Blue Tide Incense Dish

Water and fire share the same breath in this small dish. The glazes were layered freely, each wash allowed to find its own path across the ivory ground, carrying the unpredictability of tides. When the kiln opened, cobalt had surged against teal, and burgundy had settled like sediment in deep water. Gold dotwork traces the outer edge of the abstract form, a quiet gesture borrowed from Persian illumination traditions, where dots of gold once marked the margins of sacred manuscripts. Here, they hold a looser boundary, hinting at something that has not yet fully arrived at shore. The dish is both functional and contemplative. Rest an incense stick in the central hole and watch the smoke rise through the layers of color. The ritual of scent and the ritual of looking become, for a moment, the same act.