SEMO art student's ceramics show inspired by Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi

There is a Japanese philosophy — wabi-sabi — that sees the world as impermanent, imperfect and incomplete.

Neal Joiner, an art student at Southeast Missouri State University, said he used this philosophy to inspire his creation of a series of small ceramic pots now on display at Catapult Creative House at 612 Broadway in Cape Girardeau.

Joiner said several hundred years ago in Japan, practitioners of Zen applied wabi-sabi to pottery. He said it's usually associated with pots and cups for tea ceremonies, often irregular or rustic looking.

"There is an emphasis on natural materials. As I understand it, imperfectly, 'wabi' means impermanence, and 'sabi' is the irregularity, the flaws and natural breakdown of materials. So, I tried to apply that concept in my work and came up with my own interpretation," he explained.

All of Joiner's pots are small, about 6 inches tall and around. They are only partially glazed and have a raw smoky finish. Joiner said he used a pottery wheel to throw the pots, then fired them in a kiln and later gave them a partial pit firing.

"There's no science to it," Joiner said. "You never know what will come out. That's the sabi part of wabi-sabi. It's the acceptance of the flaws and irregularities."

Each pot has broken twigs or moss sticking out of the top. Joiner said the twigs and moss are part of the pieces and represent the wabi, or the impermanence of the pots.

"Ironically, pottery is, relatively, one of the longest lasting materials for art," Joiner said. "I wanted something organic that would break down over time. These are just sticks and moss from my backyard. They will die and disintegrate. It was a way for me to emphasize the impermanence more."

There is a quote printed on the wall above Joiner's pots that reads, "Wabi-Sabi can, in it's fullest expression, be a way of life. At the very least it is a particular kind of beauty." The quote is from the book "Wabi-Sabi for artists, designers, poets and philosophers" by Leonard Koren. Joiner said it was one of the books he studied before beginning his project.

There is a second quote on the wall, from Joiner himself; "All things are impermanent, imperfect and incomplete."

"That is my trying to distill a philosophy into one sentence. Wabi-sabi is philosophical not just art or aesthetic related." Joiner said.

For this show, Joiner said he had originally planned on doing some oil paintings. He is a senior pursuing a bachelor's degree in art with an emphasis in painting. However, after seeing the "Great Pottery Throw Down" TV show, Joiner said he changed his mind and decided to do ceramics.

"I started from scratch," Joiner said. "I didn't have a pottery wheel or a kiln or any of that. I had a big comic book collection that I sold to finance everything I needed. I built my own kiln with materials I bought at Lowe's. This included a propane tank, high-temp kiln liner, metal and screws. Everything else I needed I bought online. I also had a fire extinguisher."

Even though Joiner's degree will have an emphasis on painting, he said he will keep doing ceramics.

"I actually find this less stressful than painting," Joiner said. "There's a lot of pressure when I'm painting because it's my primary specialization. I'm usually thinking too hard or trying to challenge myself too much. When I get on the pottery wheel, especially with the wabi-sabi aesthetic, I'm able to just let them be what they want to be. That's why they have such a variety of shapes. I don't try to nail a specific size or shape. It's very soothing and relaxing."

Joiner said he grew up in Bollinger County, Missouri, and graduated from Meadow Heights High School in 1995. A year later, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he was a documentation photographer for the first decade and then he was moved over to public affairs to do photojournalism, mass and strategic communication.

Joiner retired from the military in 2019, and he said it was SEMO that drew him back to Southeast Missouri.

"I was in Tucson, Arizona, when I retired from the military," Joiner said. "I looked at a few other schools, but then I looked at SEMO's website and saw they had a dedicated arts campus."

Joiner will graduate from SEMO in the spring and will continue to make art, and he said he hopes to show his work in galleries or the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in downtown Cape Girardeau.

There will be a closing reception for Joiner's show Oct. 7 at Catapult.