Introducing… the Iris collection
I always feel a new energy in the fall - back from holidays, back to school, back to routine. So what better time than autumn to introduce a new collection of ceramics, the Iris collection.
Large iris bowls, monochrome.
The Iris collection is the result of trying to break out of my comfort zone. After the grey tea set and the stripe collection, I felt the need to try more rounded shapes with carved feet, and to break up the uniformity of simply dip glazing. These bowls display three new techniques at once:
Engobe/underglaze: an engobe is a clay that is watered down to be brushable, usually a different colored clay than the main body of the form. An underglaze is a glaze designed to be applied before the first firing, and thus it will eventually have another glaze applied on top of it.
Sgrafitto: carving a design into the main body of the form during the trimming stage, in this case, after the underglaze or engobe has been applied. This way, the sgrafitto reveals a design where it removes the underglaze or engobe.
Glaze highlights: after dipping the bowls into a transparent glaze, I add highlights around the petals with a shiny, colored glaze, which adds another layer to the glazing process which I had not explored before.
Large iris bowls with purple detailing.
Why irises? Besides their natural beauty, their flowing petal shape contrasts with the more technical, more rigid process of throwing the bowls on the wheel. Different glazing approaches allows me to highlight their romanticism with a clay engobe and colored highlights, or to contrast the organic forms of the flowers with monochromatic highlights and a “harsher” black underglaze. Irises are named for the Greek goddess Iris, who carries messages for the gods along the rainbow. In fact, in Portuguese, the rainbow is called the “Arco Iris”, or Iris’s arch. In the language of flowers, irises symbolize hope, wisdom, faith and valor.
Small iris bowls in the trimming stage, before carving the sgrafitto.
The iris bowls are currently available in two sizes with two glazing combinations. More glaze combinations, flowers and potentially sizes available by request.