Fire!

Fire - Rust colored ceramic pot with orange, blue, and white accents

Some years ago I made a large piece titled “An Ocean of Fire.” I wanted to revisit this idea, using a newer glaze combination that I thought would be very “fire-like” if the three glazes moved on the surface like they sometimes do. It worked just as I had hoped.

For those of you unfamiliar with ceramics and glazing, it is oftentimes mystifying how glazes react in the kiln. Unlike paints, glazes are mixtures of chemicals that react in different ways under high heat. When applied, they don’t look anything like what they will look when they’re fired, so you must try to imagine the final effect, relying on your experience with the particular glazes you’re using. The more glazes used in combination, the more factors come into play, and the harder it is to predict one’s results. This particular piece has three glazes that interact on the outside, and a fourth inside. Some of my pieces have as many as six or seven glazes that work together on the outside, though a piece from many years ago had as I recall about 12 different glazes on the outside.

13″ X 8″

Glazed Stoneware

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