Hayun Surl, a potter from South Korea, came to Ohio for graduate school, and despite the distance from his home, he began to see similarities between the places. The landscape and topography specifically. Located at a similar latitude as Korea, the rolling hills and surrounding nature in Ohio felt familiar and inspired a series of works. The process of working with clay, a natural material, and firing the pieces in an atmospheric manner, lends itself to the concept. As the environment within the kiln influences the surface of the works, Hayun’s environment has influenced him.