Last time I
made ceramics with a zebra pattern was in Vienna, around 13 years ago. It was a
very big order for two huge tableware sets. I wanted the zebra pattern to be
seen from both the upper side and from the bottom of the plates and bowls. So I
used a special technique whose result looks similar to the ceramics made with
the nerikomi method. Unlike the nerikomi technique, I didn’t build big multiple
coloured marbled blocks of clay out of which I could have cut the patterned
slabs. Instead I cut each zebra stripe separately and attached it to the
vessel. This way, I had more control of the pattern. I used white and red
stoneware which both turn darker when glazed with the clear glaze. The white clay
becomes light beige and the red one dark brown. This colour combination looks a
bit warmer than a black and white original zebra. The whole process was a lot
of work. An easier way would have been to paint the zebra stripes with an underglaze.
This zebra egg
is a part of my giant garden egg series. Even though I had a decade of
neglecting this stripy pattern I actually love it a lot. This zebra egg looks
so sweet in my garden. My two and a half years old son asked me several times
already when am I preparing a zebra fried egg for dinner.
Here are few photos of my old zebra dinnerware.
