Tortoise glazed tall bottle c. 2000

This is Richey Bellinger’s glazed tall bottle, made of stoneware. The vessel’s shape is created by the potter’s wheel. But its rippling surface texture—that’s something else altogether. These regular indentations create a visual echo of the spinning action by which the piece was made. The finish is created by an ombre effect, shifting from blues at the top to greens and yellows lower down. That “tortoise” glazing gives a sense of age, as if we were looking at an artifact pulled up from the sea bed. As a whole, the bottle is a celebration of the inherent qualities of clay and glaze. You can see the hand of the maker in the subtle variations of the lines around the body. It transcends any distinction between fine art and craft.