You also verbalized extemely well the "balance". When i turned bowl over it was like turning on precsion bearings, I turned it few times, it was a quite novel discovery. Handling a studying "real" Chawan has greatly accelerated my learning curve. (My recovery bucket is suddenly much heavier.)
Given there is more intangibles to balance than just center mass. bowls with narrower foot, and narrow bottoms achieve this balance quicker. Cylinder style, slipper, waist, and other styles, the center mass, will inherently be lower, and more so bottomheavy, because mass is greater on bottom vs open mouth top ( less clay).
Do you move towards, a heavier lip, or heavier above center?
Or is the balance rule bent in these styles?
Do you make preliminary judgement of balance/feel at a leather hard or bone dry state?
What other characteristics should a new potter work towards for better chawan (and increase success rate)?JBaymore wrote: Attention to the forming of a chawan for actual Chanoyu use is intense...and few "make it". I've been a potter for over 40 years and I get about a 10-20% success rate for saleable ones.
Again thanks for your scholarly reply/lesson. I have learned much and will continue to learn from you, from your postings here, and other sites.