Student of the 5 Kilns

Introduction

My name is Jia-Yuan Li. I am a San Francisco based ceramics potter; my journey with clay started in 2012, with the teachers and students of the Sharon Art Studio, in Golden Gate Park. The inspiration for my pottery comes from the art and traditions of East Asia, its mythologies and cultures. My art is also equally inspired by the landscape, the flora, the fauna and the colors of the California coast.

The 5-kilns that I refer to in the name of this website comes from the famous 5 Great Imperial Kilns of ancient China, the sources of classic ceramics designs that capture the culture of dynasties and the inspiration of many modern modes . https://www.christies.com/en/stories/glazes-a-chinese-ceramics-collectors-guide-86302474ea03458fbb1bfc02bef58159

Every piece on this website is made by hand from beginning to end, without any molds. Therefore, every piece is unique and there will never be two that are identical. Most pieces are made on a potter's wheel, trimmed, and hand-carved. Other pieces are built entirely by hand. The pieces are then bisque fired, glazed and then they undergo high-fire to bring out the brilliance of the glazes. The blue celadon pieces, including many that are carved, are made from the whitest porcelain clay that shows off the bright clear light blue glaze. Pieces with other colors are made from darker clay. The interplay of the color of the clay and the minerals in the glazes produces the jewel-like quality on these pieces.

Administrator's Garden, Suzhou, China

Carved Celadon Porcelain

Dream of the Red Chamber

This is the title of a classic Chinese novel written in the 18th century. Over the years, it was adapted for the stage, as a Chinese opera, in films and later it was written as a Western style opera. I attended an adaptation of this novel when it was performed at the San Francisco Opera in 2022. (https://www.sfopera.com/operas/dream-of-the-red-chamber). The story begins with the telling of a story of a stone that nursed a crimson pearl flower with the dew it collected for 3,000 years. The stone and the flower prayed to be incarnated as human beings so they can experience a mortal existence. Their wish was granted. The stone was born into a wealthy family as a boy and the red flower was born as a girl. Thus began a story of love, political intrigue and the decline of a powerful family. This vase was inspired by that story and depicts a flower growing in the crevice of a rock. In the U.S., we are used to stories that take place within a season or maybe a lifetime or a couple of lifetimes but only in a country as ancient as China can there be stories that span thousands of years.

Power Seeking Wisdom

The dragon is a symbol of power, strength and authority throughout the Far East. The carving on this vase depicts a dragon looking for its pearl, which is sitting on a cloud just to the upper right side of the vase, almost at his finger tip. This pot was glazed in a very light blue celadon. The pattern where the glaze pooled gives this piece an iridescent quality.

The Lotus Bud

This is a bud base in the shape of a lotus blossom, a powerful symbol in Buddhism. The lotus bud starts its life in the bottom of the pond, in the dirty mud. As the lotus grows, it slowly reaches for the sunlight until one day, it emerges onto the surface to water and bloom in its full glory. The lesson from the lotus is that no matter how difficult your current circumstance is, as long as you keep reaching for the sun, you will shine in your success.

Cloud Illusions

I love the pattern of clouds in the sky. This vase is carved with stylized clouds modeled after ones found in the artwork of the Far East. This type of clouds can be found on various object d' art throughout the centuries from Tibetan weavings to Chinese paintings to Korean celadons to modern Japanese cartoons.

Watching Dragons

This is inspired by a whale watching trip in Monterey Bay. I imagined that our ancestors must have looked up in the sky to watch for dragons. Like in whale watching, it's rare that you see the entire animal. Rather, one would see an arched back, a fin or a tail among the waves of the ocean. In this case, the dragon is swirling among the clouds and you see parts of him but you never see his face.

Devil's Slide at night, Pacific Coast, California

In Private Collection (No Longer Available)

Pumpkin: This teapot was inspired by ancient Chinese and Korean celadons which uses the shape of gourds or pumpkins to inspire the design of teapots and lidded jars. This teapot was made with the whitest porcelain and blue celadon glaze. Pumpkin is currently in a private collection.

The name of this vase is "blueberry". The glaze is actually a blend of two distinctly different shades ("Eye's Green" and "Chun") that combined to produce this beautiful blue color. Blueberry's currently lives with someone who loves him very much and shares his recent photos with me regularly. As you can see, he is working hard.

This piece belongs to the "Dragon Watching" series and inspired by a whale watching trip in the Monterey Bay. This dragon is playing in the clouds. This piece is currently in a private collection.

Sometimes I explore a specfic theme in different ways. This piece is another one that was inspired by the legend of the dragon gate. The dragon gate sits on top of magical waterfall. Only a fish that was strong and brave enough to endure the trek from the bottom of the crashing waves to reach the top will pass through the dragon gate to become a dragon. This piece is in a private collection.

Dragon Gate

This is another vase inspired by the story of the dragon gate, an ancient lore about the origins of dragons. On this vase, the fish is traveling up the waterfall alone. When she reaches the top where the dragon gate stands, she will transform into a powerful dragon. The pine tree along the way is a symbol of strength and portends a successful journey. This vase is currently in the collection of a law student and I hope this helps bring her luck on her journey. On the back of this vase is a design of swirling incense smoke, symbolizing the prayers of her parents, her family and her ancestors. There are also a pair of bats which are also symbols of good fortune in Chinese culture. Porcelain is a delicate material and in high temperature, it sometimes slumps. Though the shape of this one is not quite uniform, the carving on this is intricate. I studied many paintings, both Chinese and Japanese to help be conceptualize the image of the waterfall. I let the shape of the vase create the illusion of a slipper slope. It looks like, at any moment, the little fish will fall off and be dashed in the rapids below. But, as you can see, the fish is strong and I believe it will reach the dragon gate. It is the master of it's own fate.

Summer Garden

This piece now belongs to a good friend. The clay that made this pot is a white clay with a little hint of sand color. It gave this piece a rustic look. The green celadon glaze reacted to the texture of the pot underneath and emphasized the texture of the carving. The green glaze pooled in the carved ridges, leaving the elevated areas lighter in color. The flower is a peony, which is the queen of late spring and early summer. This flower is a powerful symbol in Chinese art. The peony represents wealth, prosperity and feminine beauty, everything that describes its current owner. The reverse of this vase is a carving of a lotus flower, which is a strong symbol of moral strength and integrity, another two words that describe its current owner well.

In My Collection

I go back to the theme of the dragon gate a lot.

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