Sel Young Jin's Phenomenal Rustic Erabo Style Tea Cups, Part One: 'Snail Foot'

It was Hobbes from The Half-Dipper that noticed this little guy in action with some young shang puerh a few posts ago. These three pieces were a gift from a close friend before one departed from Korea.

The care that master Sel Young Jin puts into his cups are beyond what most masters put into there pots and tea bowls. Every micro space of these pieces are beautiful.

Both of these cups are quite small (think small Chinese cup), this one is just a bit bigger than the other. It sits staunchly, its form cute and natural. Its white body resembling the white caps of mountains.

The outside and inside of this cup is riddled with cracks, holes, blotches, and other so perfect imperfections. When ones eyes climb over its lip and onto the inside wall, it is met by a latticework of large cracks. These cracks meet a ring of little holes when the inside starts to level out. One especially enjoys the sight of the lonely hole in the middle of the the cups shallow- as if the poor guy was trying to lend some symmetry to this eccentrically wabi-sabi piece.

The outside wall tells a similar story of cracks that reach down toward a spattering of teeny, tinny holes at the base of the foot.

Yes, this cup has a foot much in a way that a tea bowl (chawon) would have. The detail of it is astonishing.

This foots style is 'Dal Paeng E' style. 'Dal Paeng E' translates to 'snail' because of its obvious similarity to the swirling of a snails shell. Traditionally a nail, twig or whatever was with an arms length was used in clear moment of zen to create the swirl. Although never a perfect swirl, the 'snail foot' adds balance, symmetry, and finality as well as an obvious air of natural beauty. The rustic look of this 'snail foot' was probably made by such a device and imbues such a feeling. The foot has an unfinished feel to it with three exposed blotches of unglazed clay, a permanent marking, a badge of honour only eared in the kiln. Most pieces have these imperfections sanded off. One enjoys the fact that Sel Young Jin choose to leave them on. Perhaps an attempt to roughen the effect of the snail swirl, or perhaps a statement on change.

The change this little rugged cup has undergone doesn't stop after it is cooled from the kiln. It's important to note that this cup didn't look like this at all when first made, but acquired its appearance through ware. This cup was completely white like blanketing fresh shimmering snow when first used. Only as tea penetrated its barely viable imperfections did it acquire the look it does in these pictures.

And as one sips tea from it now, change continues. The snow melts from the mountain peeks that one views from big windows, tea penetrating its cracks and hollows. But for a microsecond everything is clear once more.

Peace