Panta Rei Design
Creative Design, Ceramic Sculpture, Jewelry and Functional Pieces. Ceramic Pottery Studio based in Victoria on Southern Vancouver Island.
Featured Item: Mists of Rivendell Bowl
The idea for these bowls was born of inspiration from the mystical land of Rivendell. The steep canyons that cradle meadows enshrouded in mist, waiting for the sun’s rays to lift their silvery veil. A land neither here nor there, and yet all around us if only we let our imagination wander.
The magic behind the colours on the inside starts when the bowl is being created. After it is first formed and the feet are added, it is allowed to dry to a firm, leather-hard stage. It is then that the inside is carved with long, sweeping strokes that radiate to the outside and will form the texture that will then allow the glaze to play. The glazes are specially formulated to change colour depending on their thickness. The previously carved vertical valleys and ridges will determine the colour once the bowl is subjected to its final firing. This is when the molten glaze will flow and harden as it cools: thinner on the ridges and pooling deeper in the valleys. It is here, at over 2200 degrees that the real magic happens, the results of which will be revealed almost 30 hours after first entering the kiln.
The outside of the bowl is earthy and monochromatic, styled from the intricate patterns left by the miniature occupants of old wood. After the first firing, the woody surface on the outside is brushed with an iron oxide wash, allowing the iron to find the smallest detail. Once the wash permeates the surface, the piece is sponged and buffed, revealing the light clay on the high-points while the deep recesses are accentuated with the richness of the iron. The pathways of the previous dwellers now forever immortalized in the clay.
