Description:
“Deep Waters” emerges from my fascination with mysterious oceanic creatures and the unknown depths they inhabit. I made this vessel out of clay so that it could hold a secret story inside its curves. The deep forest green glaze was chosen on purpose; it’s a color that lives on the edge of what we can see, where sure fades into shadow. This shade of green makes me think of a place between the known and the unknown.
Process:
The creation of this piece involved multiple layers of glaze application to achieve its mysterious depths. I started with a base layer of dark green glaze and added more thin coats to change how opaque the painting was. I carefully put down each layer so that there would be small reactions when it was fired. I paid close attention to the edges of the purple shape when I painted it. This let it blur and mix with the green background during the high-temperature firing, giving it an ethereal, floating look.
The final result emerged from the kiln with unexpected interactions between the glazes—the way the green pooled and thinned in certain areas and how the purple form seemed to hover at different depths depending on the glaze thickness. These natural processes in the kiln contributed to the piece’s mysterious quality in ways I couldn’t fully predict or control but could only guide through careful material selection and application.