Lise Herud Braten

Lise works with various stoneware clays, ranging in colour from white, red and black to mixes of the colours in different ratios. This gives the artist a variety of base colours as canvases for glazing. The moon-vases are thrown on the wheel, the larger pieces in sections which are then joined together before the form is finalised. When leather-hard, the surfaces are carved by hand to reveal the final shape and to create textured surfaces. The hand carving also gives an element of randomness and soft asymmetry to the final form, and is a slow and meditative process. Sometimes layers of slips are applied before bisque firing.

After bisque, the glazing process consists of many layers of slips, oxide washes, engobes, dry glazes and conventional glazes being applied in layers, often painted like an abstract painting in 3d form. Dry wood ash is also applied randomly. The moon-vases are glazed inside with a white dolomite glaze, and fired in an electric kiln to approximately 1250C. Some pieces are fired several times, others just once.

Although the vases are glazed inside, they can be porous due to the nature of the clay and firing temperature, and are not tested to check if they are waterproof.