Golden Drift – 60 ml dai cup
This hand-made cup by Master Yiwen features a rounded form with a gently flared opening, offering a smooth and comfortable touch. Made from Yunnan clay and shaped by hand, its surface is carved with geometric inspired floral pattern, etched before firing, and now softened by flame.
During the wood firing, ash from the burning wood settled naturally onto the cup’s surface, forming Luòhuī Yòu (落灰釉) or wood ash glaze. The dancing flames left unpredictable marks: soft blush tones where the fire kissed the clay, and streaks that shift between matte and gloss. The result is a warm, earthy palette, layered with natural texture and movement.
Each piece is shaped not only by hands, but by fire. A true collaboration between control and chance. Two cups exist in this series. While similar in form and tonality, each is utterly unique
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DAI-MINORITY TRADITIONAL TEAWARE
依温 Yiwen Laoshi's work
When we visited Yiwen’s studio, the dragon kiln was alive, flames breathing steadily, a mattress laid nearby where a student kept vigil through day and night, tending the fire. Nearby, apprentices carved delicate lines into drying clay, while Yiwen, calm and focused, brewed tea. The air carried the scent of earth and smoke, and everything moved with quiet intention.
Yiwen, a Dai woman born in Xishuangbanna, began working with clay at the age of ten. Direct and determined, she has spent decades refining her craft with unwavering focus. As a recognised inheritor of the Dai slow-wheel pottery technique, she stays rooted in tradition while pushing its boundaries, reviving ancient methods through high-temperature wood-firing.
Using clay dug from the mountains of Yunnan, her works follow over ten traditional steps, from natural fermentation to shaping by hand, and finally, a seven-day wood firing without glazes or additives.
Sometimes ash falls just right, forming a natural glaze; other times, it does not. Her pieces are steady, minimal, and resilient, each one a quiet dialogue between earth and flame.
