Right To The Edge

Like most potters of my tradition, I like glazes that don't just sit there. I want a glaze that actually does some of the decorating for me. That means glazes that don't look like paint. That means glazes that might "flash" or move a bit and give me an unexpected pleasure in opening a kiln to find a pot finished with more whimsy than I could have imagined.

Of course, the downside of those glazes is that the very irregularity that is so often charming is the irregularity that (for instance) puts an iron spot right smack dab in middle of the only place on a surface where it might disrupt a nice appearance. Or the bubbling/movement that's happening at temperature in the kiln, that one hopes will end up creating a more interesting surface when cooled, is the bubbling/movement that stays bubbled when cooled, and ruins the surface.

But it's the ones that make it through...pushed right to the edge...that make it all worthwhile.