Critical Review
When clay is subjected to sustained high temperatures without protective shelter, the resulting surface is not merely decorated but scarred by its environment. This record of combustion remains legible decades after the vessel leaves the kiln.
Collectors often mistake this variation for ornament. In practice, it is a structural accounting of draft, wood species, and atmospheric density during the final twelve hours of firing.
Recent Dispatches
Material & Practice
Studio Visit
Northampton Woodburners
Observing the multi-chamber climbing kilns of western Massachusetts through three firing cycles.
Exhibition
The Unfinished Surface
A critical assessment of raw cast bronze and unpolished iron objects presented in Kyoto.
Monograph
Vessels of Northern Honshu
Documenting utilitarian domestic earthenware produced before the standardisation of regional clay bodies.
Critical Tenet
A good bowl does not need to justify itself, but it does reward a quiet afternoon of looking.
Old Oceans Editorial Board