Stoneware with glaze. Private Collection.

The power of pots is in the form. The surface can add to the form, but it cannot carry it. During my years in graduate school, I found myself pursuing forms that related to architecture, but were also organic—specifically, the rounded bulbous forms of Buddhist stupas, and Italy’s Trulli houses. This jar set is one result. Made of stoneware clay with a warm glaze, it speaks of nature without added decoration.