HBL Analysis: Glazes

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Ice cream white cups with pink dripping by Lenneke Wispelwey

Whether hand-thrown on a potter’s wheel or mass produced to a stock shape, the application of a glaze to ceramics can completely transform a piece.

WGSN-homebuildlife explores the curious world of finishes and glazes: from eccentric, bubbling lava glazes and rugged, earthy stoneware to the pure matt surfaces of bone china and porcelain.

Bowls by David Pottinger, via The Design Files


Painterly and graphic: Glazes are applied haphazardly, revealing the clay beneath; pools of coloured glaze gather in the dips and irregularities of the surface. Ceramicist Lenneke Wispelwey applies glazes by simply dipping and dripping the porcelain into different pastel glazes, playing with the contrast between biscuit- and glazed-porcelain surfaces.

Raw biscuit: Emphasis here is on the natural beauty of the raw and untouched. Patterning is faint; colours are subtle, gently smudged and blended. Melbourne-based artist David Pottinger's bowls epitomise the aesthetic.

WGSN-homebuildlife subscribers can view the full report here.