stack vase

h 33cm

a vase whose cavity is created by 13 bottomless bowls,
with another bowl serving as a base.
unique in appearance and manufacture.
this is a deliberate kiln accident.
the 14 shallow bowls that make up this vase
are made and glazed seperately,
but fired stacked up on top of each other.
now they are inseparable,
the melting glaze has fused them together.
in the far east it has been common practice for
centuries to stack-fire bowls in order to save kiln space.
usually they are seperated with little wads of
fireclay that come off relatively easily after firing 
and leave characteristic marks on the inside of the bowl.
occasionally they have fused together from too much
heat and the result were piles of rejects.
my stacks, on the other hand,
are a controlled effort to create
a single piece from 14 seperate ones,
using this old technique in a new way