Ash & Cobalt

Ash & Cobalt is a collection of work bringing wheel-thrown functional forms into conversation with the Japanese nuka-glaze tradition. Historically made with rice-straw or rice-husk ash, nuka glazes are known for their soft, milky-white surfaces. My interpretation uses hardwood ash to create a warm, pale ground against which concentrated cobalt can move, break, and gather during the firing.

The surfaces vary from piece to piece. On the cups, thick white stoneware slip is applied before the bisque firing, creating raised markings and a tactile lower surface. On other forms, areas of clay are deliberately left exposed, allowing the nuka glaze to drip over the boundary between glaze and bare clay. Cobalt wash placed along rims and glaze edges moves unpredictably in the kiln, producing saturated pools, fine blue lines, and irregular runs.

Each piece begins with deliberate placement, but heat and gravity complete the surface. The result is functional pottery shaped by the hand and made singular by the firing.