Palladium Over Stoned Denim by Meg Varner Miller

Meg Varner Miller layered AMACO Palladium over Stoned Denim on porcelain and fired the piece to Cone 5.5 using a Hoffman schedule. The soft blue field created by Stoned Denim settles into cloudy gradients across the rounded body, while Palladium gathers along the sculpted zipper and rim in molten metallic lines. The contrast between cool porcelain blues and dark reflective metal gives the vessel the feeling of weathered fabric touched by salt air and machinery at the same time.

• Porcelain
• MAYCO Stoned Denim x3
• MAYCO Light Flux on the rim
• AMACO Palladium on the zipper
• to cone 5.5. (Hoffman schedule)

The porcelain clay body plays an important role in this combination. Under the semi-fluid surface of Stoned Denim, the pale clay keeps the blues clean and open rather than muddy. Three coats of Stoned Denim create depth through the center of the form, while Palladium breaks into bronze, silver, and dark graphite tones where the glaze thickens around texture. Near the zipper edges the metallic surface tightens and darkens, producing the appearance of worn steel against faded denim fabric.

This Palladium Over Stoned Denim combination works especially well on altered forms and sculptural pottery where the glazes can react differently across ridges, seams, and carved details. Fired at Cone 5.5, the surface remains glossy but controlled, allowing the metallic glaze to hold its definition without overwhelming the blue underneath. Meg Varner Miller’s piece demonstrates how commercial mid-fire glazes can move beyond functional finishes into surfaces that feel architectural, tactile, and deeply material.