The Story of Chun Sea Foam

It is hard to understand the complexity I see in my glazes if you have never made one before.

I began making glazes in my junior year of high school. I never imagined that this half-assed trial and error experiment would turn into one of my greatest passions. It started with a series of glaze recipes that I found on glazy.org and some half-hearted interest in the pictures posted there. I selected five glazes, made them, dipped test tiles, and stuck them on the firing shelf. I remember the feeling that bloomed in my chest as my teacher took them from the kiln and gave them to me. The tiles were still warm, the residual heat lingering from the intense firing it had just undergone and finished. I was amazed at the results. There was this intense curiosity that shuffled forth from a place in my mind that I had never really realized was there.

It was then, with the still-warm test tile, that I went back to my seat and began the process of falling in love. I was so intensely curious and slightly confused at how I was able to make something as beautiful as the test tiles I had around me. I think this might be why I dove so deeply into my ceramic work. I felt like if I could create a glaze this stunning, then I must be able to make clay do the same thing.

So, as I began to create more pieces and grow as an artist, I began trying every different combination of glazes that I could think of. I started to make my own glazes, rather than just pull them off websites or from books. This is when I stumbled across the glaze that has changed my work as an artist. Chun Sea Foam.

The glaze itself had a lot of variation, with different parts flashing deep green, to parts taking on a lovely shade of tan unusual in troy porcelain. I started to glaze everything I had with this color. Soon my life was a series of seafoam greens found on pots, bowls, and cups. I started to improve my clay work in order to accommodate this new found love and all her beauty. One day, I mixed Chun Sea Foam with the cone 6 clear that my studio makes, and I realized there was more to fall in love with.

I felt like I just opened the door to a world filled with blues and greens more beautiful than I had ever imagined. The greatest joy came barreling at me full speed whenever I looked at this bowl. I was astounded, dumbfounded, blow to pieces, every other way to say completely shattered with what I created. Now, I can say definitively that almost every piece I made had this glaze on it for the remaining parts of the year. I even made wedding vases for my advisor with this color on them.