Duane Beard & Ben Moran "Mujō"

Imperfect, impermanent, incomplete. The Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and the Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi inform much of our life and our works. We strive for perfection; perfection does not exist. We seek beauty; beauty is fleeting. Transience is the only constant. Wabi sabi nurtures all that would be with three simple truths: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, nothing is perfect.

Mujō, wabi and sabi all suggest inclinations toward desolation and solitude, yet in the Buddhist view of the universe, these may be seen as positive characteristics representing liberation from a material world and transcendence to Nirvana.


Our self portrait tries to capture this impermanent, imperfect, unfinished nature of ourselves. The perfectly laid out circular bowl blank which blows the giant bubble. The yin and yang of our dual residency (Texas and Ontario) requiring our gecko to be alternately molten and frozen. The circular hole that we square pegs are always seeming to be pounded up against.


Process and Materials: Pattern bar square peg created of Spectrum iridescent blue/white streaky kiln fired in homemade pattern bar former. Frit cast geckos created of Bullseye Fusible in a Colour de Verre mold. Fused bowl blank created of Spectrum white iridescent under layer and light aqua streaky iridescent top, fired the other way around. Bubbles courtesy the kiln gods.

Dimensions: Ten inch circle, 5 inch by 1 inch by ¾ inch overhanging pattern bar, 5 inch by 2 inch by 1 inch geckos, 1 inch and 2 inch bubbles