Tea bowls are an example of an eastern idea of beauty—that the aesthetic completion of a functional object occurs through its use. Tea bowls are also one of the most intimate clay forms. In process of creation, one must consider the relationship of clay lip to human lip, cupping hand to cup--an integration of prose and poetry. Within this hand-held scale, I hope to evoke a larger universe, creating forms which, through their use in tea ceremony, evoke yearning, healing, and, perhaps, peace of mind. 

                                                               Ellen Schön