Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
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  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)

Square Pedestal Serving Dish and Tray (Soban)

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Pak Kyoung Yoon
Dimensions: 10.5L x 9.75 W x 1 H
Maple Wood

On our last sourcing trip, we were finally able to visit Pak Kyoung Yoon at his simple and neat countryside studio. We chatted over tea and crackers his wife had bought, and it was evident his space was a source of meditation: A place for him to be truly authentic to himself and create art in the quiet of early morning, when all others are asleep.
You may notice, the artist only works with the hardiest maple wood. Chiseling this wood by hand isin a word—painful. We saw the butt of the chisel formed in a large callus on his palm, where by sheer strength, the artist whittles away at his wood. To the artist, maple wood is the brightest, whitest wood like a pure white canvas. Pak Kyoung Yoon originally wanted to be a painter, and this choice is an homage to a former dream.

This piece is painted using “muk”, which is traditional Korean calligraphy ink and finished in water glass.

The product(s) you receive might vary slightly from the product picture due to the nature of your product(s) being 100% handmade. Any item you purchase is one of a kind. There are no two items that are exactly the same. 

Care: Safe for foods. Wipe with a damp cloth and store in a cool, dark place. 

Namu Home Goods maple Wood Plate Wabi Sabi

My work is just a small fragment of that ordinary routine.

Pak Kyoung Yoon lives a near monastic life. He has a regimented routine and works within the same small boundaries every day: The artist wakes up at 2 am – before the grass bugs – and spends his days digging and scratching at wood. He eats three meals a day. There is value in repetition and this repetition is what holds him – and his entire life – together. He is content in his small life – in fact, he believes the whole universe can exist in a bowl or plate. Pak started woodworking while living in a rural Polish town – a practice that helped him endure some of his darkest moments. The artist made himself a guitar using a small chisel, a saw, and a hand plane – and the single note that rung out in the empty silence solidified his future work. The artist pursues an egoless existence. He writes: “I am constantly working to abandon myself. I work according to the day, without a sketch, and am led by the weather and my mental state. What remains of my work is my daily diary. I don't make anything. I’m just living a normal life. Like eating and sleeping, but not thinking about sleeping or eating itself. The beauty of the material of the tree lies in living and breathing. But the important thing is not to be alive, but to die, to self-destruct in nature. The repetition of digging and digging and erasing traces does not produce meaning or thoughts, but erases them. There is truth in constant repetition, daily repetition. It's just that I live from day to day by day. My work is just a small fragment of that ordinary routine.”

organic vases and bowls
Namu Home Goods