Cha Dao Tea Ceremony at The Village Archive Ojai Thursday March 26th

Exhibition Statements

ARTIST STATEMENT

Michael Sharf is a mixed media artist and designer based in Ojai, California. From his pottery studio and woodshop, Sharf creates contemporary objects inspired by the teachings of tea. His work aims to awaken presence, a reconnection with nature, and reverence for human made objects.

SHOW STATEMENT

The cha shi, or tea stage, is a concept central to the practice of tea ceremony. It begins at the table where tea is prepared and extends outward — to the room, the objects, the server, the guest, and the world beyond. It is not a backdrop but a total environment.

For this exhibition, Sharf designates Ojai as the tea stage. Boulders drawn from the local landscape anchor the space, dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior, between the built and the found. Visitors are invited to not only observe the work, but also sit with tea. Sharf presents functional ceramics in stoneware and flameware — side-handle teapots, each paired with a set of bowls or cups, and kettles. The side handles are foraged by hand from branches and roots gathered while surfing or hiking the California landscape. No two are alike. Each is worked and fitted with precision to its vessel.

Sharf's furniture completes the environment — tea tables in naturally felled redwood burl, bastogne, claro walnut, brass, and spalted sycamore, each surface bearing the grain and history of its source tree. Seating is offered in two forms: handcrafted zafus in locally sourced sheepskin, and meditation benches.

The boulders — older than any of it — ask nothing of us except our attention.

PALMA classes are nonrefundable, however a credit can be issued toward another class if cancelled within 48 hours.