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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 31/07/2025

Mino style bowl using 100% unprocessed Cameron clay from North Carolina, and a simple shino-like glaze. Woodfired @starworksnc.bsky.social #sado #chanoyu #茶碗 #茶の湯 #茶道 #woodfired pottery #woodfiredceramics #noborigamafired #shino #shinoglaze

Front of teabowl with crawling glaze and finger marks.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 14/07/2025

Test piece from the last woodfire. On display at "The Dark Show" July 19 - August 23. www.starworksnc.org/starworks-ev... Firing a piece 10x its size in two weeks. Time at Starworks is passing fast. #ceramicart #ceramicsculpture #void #emptiness #thespacebetween #woodfiredceramics #starworksnc

Front right view of sculpture. Measures 12" tall. Results were not at all what I expected, but really interesting nonetheless.

Front left view of sculpture. Work in progress is about ten times the overall volume of this piece.

Detail of inside surface. Cracking and peeling of the applied slip was not intended but gives a really nice effect.

Detail view of inside surface. Surprising variety in colors ranging from greens to purples. No glaz was applied, this is just wood ash.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 07/05/2025

For your consideration. Three of these will be submitted to the Kansas City Clay Guild Teabowl National. Help me select the three. #teabowl #chawan #teaceremony #tbn2025 #teabowlnational2025 #茶碗 #茶の湯

Grid of nine chawan from which I'll select three for submission to the 2025 Teabowl National.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 05/04/2025

Raku-style bowl. "Dark Side of the Moon". Lots of mixed feelings about this one. #tea #teaceremony #chawan #matchawan #rakuchawan #raku #sadō #chanoyu #楽 #茶碗 #茶の湯

Side of bowl showing a red stripe where the surface transitions from smooth to cratered.

Front of teabowl showing the moon-like cratering in the glaze. I had to do a lot of cleanup with a grinder to make the surface smooth enough to use.

Back of chawan with mottled glossy black glaze. Gorgeous variation in this surface.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 23/03/2025

Teabowl. Black clay with wood ash nuka. Hand formed thick and carved. Thinking about which bowls I want to submit to the KC Clay Guild Teabowl National and this style seems right as it feels like my own. Interested in your thoughts. #tea #matcha #teabowl #chawan #茶碗 #teaceremony #chanoyu #茶の湯

Front of teabowl with prominent glaze drip.

The foot was carved to be slightly concave, an intentional reference to some of the famous Korean Ido bowls.

There are a few glaze defects that will have to be addressed with lacquer and gold, but the end result will be worth the effort.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 03/03/2025

I taught a Raku-style teabowl workshop these last two weekends. The result of a lot of clay testing, glaze formulation and learning the best way to fire our kiln. Much to my relief, the work paid off and each of the students' bowls came out great. #raku #kuroraku #rakujawan #chawan #teaceremony #茶碗

Front of chawan. Two characteristics of Raku bowls I love are the "waist " and the slightly turned-in rim. The rim isn't actually turned in much, it is just left thick and beveled. Leaving the rim thick helps with balance also.

Interior of the chawan. Really good citrus skin texture on this one.

Foot of the chawan. A spiral in the kodai is traditional, but I opted for a backwards yin-yang. The choice was unconscious, but appropriate. I formed this bowl while experiencing a huge disruption to my personal life.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 27/02/2025

Kurinuki demo piece for my intermediate handbuilding class. If it resembles Satake or Matsuzaki, you wouldn't be wrong; I took some workshops with them. Fun glaze combo gives something Oribe-ish. More rabbit holes to explore. #kurinuki #handbuiltpottery #abstract #sculpture #pottersofbluesky

Right quarter view of sculpture. The glaze combo I used -- a fake blue ash and iron saturate -- gives a really interesting contemporary Oribe look.

Front view of sculpture. I really like the soft organic folding near the base.

Left quarter view of sculpture. Texture created by adding a lot of silica and intentionally wedging air into the clay.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 24/02/2025

Intermission. I've been taking Ikenobo classes, so of course I made a container. #ikenobo #ikebana #shoka #flowerarranging #pottersofbluesky

Ikenobo Shoka style arrangement with fasciated willow and tulips in a black clay container with iron saturated glaze.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 22/02/2025

Bowl-like-thing. Black clay thrown thick and carved. Tenmoku liner. Wood-salt fired. Looks like a chunk of basalt. Struggling to call this a teabowl because it would shred a chakin in a nanosecond, but as a sculptural piece, it works well. #tea #teabowl #chawan #chanoyu #sadō #teaceremony #茶碗 #茶の湯

Bowl with very rough exterior. Thrown thick, allowed to dry to leather hard, then cut with a razor and the clay torn away.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 21/02/2025

Simple hand-formed teabowl with a shino-Iike glaze oversaturated with iron and bone ash. Iron is amazing for its range of colors and effects. #tea #teabowl #chawan #chanoyu #sadō #茶碗

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 20/02/2025

Another textured teabowl. Same body, glaze and firing as the previous, but different location in the kiln. Instead of imparting a glossy sheen, the salt flashes the pot in a salmon pink. #tea #teabowl #chawan #teaceremony #woodfiredpottery #pottersofbluesky

Front of chawan showing carved texture and pink flashing.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 19/02/2025

Woodfired tenmoku-style bowl. At the time, I thought this a decent facsimile of the originals, but now it feels a bit heavy handed. That rim is so darn hard to get right. #tea #teabowl #chawan #tenmoku #teaceremony #woodfired #pottersofbluesky

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 18/02/2025

Dojimari-gata (waist type) teabowl. Woodfired porcelaneous stoneware with an unglazed exterior. Beautiful range of colors from the wood ash and flame shadows. #teabowl #chawan well beyond #20pots #teaceremony #woodfiredpottery

Front of chawan showing blue-grey ash deposits and salmon colored flashing.

Foot of chawan showing wadding marks and flame shadows.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 17/02/2025

Slip-textured and woodfired teabowl with crawling shino interior. See ALT text for more info! #chawan #teabowl #teaceremony #chanoyu #sadō #woodfired #woodfiredpottery #pottersofbluesky

Front of teabowl showing salmon-pink flashing and blue, grey and green ash deposits.

Interior of chawan showing chadamari and crawling shino glaze. It took me a really long time to be OK with crawling interiors.

Foot of chawan, minimally carved. I use a "pinch and throw" technique on a banding wheel to form this style of bowl, then apply two layers of sanded, contrasting slips to create the texture.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 17/02/2025

Mino style teabowl, Shino type. Thrown thick, then shaved. Same glaze inside and out, but with different applications. #chadō #茶道 #chanoyu #茶の湯 #matchawan #chawan #teabowl #茶碗 #shinoglaze #pottersofbluesky #februarty

Front of chawan showing crawling and finger swipes.

Back of teabowl with larger crawling patterns.

Interior of chawan. Glaze was thinned before applying to the inside to eliminate crawling.

Foot of chawan, roughly carved with a wooden tool.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 15/02/2025

An older aka-shino style bowl. Hand-formed sandy stoneware. Richly textured glaze with yuzuhada (citrus skin) and suana (nest holes) created by course sand. #teabowl #chawan #teaceremony #chanoyu #sado #yuzuhada #suana

Foot of teabowl. Sandy clay creates a rough texture when trimmed.

Interior of teabowl showing chadamari. Sand in the clay creates "suana" (nest holes) in the glaze.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 14/02/2025

Hand-formed teabowl with iron saturate glaze. Wood fired in the Groundworks Art Lab anagama in 2022. A bit quieter than most. This one remains one of my favorites. #tea #teabowl #chawan #茶碗 #teaceremony #sadō #茶道 #chanoyu #茶の湯 #woodfiredpottery #pottersofbluesky

Front of chawan. This side faced the flame which caused the glaze to run a bit more, lightening the glaze.

Side of chawan showing difference in flame impact on glaze.

Foot of chawan. Trimmed minimally in the style of Hon'ami Kōetsu.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 13/02/2025

In keeping with the textural theme: hand formed and carved teabowl with iron saturate liner. This one found a life partner in the anagama, now separated and bearing the scars of loss. (I'm feeling emo today.) #tea #teabowl #chawan #teaceremony #chanoyu #sadō #woodfiredpottery #pottersofbluesky

Front of chawan showing the scar where it touched another pot in the firing.

Back of chawan showing the yamamichi (mountain path) landscape rim.

Interior of chawan. Chadamari is there, but hardly visible.

Bottom of chawan showing minimal, carved foot and wadding marks.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 12/02/2025

Something a little different. Porcelaneous stoneware teabowl thrown thick and carved. Celadon liner. Wood-salt fired. #teabowl #chawan #teaceremony #pottery #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #woodfiredpottery

Front of teabowl. The chawan was thrown thick, allowed to dry to hard leather hard, then siced and torn with a razor to create the texture. The salt added to the firing gives the texture a smooth glossy finish.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 11/02/2025

Hand-formed teabowl with slip texture and shino-like glaze. Wood+salt fired in the Groundworks Art Lab Bourry Box. This one went to the KC Clay Guild Teabowl National last year. #teabowl #teaceremony #chanoyu #sadō #chawan

Front of chawan. This bowl fired in the front of the stack near the salt port and was heavily fluxed by the salt, causing this normally stable shino to move.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 10/02/2025

Kuroraku-style bowl. Fired to 1100C, removed hot, and water quenched. Basalt glaze. The body remains light and insulating. Quenching the bowl results in the desired "thuck" when tapped with a tea scoop. #chawan #kuroraku #teabowl #chanoyu #teaceremony #sadō #pottersofbluesky #茶碗 #茶道 #茶の湯

Front of the chawan. There's a surprising amount of variation in the glaze, and a scar on the rim from contact with another bowl in the kiln. Both help to define the front of the bowl.

Interior of the chawan showing the chadamari.

Foot of the teabowl. The bowl was fired on nichrome stilts, allowing the entire foot to be glazed.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 09/02/2025

Hand-formed teabowl with slip texture and shino-like glaze. Woodfired in the Groundworks Art Lab anagama. Wishing I still had this one, but happy knowing it's being loved by its new owner. #teabowl #teaceremony #chanoyu #sadō #chawan

Front of teabowl with crawling shino glaze and scorch marks.

Side of teabowl with dark scorch marks from a 4 day woodfiring in an anagama kiln.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 08/02/2025

Tanka-fired (in a sagar with charcoal) teabowl with shino-like glaze. Hand formed from iron bearing stoneware amended with fine sand. Unintentionally similar to Hon'ami Kōetsu's Fujisan. #teabowl #chawan #chanoyu #茶碗

Side view of the chawan showing crawling and areas where the charcoal fused with the glaze.

Front view of the chawan showing crawling and areas where the charcoal fused with the glaze.

Interior of the chawan with well-defined chadamari.

Foot of chawan, simply and minimally trimmed.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 07/02/2025

Hand-formed teabowl with shino-like glaze. Woodfired in the Groundworks Art Lab anagama a few years ago. #teabowl #chawan #茶碗 #chanoyu #茶の湯 #sadō #茶道 #pottersofbluesky

Front of chawan showing heavy ash deposits, crystals and fire color.

Back of chawan with glaze drips and red fire color.

Foot of chawan. Heavy ash deposits over clay with additional sand to create texture.

Rim and interior of chawan showing ash deposits.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 06/02/2025

Chōsen-Garatsu style bowl with iron saturate and white ash glazes. Wood-salt fired in the now defunct Groundworks Art Lab Bourry Box. I'm dying inside without access to a wood kiln. I'm dying inside due to current events also, but pottery helps. #teabowl #chawan #chosengaratsu #woodfiredceramics

Front of chawan with prominent gaze drips.

Rim detail of chawan. I love how this ash glaze breaks transparent and has an opalescent fringe.

Foot detail of chawan. Yummy glaze drips.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 05/02/2025

Black clay teabowl. Hand-formed and carved. Wood-ash nuka glaze. Woodfired in the Big Magic anagama last fall. #tea #teabowl #matcha #chawan #sadō #chanoyu #茶碗 #茶の湯 #茶道 #woodfiredpottery #woodfiredceramics #anagamafired #nukaglaze #ashglaze

Front of chawan showing blue grey ash deposits on the rim.

Interior view of chawan. Several cracks formed in the firing that were fused by the glaze, giving some additional interest.

Foot of the chawan, simply carved and slightly concave.

Side view of the foot with clay "stalactites" formed by carving.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 04/02/2025

O-Ido style bowl. An experiment in clay body formulation and a glaze recipe translated from Michio Yasuda's site. The clay remains open and light. With water, the clay blooms, so this will develop a patina over time. #idoteabowl #teabowl #chawan #chanoyu #sadō #茶碗 #茶の湯

Front of chawan showing throwing lines and glaze drips.

Rim of chawan showing finger mark and fine crackle.

Foot of chawan. Was hoping to get crawling on the rough clay. More tests to do...

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 03/02/2025

Hand-formed teabowl with shino-like glaze. Woodfired in the Cub Creek Foundation Jessiemonster noborigama. #teabowl #chawan #teaceremony #woodfiredpottery #sadō #茶碗 #shino #shinoglaze

Front of chawan showing red-orange flashing and blue-grey ash deposits.

Back of chawan showing crystal growth in the blue-grey ash deposits.

Interior of chawan with glaze streaks and chadamari.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 02/02/2025

Hand formed black clay teabowl with black slip texture. Shino-type glaze. Woodfired in our now dead anagama at Groundworks Art Lab. #chawan #teabowl #teaceremony #chanoyu #sadō #茶碗 #茶道 #茶の湯

Front view of chawan showing slip texture and gestural glaze application.

Shallow, minimal foot of teabowl with glaze drips.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 02/02/2025

The Philadelphia International Tea Bowl Exhibition was amazing. Deserved another 20 hours to really take it all in. What an amazing opportunity to see and handle these works. Super inspired. Thanks to Mark Tyson and the crew at the Community Arts Center for making this possible.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 01/02/2025

Woodfired teabowl, assembled from white and black clay bodies. I love the contrast between the blue-grey on one side and the orange flashing on the other. Reminds me of a desert sunrise. #teabowl #chawan #woodfiredpottery #nerikomi #茶碗 #pottersofbluesky

Side view of chawan showing blue-grey ash deposits and orange flashing.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 31/01/2025

Mino-style teabowl, Shino-type. Fired in the Cub Creek Foundation "Jessiemonster" noborigama last spring. I didn't think much of it until a friend helped me see its subtle beauty. She is now its caretaker and I couldn't be happier knowing it lives with her now. #chawan #teabowl #chanoyu #woodfired

Front view of chawan with red-orange flashing and glaze streaks

Interior of chawan showing ash deposits and chadamari

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 30/01/2025

Hand-formed and carved teabowl in black clay with an iron saturate glaze. Woodfired in the Big Magic anagama. I make many styles of bowls, but with this, I feel something coalescing. A bit challenging to handle in temae, but it rewards in haiken. #teabowl #chawan #woodfiredpottery #chanoyu #sadō

Detail view of the rim. Wood ash and slow cooling create crystals in the glaze.

Detail view of the lower half of the chawan. Faceting the sides and carving the foot leave stalactite-like protrusions

View of the teabowl foot. Minimally carved with a wooden tool to enhance the texture.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 29/01/2025

Mino-style teabowl, Shino-type. Sandy white refractory clay and a feldspar+clay glaze. Woodfired in the Big Magic anagama. Very dramatic bowl, lots of fire-color and texture. #teabowl #chawan #抹茶碗 #sadō #chanoyu #woodfiredpottery #pottersofbluesky

Front of chawan showing carbon trapping.

Back of chawan with red-orange fire color and white glaze crawling.

Foot of chawan with finger marks in the glaze.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 28/01/2025

Seto-guro style teabowl, pulled from the kiln at peak temp. A test piece for an upcoming teabowl workshop. Not technically hikidashi-guro as we fired to cone 1. Basalt glaze and mogusa-like clay. #tea #teaceremony #chawan #chanoyu #sadō #setoguro #hikidashi #hikidashiguro #茶碗 #茶の湯 #茶道

Front view of chawan with exposed white clay and black glaze drips. If I could replicate those drips reliably...

Side view of chawan showing throwing lines and shaved facets.

Side view of chawan showing citrus skin texture "yuzuhada".

Foot of chawan. Always struggling with the perfect foot.

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 27/01/2025

Hand-formed teabowl with contrasting "dobe" slips and celadon liner. Wood-fired in the Cub Creek Foundation anagama. #tea #teabowl #chawan #chanoyu #sadō #茶碗 #茶道 #茶の湯 #woodfiredpottery #pottery #ceramics #pottersofbluesky

Front view of chawan with orange and blue-grey coloring

Foot of chawan showing wadding marks and comet trails

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 26/01/2025

Hand-formed and carved teabowl. Dark clay with a wood-ash "nuka" glaze. #teabowl #chawan #茶碗 #matcha #teaceremony #茶の湯 #茶道 #nuka #nukaglaze

Front view of chawan with roughly carved surface and drippy ash glaze

Interior view of chawan showing chadamari

View of the chawan kodai with chirimen (縮緬, ちりめん) texture

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 25/01/2025

Tanka fired teabowl with shino glaze and white oak chashaku. #chawan #teabowl #chanoyu #chadō #sadō #chashaku #茶碗 #茶杓

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Chad Corbin @mudmeditations.com · 24/01/2025

Hand formed and carved teabowl. Mixed clay with a wood ash "nuka" glaze. Woodfired in the Big Magic anagama. #teabowl #chawan #teaceremony #pottery #ceramics #woodfiredpottery #nuka

Teabowl with mixed clay, nuka glaze and undulating rim.

View of the teabowl interior and chadamari

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