Northern Ice Flow 1999

This lidded jar was created by Carol and Richard Selfridge, though I don't know when. It is a beautiful feat of ceramics! Look at that gorgeous craquelure glaze, like a frozen lake reflecting the sky. I bet when they were making this piece, the Selfridges were really thinking about how the glaze would react in the kiln. Did they know it would come out so beautifully cracked? Or was it a happy accident, that they then tried to repeat? There’s an element of chance in all this, a willingness to let the materials speak. I just love how the blue glaze pools in the tiny crevices, accentuating the texture and giving the whole thing a sort of icy depth. When I look at this pot, I'm reminded of Lucio Fontana's slashed canvases or maybe even some of the textured surfaces Eva Hesse was making. These artists working across different mediums, but all pushing the boundaries of their materials, experimenting with surface and form.