Cobalt Crystalline Vase buy

This piece is made out of porcelain clay with a dark blue crystalline glaze on the outside and a liner glaze on the inside. It was hand thrown by me on a pottery wheel at my home studio. The bottom is finely ground and signed to make a nice finish.

If you look at the piece closely you can see CRYSTALS IN THE GLAZE. These crystals grow after the piece is heated about 2300 degrees Fahrenheit and then lowered to between 2150 and 1950 degrees Fahrenheit. Crystal growth is completely unpredictable allowing each piece to be perfectly unique.

This piece is food-safe, lead-free, and waterproof. The colors are trapped in the glaze so do not worry about losing any color over time.

If you want to know more about crystalline glazes please feel welcome to read this bit of information about the process:


HOW IS THE PIECE MADE?

I use porcelain and stoneware clay for my crystalline pieces. Each piece is handmade on a pottery wheel and then trimmed to make sure the form is smooth and pleasing. The piece is then bisque fired which basically means all the water is taken out of the clay so that the form becomes permanent and cannot be turned back into a ball of clay. It is then ready to be glazed and fired for the final time.

WHAT ARE CRYSTALLINE GLAZES?

Crystalline glazes are known among many potters as the most difficult type of glaze because of a low success rate (often below 50%) and a labor-intensive process. First, I mix up a glaze for each individual piece by adding zinc, silica, and other materials. This requires me to measure out precisely how much of each chemical is needed as different sized pieces require different amounts. Also, I use various metals to achieve different colors so not every piece has the same materials in the glaze. Next, the pieces are heated above 2300 degrees Fahrenheit to allow the zinc and silica to react and create a sort of melted glass that acts as a medium for the crystals to grow in. I then drop the temperature and hold it at buy certain points to grow certain types of crystals. The holds last a couple of hours and oftentimes I put a few holds in the firing to ensure a variety of crystals. The pieces are then left to cool until it is safe to open the firing.



Thank you so much for your interest! If you have any questions you can follow me on instagram at pinkeltonspottery or send me an email at pinkeltonspottery@ gmail.com