Raku Bowl Class

8/13/2019 Raku Bowl Class

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Bumpy, Lumpy, and SpeciaL

Black Raku Tea Bowl from Japan

denver art muSeum

Lesson Plan

Early Childhood

(Ages 3–5)

Black Raku Tea Bowl

3rd–7th generation of Raku family, Japan, 1800s


Black Raku Tea Bowl

from Japan

Overview

Children will learn how things that are bumpy, lumpy, and not necessarily “perfect” are often just

as special as things that seem smooth and “perfect.” They will have an opportunity to make a

tea bowl using the idea that imperfection is still important and beautiful (wabi sabi ).

Age Group

Early childhood (ages 3–5)

CMCS

Visual Arts

Standard 1: Observe and Learn to Comprehend

Standard 2: Envision and Critique to Reect

Length of Lesson

One 30-minute lesson

Rationale

Even at this early age, children can tend to value what is “awless” and “perfect” over what maybe imperfect but expressive and meaningful. Introducing them to the concept of wabi sabi helps

expand their sense of what is beautiful and what may be considered art, opening opportunities

for their own expression as they get older.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• use at least three words to describe what they see and feel when handling objects you

provide;

• use at least three words to describe the Black Raku Tea Bowl ;

• say the words wabi sabi ; and

• explain what wabi sabi means using their own words/examples.





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Materials

• Well-worn objects that are special to the children brought in from home

• A bowl you’ve made out of clay or air-dry clay (see description below)

• Brown paper lunch sacks

• Assorted objects with different textures (e.g., cotton balls, tennis ball, baseball, doll,giant puzzle piece) to put in the brown paper lunch bags

Included:

• About the Art sheet on Black Raku Tea Bowl

• One color copy of the tea bowl for every four children, or the ability to project the image

onto a wall or screen.

**HELPFUL HINT: Click on the 360 View button at the top of the object’s page to view

the tea bowl from all sides.**

Lesson1. In advance: make a sample tea bowl out of clay or model magic. Shape the bowl with

imperfections such as bumps, indentations, a bumpy rim, etc. Also, ask children to

bring in their favorite, well-loved stuffed animals, blankets, etc.

2. Warm-up: Place assorted objects in lunch sacks. Have children feel the objects

without looking at them and describe what they feel. (May do as a large group by

calling up volunteers, or in small groups of 3–4 allowing students to share with a

partner.)

3. Have the children show you their special objects. Talk about their objects and why

they are special. Are the objects perfect? Does that make you love it less? Does

having a well-loved, well-worn object makes it more special? Do things have to be

perfect for us to love or enjoy them?

4. Next, take out the bowl that you made before class. Call volunteer children up one at

a time to handle the bowl and describe what they feel. Call on other children in the

class to tell you what they see. Tell the children that the tea bowl you made is special

because it’s not perfectly smooth, that it reminds you of the beauty in life from things

that aren’t perfect, just like their well-loved objects.

5. Teach them the words wabi sabi . Let them play around with saying the words. Using

words appropriate for young learners, explain what that wabi sabi means something

that is simple—not fancy—and it also means something that gets more beautiful as it

gets old and worn. Ask the students if they think the bowl and their special objects are

wabi sabi .

6. Show the children the picture of the Black Raku Tea Bowl . Allow them time to look

at the picture and tell a partner what they see. Ask them if the bowl is a “wabi sabi ”

bowl (shows the concept of wabi sabi ) and how. What about the bowl do they think is

special?

7. To end, have children go on a wabi sabi scavenger hunt around the room, pointing

out objects that might be worn, bumpy, and not perfect but well loved and treasured.

Share what they nd.




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About the Art

Black Raku Tea Bowl

3rd–7th generation of Raku family, Japan, 1800s

Black Raku Tea Bowl

from Japan

Who Made It?

Until recently, the majority of raku [RAH-koo] ware was made by generations of the Raku

family in Japan. This black tea bowl was most likely made by a member of the Raku family

sometime during the 1800s, between the 3rd and 7th generations of the family. Raku wares are

different from other Japanese ceramics because potters form the pieces by hand rather than

on a potter’s wheel. Each bowl the raku potter makes shows signs of his ngers and hands.

It’s almost as though the artist was communicating to you through the clay. After he is nished

creating the shape of the bowl, the potter applies a glaze to the piece and res it in a kiln at

a low temperature. The potter who made this bowl chose a very plain glaze that is all black.

There are variations in the texture; some areas of the surface are slightly rough and pitted. The

craftsman must have wanted to leave out decoration and make a bowl that was modest rather

than showy; quiet rather than loud.

The making of raku ware was initiated by Chôjirô [CHO-jih-row] during Japan’s Momoyama

period (1573-1615). Chôjirô was asked by the tea master Sen Rikyû [sen REE-kyoo] to make

tea bowls for a tea ceremony. Chôjirô was presented with a seal bearing the Chinese character

for “raku.” The term raku derived from the word Jurakudai, the name of a palace built by the

leading warrior statesman of the time. “Raku” then became the name of the family that produced

the ceramics. This is the only example in history of a family name becoming synonymous with

the ceramics they produced. Raku is the most renowned of all tea ceremony ceramics, andthe Raku family was highly respected for their skillfully crafted tea bowls and table wares. Now,

many potters make raku ware.

What Inspired It?

The artist who made this bowl took into consideration how the bowl would be handled and

viewed during a tea ceremony. Because the bowl is very plain, perhaps the artist was inspired

by the idea of how attractive a bowl can be when it is very subtle. A bowl that is subtle has

less obvious qualities that are very hard to notice. However, if a guest examines the bowl very

carefully, he can see and feel the details. Maybe this artist wanted to challenge the people who

drank from the bowl to pay very careful attention to its simpler qualities. The other thing that

certainly inspired this artist was his knowledge of all the potters in the Raku family who hadcome before him. He was making a bowl in the same tradition as these earlier potters out of

respect for their skill and design style.

The tea bowl is the centerpiece of the Japanese tea ceremony. Traditionally, a tea bowl has no

handles and is made to be held in both hands. It is the most active of all tea utensils as it gets

passed around to all of the guests. Each guest drinks out of the bowl and examines its shape,




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color, and texture before returning it to the host. Those who make tea bowls aim at making a

bowl that will engage the senses of vision and touch, and small and subtle variations are often

prized.

The ritual of serving tea involves a number of specic steps for the host and guests. It can last

anywhere from twenty minutes to ve hours and consists of two distinct stages, representedby the drinking of thick tea (about the consistency of white Elmer’s glue) and thin tea (about

the consistency and frothiness of hot chocolate). Both types of tea are prepared by whisking

green tea powder with water, but the powder used to make thin tea comes from plants that are

younger than those used for thick tea, and more water is used in the preparation of thin tea.

When preparing for the ceremony, the host places a little mountain of powdered green tea

inside a tea caddy or container. Once the ceremony begins, he removes the lid of the caddy

and scoops a small amount of tea powder into a tea bowl, whisking it with hot water to create a

bitter green tea. After the guests have nished their tea and the host has cleaned the utensils,

the guests will often examine each item, noticing its color, shape, size, glaze, and texture. The

utensils are handled with extreme care and reverence because they are often very valuable.

The host chooses which containers to use based on who is attending the ceremony, the level

of formality, the season, the time of day, and how each container will complement other utensils

used.

Information about the Japanese tea ceremony can be found at:

http://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/28TeaCeremony.pdf

Another tea bowl in the Denver Art Museum’s collection can be found at:

http://creativity.denverartmuseum.org/1993_289

Two examples of tea caddies in the Denver Art Museum’s collection can be found at:http://creativity.denverartmuseum.org/1933_5

http://creativity.denverartmuseum.org/1984_441

Things to Look For

Glaze

Glaze is the shiny, glass-like coating that covers the surface of the

bowl. Raku bowls are traditionally covered in a glaze that is made out of

pulverized stone from the Kamo River in Japan. After the glaze is applied,

the bowl is red, a process that melts the glaze and turns it into a newsubstance—glass. When the bowl cools, the glaze hardens, making the

bowl waterproof. The bowl is removed from the re when it is red hot and

the sudden temperature change causes the glaze to turn black. Raku tea

bowls are almost always covered in monochrome black or red glazes.




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Irregular Oval Mark

There is a distinctive mark on what is probably the front of the bowl, which

was most likely made when the bowl was removed from the re with tongs.

This small irregularity was greatly admired.

Irregular Shape

The lip of the bowl is uneven and the sides are somewhat bumpy, indicating

that the bowl was made by hand. This is another example of how the bowl

embodies the Japanese belief that there is beauty in things that are simple

and imperfect.



BlackRaku

TeaBowl,3rd–7thgenerationofRaku

family,Japan,1800s

GiftofEllenandJackRamsayHarris,Mrs.

J.RamsayHarris,1993.12

Photograph©

DenverArtMuseum

2011.AllRightsReserved.

Documents

Raku Bowl Class