sake cup

i’ve been watching a fellow woodturner at the club whose work is heavily influenced by japanese woodturning, particularly after visiting japan and spending time in a number of woodturning studios there.

a conversation about sake cups gave me the idea for a little challenge of my own.

my first foray into japanese-inspired woodturning.

the intention was simple: make the cup as thin and light as i could, while still retaining enough strength and structure to be functional. thin walls demand a different kind of control—the point where removing just a little more becomes either refinement or disaster.

i chose cherrywood for this piece, enjoying its warmth and relatively subtle grain. rather than allowing the timber to dominate, i wanted the form itself to do the work.

there is something particularly appealing about the simplicity of japanese vessels. the form can appear effortless, but that simplicity often hides considerable precision. proportion, balance, thickness and the relationship between the hand and the object all become important.

for me, this isn't about trying to reproduce a traditional japanese sake cup.

it is about looking, learning and having a go.

another small challenge.another steep learning curve.

and perhaps the beginning of another direction in my woodturning.