1:45 pm - Teaware in Residence, Shigaraki Japan
1:45 - 2:30 pm; Jonathan Steele
In 2024 I traveled to Shigaraki, Japan as a resident artist at Shigaraki Ceramics Cultural Park. I brought with me the experience and context of Gong Fu Cha teaware filtered through a Pacific Northwest lens and I found in Japan a new context of Matcha, Sencha, Gyokuro, and all the different teaware that pairs with these different teas.
Presenter Bio
Jonathan Steele, Jonathan Steele Studio
Jonathan Steele has been making pottery since 2009 and received an MFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2016. He began a particular study of tea and teaware in 2016 and was Resident Artist at Pleasant Hill Pottery from 2016 to 2018 where he developed his precise style for woodfired teapots and the supporting vessels for gong fu cha. In 2024 Jonathan was selected as resident artist at Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Shigaraki, Japan where he made a body of work with new and expansive influences. Jonathan has been a vendor and presenter at TeaFestPDX since 2017.