Stoneware Frozen pond bowl by Amy Hamson

Frozen Pond

The Frozen Pond Bowl by Amy Hamson captures the appearance of winter ice forming across still water. Made from stoneware and fired to Cone 5, the bowl was created using the Frozen Pond glaze technique, a layering method that encourages glazes to separate, pool, and crystallize during firing. The result is a surface filled with rounded shapes that resemble air bubbles trapped beneath frozen ice. The effect develops naturally in the kiln, making each piece unique.

The glaze combination begins with two coats of Mayco Raspberry Mist, creating a deep raspberry border around the rim and upper walls of the bowl. Dots of Spectrum Textured Chowder introduce texture and variation across the surface, while two coats of Amaco Iron Lustre bring depth and movement to the layered glaze field. As the glazes melt together, they create transitions from raspberry and violet to cool blue-gray tones that gather inside the bowl.

Cone 5 Frozen Pond Pottery Surface

Viewed from above, the interior resembles a frozen pond in late winter, with pale crystalline areas surrounded by darker cells and fine glaze boundaries. The glossy finish reflects light across the textured surface, emphasizing the contrast between soft color transitions and defined cellular patterns. Amy Hamson’s bowl demonstrates how a simple group of commercial glazes can produce a complex ceramic surface when applied with care and fired to Cone 5.

• 2 x layers of Mayco Raspberry Mist all over
• 2 x layers of Spectrum Textured Chowder in dots all over
• 2 x layers of Amaco’s Iron Lustre all over
• Fired to cone 5 in an electric Skutt kiln.

Credit: Amy Hamson