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Glazing the Bowl Bill Van Gilder adds two glazes to complement the bowl's design. From "Throwing Clay" episode DTHC-205

Figure A

Master potter Bill Van Gilder has been making a fluted bowl. So far, he's thrown a heavy bowl with a thick base. When it was soft-leather hard, he fluted the wall surface. After it dried to stiff-leather hard, he finished the base and trimmed a tall foot to elevate the elegant bowl. When the bowl was bone dry, he sanded the fluted surface and loaded it into the bisque kiln for the first firing. Now he's ready to glaze the bowl (figure A).

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1. Glazing the bowl is fairly easy. It's a simple double dip, first in a teal-blue glaze, followed by a dip in a soft green glaze. The green over the blue creates a soft milky glaze, a combination that breaks beautifully on the fluted edges (figure B).

2. Bill applies wax to the foot of the bowl, then, holding the bowl at the rim and foot, he plunges the bowl into the teal glaze (figure C).

3. He touches up where his thumb was holding the rim and fettles, or cleans, the foot to remove any excess glaze drops (figure D).

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D

4. Next, he dips the bowl in the green glaze, stopping just beyond the ends of the flutes. When the second glaze is dry, Bill will put it in the kiln for a high-temperature firing. It will fire for 10 to 12 hours at a temperature reaching 2200 degrees. After cooling for 24 hours, the bowl is ready for use (figure E).

A unique fluting tool created the sophisticated surface for Bill's bowl. Using interesting tools provides unusual results in clayware design. During a recent clay convention in Baltimore, Maryland, potter Yosuke Koizumi talked about throwing pots in Japan, using one-of-a-kind Japanese clay tools (figure F).

Figure E

Figure F

Japanese society uses clay bowls and pots on a daily basis. Most potters throw off the hump; to complement their throwing style, the Japanese potters have their own unique style of multifunctional throwing tools; most, such as combing tools, are made of curved wood (figure G), (figure H).

Figure G

Figure H

Figure I

Combining beautiful design and solid function in a single piece of pottery is the pinnacle of the potter's art (figure I). Like Yoshi's pieces, Bill's fluted bowl incorporates a unique design with practicality.