another side caves in and folds inward. The reason why this piece was glazed in white is because I wanted the outstanding feature to be the shape, not the color. This piece now belongs to a good friend.

Moon Jar

The Moon Jar is the iconic Korean ceramic art form. Originally utilitarian in its origin and usually quite large, it is prized for its simple form and the calm clarity of its white glaze. Inspired by the pieces in the Asian Art Museum and the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, I created a miniature version of the Moon Jar and gave this piece and another one like it to a friend of mine who went on an adventure with me to Korea.

New Heaven and Earth

When I went to visit my friend in Shanghai, I stayed in her apartment in the Xin Tien Di neighborhood. Xin Tien Di translates into New Heaven and Earth, a very optimistic sentiment for a bright future . This neighborhood is very vibrant. There are a lot of very good restaurants, movie theaters, and a lot of shops featuring both Western and Eastern brands. (I lived across the street from Din Tai Fun and Lululemon and down the street is Peets Coffee.). I can not say enough good things about Shanghai.

When I came back to San Francisco I carved this vase with clouds, mountains and the waves of an ocean on the bottom.

In my own collection

Leaves of Grass

This vase is inspired by the title of Walt Whitman's collection of poems that celebrates individuality and the voice of the common person. This vase is also inspired by the art nouveau design of the French glassmaker Lalique. In 1912, Lalique designed a heart shaped glass vase with grasshoppers sitting on the blades. The Lalique design was, in turn, inspired by Japanese art that shaped the European aesthetics of the Art Nouveau movement.

It is one of my favorite pieces and it will remain with me. I have since created other versions of this vase but this original will always be my favorite.

Dragon Pearl

This ginger jar has the shape of a dragon, the symbol of power. He is looking for the flaming orb, the dragon pearl, which is just beyond is current reach on the other side of the jar. The dragon pearl represents enlightenment and wisdom, something that any creature with so much power will need.

Clouds

This piece was the result of an accident. The plan was to make a long necked bottle. As I was attempting to straighten the profile of the neck, it got more wobbly the more I tried to shape it. I finally decided to slice off the neck completely. Because I was obssesed with clouds at the time, I decided to carve the puffiest clouds on this piece. This mistake turned out to be beautiful. I keep this to remind myself that sometimes beautiful things happen despite one's plans.

The Curls of Incense Smoke

I modeled the carving on this small bottle on the smoke arising from the tip of an incense stick. In East Asia and Southeast Asia, incense is used in Buddhist temples as a means to send our prayers to heaven. By an accident of the kiln, a slight "burn" happened at the top of the vase, which adds to the design of the bottle.

Dragon Gate

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