What 40 years in clay and fire can teach

Stepping into ceramic artist Park Young-sook's studio in Gyeonggi Province, the first thing that greets visitors is not the gleaming white moon jars for which she is known, but the earthy scent of damp clay.

Some of the largest moon jars, standing nearly 60 centimeters tall, have been drying for more than 100 days, still awaiting their first firing.

Their pristine white surfaces have turned an earthy brown as impurities gradually emerge from the clay.

"The clay is naturally releasing everything ...