The cobalt and iron pigments blended with the Salt Glaze create a completely individualistic finish. The brilliant blue and golden tones accent the beautiful drips along the contour of this bottle. Measuring 14"w x 23.5"h.
Please Note: What appear to be white spots on the surface are reflections from photo lighting.
MultiLayer Glazes
While Ben III was in college in the 1990s, he was introduced to a spraying technique with an air-driven spray gun that some potters use to build up layers of glazes on the clay surface. With some experimenting, he was able to create a variety of finishes using accents of three or four different colors and using an ash glaze as a top coat to blend or bleach the underlying colors. Some finishes are a base of iron yellow with cobalt blue or copper green covered with orange to silver developing from the overlapping colors. Each pot is unique. As a similar process to Natural Ash Glazes, Ben III frequently places these finishes in the wood kiln to accentuate the colors as well.
The Yellow Matte Glaze was created with the intention of designing a smooth, “soft” surface on the pots that would be a change from the glossy finishes typical in the Owen family of glazes. From looking at surfaces created during the wood firing process, Ben wanted to recreate a similar surface but with the option to make it uniform or add an accent by spraying on the clay surface. The yellow pigment is made from iron oxide and the matte finish is created from the use of magnesium and strontium in the glaze.
Salt Glaze was first discovered by German potters in the late 14th century. Due to the high firing temperatures, stoneware clays are required. The pieces can be handled and decorated with clay slips of many different colors, or, glazed partially with Cobalt Blue Glaze. The surface may resemble the texture of an orange peel. This was an early glaze used by settlers during the 19th century in the Seagrove area. Many of the pieces Ben makes in Salt Glaze are functional, even the more decorative large-scale pots.
This piece is hand-signed by Ben Owen III with the year made (2024).