Stoneware clay, underglaze, glaze, India Ink, kintsugi

Towards the tail end of this past winter, I noticed how the colours, textures, and shapes of the winter season were deeply resonating with my soul. In February, I came to the realization that a long-held dream may be coming to an end. An image came to my mind from childhood of taking the ash out of the fireplace, putting it in a copper bucket, and trudging out into the snowy field surrounded by darkened trees. I would dump the ash into the field to become part of next year’s crop. A giving back of something borrowed and used. What once was green and alive lay in a pile of cracked and crumbled bits of charcoal and grey lime mixed with ice crystals. These colours and textures formed the visual language of this series.

This vase had a stress crack and was repaired with kintsugi, an ancient Japanese method of repairing pottery with gold, making it even more valuable than before it broke.

This piece is meant to be decorative.