Creative Playtime: An Interview With Daniel Lee of Jaesik Ceramics
Ceramics by DANIEL LEE / Florals by THE LOVED CO
Daniel is one of those people with a thousand interests and excels at everything he tries his hands at. He is intensely creative, and meticulous about his work in the best way. My favorite thing about Daniel though, has to be his cat: Khlóe.
His ceramic work ranges from delicate porcelain pieces influenced by traditional Korean and Japanese shapes, to textured hand-built forms. I’m excited to share images from this creative playtime session we shot in Tiffany's garage, paired with an interview where Daniel gets into the ceramics process, being a perfectionist, and the mastering of a craft.
Check out more of his work at: @jae.sik / shop | Shot on medium format & 35mm film– #contaxg1 #contax645
Hi Daniel! Friend of many talents! Thanks for doing this with me. How are you today?
DANIEL:Hey friend, Just had my morning coffee, so I’m good 🙃
Tell us a little bit about yourself– your story and what you do.
DANIEL:I feel like my life overall is very much “wip-in-progress.” Growing up, we lived in Korea and Russia before settling back in the States. I think this helped me to appreciate different cultures. Then in college, it was a long process of trying to figure out what my career, and ultimately who I would become. I always thought I’d be an engineer because half of my family are engineers, but over time, I discovered a creative side in me. I was still young enough to take risks, so I bet on myself by pursuing a career in the creative field. I got to do wedding videography work (which is how I met Meiwen), then some film photography work, and now I’m a product designer and a ceramicist.
I don’t know what I’ll be doing in 10 or 20 years, but I can for sure say that I’ll stay curious and keep pushing myself in whatever craft I’m working on.
How did you get started in ceramics?
DANIEL:I wish I had a profound story for this, but it’s honestly boring. I was debating between doing a woodworking and ceramics class and ended up choosing ceramics because it was much cheaper.
Now three years in, what have you learned from doing ceramics?
DANIEL:I have learned that nothing is easy. Behind a piece with a shape that looks simple is a lot of hours and hard work that went into it. Even a simple cup, the shape of the inside is just as important for the ceramicist because it determines whether or not drinking out of it is a good experience.
“Creativity and beauty should bring people together.”
What do you love most about the ceramics process?
DANIEL:With ceramics, I love how humbling it is. I’m a perfectionist, so every time I work on a piece, I have expectations of how it should look once it’s finished. But things like the glaze mixture or the kiln firing are some of the factors that determine how the piece comes out. It’s been an entire process for me to accept that there are factors out of my control that’ll affect how the pieces will come out. I’ve slowly learned to let go and not see these are “imperfections” but ultimately as what makes each of my pieces special.
What has influenced you the most, in you becoming who you are today?
DANIEL:Such a good question. I struggle with this because social media and our culture celebrates the “now”. While there’s some good in that, I’ve come to think more long term and appreciate the process of mastering a craft.
The mastering of a craft is what I learned from my travels in Japan and Korea. Whether they’re ceramicists, sushi chefs or even baristas, they’re so dedicated to their craft. Even when they’ve had huge achievements, they humbly continue to perfect their craft.
“I don’t know what I’ll be doing in ten or twenty years, but I can for sure say that I’ll stay curious and keep pushing myself in whatever craft I’m working on.”
Let’s talk specifically about this creative session we did with Tiffany– what was going through your mind with the pieces you made here?
DANIEL:First of all, Tiffany is super talented, so getting her to do arrangements on my pieces has been awesome.
Another take away from my travels in both Korea and Japan is around appreciation. To be more specific, it’s about celebrating and experiencing what’s enough. With coffee over there, the pour overs are much smaller, but it’s enough for you to experience and enjoy the amazing flavors of the coffee. It’s such a different experience from the States because over here, it’s all about consuming.
So for these pieces I was focused on shapes to help appreciate the delicate things like flowers. By combining delicate items like my pieces with a flower, I think it helps us appreciate things more for what we have right now, instead of worrying about how much we have.
“I’ve come to think more long term and appreciate the process of mastering a craft.”
What are your thoughts on the role of creativity and beauty in this world? What do you want to achieve through your work?
DANIEL:So deep – I think creativity and beauty should bring people together.
There are so many different aspects to this, but thinking about it through my ceramics work…
I got to where I am because I picked up different tricks and insights from other ceramicists. I think what’s awesome about this is that all ceramicists have an insight that they’ve learned from others. So, when I learn from others, I’m ultimately building upon what they’ve built. Hopefully , I can do my part too by sharing what I’ve learned so far with others.
On the rare occasions where I like my work (because I’m my own worst critic), I get so giddy and want to share it right away to my friends and followers on instagram. It’s also crazy that depending on the pieces, I’ll get to work with different people. With cups and dishwares, I’ll connect with restaurants and coffee shops. And with vases and bowls, I’ll be connecting with florists like Tiffany. I love how ceramics has allowed me to connect with so many different people.
Where do you go for design inspiration, and what do you do when you’re in a creative block?
DANIEL:For inspiration, I mainly study Japanese shapes and forms. The term “minimalism” is thrown around so much, and it seems so easy, but it’s actually a lot more work than it seems. In photos, minimalism seems like “the act of not having much,” but there’s actually so much more to it because it’s actually a way of living. And let me tell you, it ain’t easy LOL.
For dealing with creative block, I don’t have a good answer. I just try to turn my brain off from ceramics work and honestly, just take care of myself. This will either mean going for a run 🏃🏻♂️ or drinking some natty wine 🍷
“It’s been an entire process for me to accept that there are factors out of my control that’ll affect how the pieces will come out. I’ve slowly learned to let go and not see these are “imperfections” but ultimately as what makes each of my pieces special.”
What is something you have been learning about lately?
DANIEL:Not as exciting, but I’m learning how to balance my ceramics work. After doing a production run for a restaurant, I’ve gotten more inquiries with high volume. It’s super exciting but I also need to set myself boundaries so I can be taking care of myself and saving space to do my own work.
What’s next? What’s a project you would love to work on, or a new role you want to try out?
DANIEL:I want to spend some time learning glazes. I’ve run into a few projects where my offering is limited by the glaze options, so learning this would open more doors for me.
I also want to do an apprenticeship at some point. So tbd.
Thankful for you two!
Thanks so much Daniel! We’ll end with a few short trivia questions–
Music you to listen to while doing ceramics: Starts with jazz, ends with hip hop
Favorite meal currently:
Any home cooked Korean dish
Your perfect morning routine: Doing anything but being on my phone
Favorite tea:I had the Lychee peachy tea from Stereoscope recently and it was delish!
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