harvest moon jar, 2021

This work is inspired by a type of traditional Korean white porcelain vessel called a Moon Jar.

The name comes from the shape of the vessel, which resembles a full moon. They were used for flowers, wine, as well as for ritual ceremonies, as votives.

There is a traditional Asian celebration of the Harvest Moon in the fall, it usually happens between September 7th and October 8th. It is meant to be the year's most beautiful full moon, and people gaze at it as they celebrate the fall harvest.

Moon jars were often glazed plain white or clear, with no surface decorations, but these seven moon jars were glazed and decorated with my own memories of the Harvest Moon Festival from my childhood.

The kiln of the moon jars was fired on September 20th, 2021, during the night of the full moon. To make the Moon Jars, I followed the traditional method of joining together two hemispherical halves in the middle to create a round moon shape.

To make the jars more performative, I also placed a small light inside each vessel which projects a moon shape spotlight on the ceiling of the box. To create a 360-degree viewing experience, there is a small disc device attached to the bottom of each jar so that the viewers can manually rotate each Moon Jar.

I created seven Moon Jars reflecting my own interpretation.