Precision and spontaneity are at odds in the work of Huang Li Chia’s ceramic work, thrown from a gravity defying stoneware clay. From her studio in South Eastern Taiwan, shared with her woodworking partner, the artist considers functionality, expression, and beauty as she creates pieces pared back to reveal each element at its most foundational, in an incredibly successful line of teaware.

This ceramic tea scoop is formed by hand, molding the earth in a manner practiced from the most ancient times. In the artists hands, the form takes on the shape of a deeply cupped petal, curving gently at it’s tip to lift or deposit tea from pot to pot. Covered in a thick layer of white glaze, the texture is ever so slightly orange peeled, with hairline crazing, and sporadic beauty marks - the evidence of iron spotting in the clay rising through the surface of the glaze.

Pictured is one in a series of similar pieces. Slight variations are possible from piece to piece, a hallmark of hand-made pottery. The piece you receive may be different than the one pictured, but will be as beautiful.