Ana Shioshita's Blue Ruin, 6 in. (15.2 cm) in height, porcelain, fired to cone 6, 2024.

I’m happiest with my work when it toes the line between elegant and cartoonish. I want to make the viewer do a double take. Ceramics is already an inherently tactile medium, but in my work I often aim for an additional layer of interactivity, whether through the piece interacting with the viewer in an unusual way or through invisible forces acting upon it. I often draw inspiration from the natural world, as well as from the cartoons I loved as a kid and still love today. 

My drippy vases came into being because I like a drippy glaze but wanted my drips to be more exaggerated. I did a version where I sculpted the drips onto the exterior and then thought I could make them float, as if being poured over an invisible vase. It took a few iterations to figure out how to make them in a way that was stable, but I’m very happy with the result. 

1 Draw a line around the pot, which is on the softer side, to mark the top and the bottom, then sketch a drip design. 2 Add small clay balls to the lower sections of the drip design. Do this before you do any cutting.

3 Cut along the marked lines. Leave the cut segments in the pot for support while you make the rest of the incisions. 4 Remove the cut sections. Use carving tools, sponges, and brushes to refine the inside edges and add details.

5 Remove any stuck shavings after bisque firing. Sand areas that were too difficult to get to before the piece was fired. 6 Glaze the drips on the top section and the dish on the bottom with colors that separate them.

 

 

January/February 2026: Table of Contents


Must-Reads from Pottery Making Illustrated

Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
Click the cover image to return to the Table of Contents