Assignment
The project was developed with a class mate. The assignment was inspired by the Japanese tea ceremony where grandmasters would always search for the most suitable pottery and ceramics to use for serving tea: we had to chose one ingredient and make our own ceramics designed in order to create a "ritual journey" of this substance. We choose sage as the ingredient of our ritual not only for its long history of medicinal and culinary use, but also for its strong spiritual meaning. Sage was often described in old herbals for the many miraculous properties attributed to it : it is the purifying herb par excellence, it symbolizes protection and longevity.
The experience
The ceramic set has a white mat finish and it's characterized by simple forms. Its design is inspired by the gesture of grabbing the leaf using three fingers and then rubbing it in the same way to enhance its fragrance.
The ritual starts from outside, in close contact with nature. The two guests will find a bowl filled with water, where they will wash their hands as a gesture of respect. Afterwards they will grab three leaves from the sage that emerges from the three tubes in the center of the bowl, tubes connected to the earth. They will place the leaves on the plate situated next to the bowl, and enter into the cabin, where they will sit in front of the “sage master’’. After placing the leaves into two small bowls, they will crush them using a mortar. Then, the master will pour hot water into each bowl, and the two guests will place the inhalator on top of them: now they can inhale the essence of the plant. The final step is to drink the remained water in the bowls, and benefit from all the good properties of sage, from the outside and the inside.
