Ceramics Part V - Glazing and Glass

Excitedly, I used some glass from my 30th birthday ceremony in my latest ceramic glazing experiment. The piece I was glazing was one of the first pieces I threw on the wheel. Twice, it was going to be a bowl, until I pulled up too far and caused the top to fall off. What was left was a base (perfect for a candle holder), and a wavy, delicate rim, and the shape delighted me for some reason, so I decided to fire it.

Nadeige, the brilliant ceramicist and owner of Choplet, warned me that colors not in the the green/blue spectrum may not retain their color in the kiln because of the temperature. So I used a neutral "almond" glaze color, just in case the glass color developed a mind of its own during firing.


But the pink glass pebbles I put in there not only kept their color, they also formed the most amazing crystal-like facets, almost like pink ice in the circular bottom of my piece. I was thrilled with how it turned out! It seemed to me like the kind of thing a fairy princess would have on her dresser. So, that's where I put it. Right near the painting on wood my two-year-old niece made. (Also in this photo, you can see two of the little glass pebbles exactly like the ones I used in the glazing process - to the right of the ceramic piece.)

Here are several views of the piece: