Micaceous Rocking Bowl Wheel thrown red stoneware clay

Wheel thrown red stoneware clay vessels

This coil-built vase draws inspiration from Ancestral Puebloan ollas once used to gather and store water

Larger than a wine glass

Red stoneware clay

Micaceous Rocking Bowl Wheel thrown red stoneware clayThis piece was coil built with micaceous clay that I used for the first time during my art residency in Taos this past summer. Clay containing metallic flecks of mica is naturally occurring in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. Traditionally it was used for cooking pots because the mica acts as a temper reducing the risk of thermal shock which leads to cracking. Today, both Native and non Native ceramicists use this clay to create works of art.