Cracked Earth, Silver Sky — Shino Wood-Fired Teacup

Cracked Earth, Silver Sky

Pick up this cup and you immediately feel it — the weight of something ancient, something made by fire and time. The exterior is covered in one of the most dramatic crawled glazes to come from the kiln: thousands of small, rounded white islands of Shino glaze, each one raised and distinct, separated by deep channels of iron-brown that run between them like rivers seen from above. It is the surface of a dried lakebed, a field of river stones, a landscape in miniature. Then your eye travels upward to the rim — and there it is: a band of shimmering blue-grey, metallic and iridescent, like the sky reflected in still water. A quiet, luminous contrast to the raw earth below.

Glaze & Surface

The exterior is blanketed in a thick, heavily crawled Shino glaze — dense white islands of glaze, blistered and rounded, rising from a ground of deep rust-brown iron. The texture is distinctive: deeply three-dimensional, tactile, and alive. The upper body and rim are glazed in a smooth, iridescent blue-grey with a subtle metallic sheen — cool and refined against the raw texture below. The interior mirrors the exterior: a mosaic of white and rust-brown crawled glaze, denser at the walls and opening toward a lighter centre, like a view into a tidal pool.

Form & Feel

• Wide, low chawan form with an irregular, hand-shaped rim — organic and alive
• Substantial weight with excellent heat retention
• Deeply textured exterior — grounding and tactile to hold
• Smooth, iridescent rim — a refined contrast to the raw body

The Crawled Glaze

The dramatic crawled surface of this cup forms when the glaze contracts during firing, pulling away from itself to create islands and channels. It requires precise glaze chemistry and kiln conditions — and even then, the result is never fully predictable. Each cup that emerges with this density and clarity of crawl is a distinct result of this firing.

A cup for those who find beauty in the raw and the ancient. One of a kind, never to be repeated.

Care

Suitable for contact with tea. Hand wash gently and avoid abrasive cleaners. Variations and firing marks are part of this one-of-a-kind handmade piece.