First year Sunderland student, Emma Goring, is holding a Japanese experience in the National Glass Centre today (January 29).
The National Glass Centre restaurant, The Glass Yard, will be swapping the usual plain white tea and coffee mugs for the glass and ceramics student’s handmade vessels and will be serving drinks in the unique cups.
“As part of my 1st year studying BA (Hons) Glass and Ceramics at the University of Sunderland, I have undertaken a project investigating “ceramics in the expanded field”.
“For this project, I have explored the balance of functionality and looks in drinking vessels and gauging the reactions of people when actually using the vessels. I based my research upon the concept of Wabi-sabi.
“As part of the experience, I wish to see how people interact with the vessels, the feelings invoked by the tactility of the vessels and whether the appreciation of the vessels improves the overall experience.”
Wabi-sabi represents a Japanese aesthetic centered on the acceptance of imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete”.
Translated, Wabi connotes rustic simplicity or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object.
Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.
There will be three Japanese specials on the day available alongside the normal food menu.
There’s no need to book and anyone who plans to use the restaurant is welcome.
The Japanese experience starts today in the Glass Yard, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, SR6 0GL, at 11am to 4pm.