Floating Blue Jar 2025

About This Piece

This ceramic jar emerged from an exploration of simple forms and reactive glazes. Wheel-thrown from white stoneware clay, the vessel features a gentle curve that tapers toward the top—a shape that feels both grounded and light.

The Glaze

The Floating Blue glaze is a cone 06 glaze that moves unpredictably during firing. The blue breaks differently depending on thickness and clay body, creating variations from deep cobalt to pale sky blue. On this white stoneware, the glaze pools in recesses and thins on edges, revealing the clay beneath.

This glaze behavior is why each firing produces unique results. The pottery comes out different every time—even when the application technique stays consistent. Floating blue is one of the few cone 06 glazes I have access to that brings this variability. That unpredictability is part of working with ceramic glazes, especially at lower temperatures like cone 06.

Form and Function

The jar works as a functional vessel—for holding dried goods, as a vase, or simply as a sculptural object. The opening is wide enough for practical use but maintains a balanced proportion with the body. It's meant to have form and function.

Making Process

After throwing on the wheel, the piece was trimmed to refine the foot and wall thickness. The white stoneware clay body allows the glaze color to stay true without the iron content of darker clays interfering. Multiple coats of the floating blue glaze were applied before the cone 06 firing at Callanwolde in Atlanta.

The entire ceramic process—from throwing to final firing—took approximately four weeks, allowing for proper drying times between each stage.