Some of us at ClayWorks have been experimenting with Falls Creek Shino, which works quite nicely in oxidation to cone 6 (depending of course on application thickness, specific gravity, clay used, and all the other parameters that come into play). Initial tests were promising, so I used it on this piece. The result was good, but I hadn’t really thought about this shino actually giving quite a glossy finish, something I didn’t want for these pieces. I hid it away for a while, and wondered.

What about pouring another, more matte glaze over the entire piece, and hope the cylinder survives a second glaze firing? Given the ruggedness of the vessel, I wondered whether a crawl would do the trick.

Whether it still looks like bark, I don’t know. But the satin white glaze has broken up beautifully as it slipped into the crevasses of this shino-glazed cylinder.

Hand-built, stoneware slab, moulded against bark.

Fired to Cone 6, in oxidation.

Ht: 31 cm; dia. at base: 8 cm