Where the blue collects
A closer look at the meeting of mineral blue glaze and bare, speckled clay.
The part I keep coming back to is the edge: the narrow line where the blue stops and the clay begins. One surface catches the light; the other stays soft and grainy. A bowl can hold both without either feeling unfinished.
I leave some clay visible because it is part of the piece, not just something underneath the glaze. The small flecks interrupt the colour. Around the rim, the difference between the two surfaces is especially clear.
When I look at a group of bowls together, I notice how the blue changes with the curve. The colour gathers in some places and opens up in others. Those differences give me something to return to in the next glaze test.
A finished pot is useful, but it is also a record of those choices: where to end a curve, where to leave a surface bare, and how much colour the form needs.