Speckled Vase

This piece was thrown, trimmed, and hand-stamped in Irvine, California using reclaimed clay. A combination of Bee Mix 5 and Cafe Cinco clay; creating a mild bodied stoneware yielding some light speckling. The trimmed piece was then bisque fired at Cone 5 in Laguna Beach, CA.  During a 24 hour firing, Cone 5 clay bodies sinter into ceramics around 1900 degrees Fahrenheit (shrinking 11-12% during bisque!). The final steps include dip glazing, and glaze firing once again at Cone 5. 
 
This visible speckling, and fungible texture drive the character of this vessel. Speckeld clay is in extremely limited supply in North America. The reclaimed clay combination thrown into this form unexpectedly yieded a pleasant suprise of a speckled surface finish.