Frozen Pond Goes Red by Heidi Shink

Pomegranate or Lava Frozen Pond Plate by Heidi Shink

The moment this 10-inch stoneware dinner plate came out of the kiln, it looked as if it were glowing from within. Frozen Pond Goes Red and you couldn’t imagine a more perfect name for such a creation.

She built it layer by layer with such thoughtful care. Three coats of AMACO Deep Firebrick gave the plate its rich foundation.

Then came the playful Spectrum RHC dots—applied with a needle-tip bottle for the smaller ones and with round sponges for the bigger ones. Heidi even went over them twice to build up that bubbly texture. There’s also a prefire picture, which makes it even more special, since we can see exactly how the surface was prepared before the magic of the kiln transformed it.

To bring more depth, Heidi brushed on two coats of AMACO Albany Slip Brown across everything but the rim. The plate was shaped from charcoal-colored clay, left bare on the outside, and fired to Cone 5. Inspired by Kathy McGuire’s methods, the surface seems to hover between the glowing heat of a lava field and the juicy richness of a pomegranate.

Credits: Heidi Shink, with inspiration from Kathy McGuire’s methods