BRIGHT GOLDEN AMBER

Way back when I started out doing slipware, my first glazes that I used were amber, copper and a steel blue over various slip work. As I began to focus more and more on black and white slips as the basis of the work I turned to using a clear glaze almost exclusively but from time to time I would still go back to the bright golden amber that I had developed (from an existing glaze) sometimes with copper or manganese purple accents. This bowl was a left over and is now in our kitchen from a group of dinner plates, low, wide soup bowls and "catch-all" bowls exactly like this one. The slip was applied and then dabbed over the surface to create this pattern which is also easy enough to replicate over the 18 pieces needed and the four pieces that are left over for our use. The glaze is rather durable for terra cotta and runs from this bright surface to a slightly duller amber depending on the light and looks good over various styles of slip decoration. Added to what is seen it can always benefit from a bit of copper or manganese to spice things up even more though, sometimes simple is just what is called for.

"Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things."  Sir Isaac Newton