The New Forest Green

The New Forest Green

We’re kicking this blog series off with what feels most relevant right now: the continuation of the Forest Green glaze.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who already owns a piece in this deep, rich color, you know what I’m talking about. Forest Green was added to our collection five years ago, and quickly became one of our most beloved glazes. Then unfortunately we had to take some of the pieces offline for a while, as they were sold out. A key raw material became unavailable, and what seemed like a temporary setback turned into a months-long search for a new formula. On top of that, we had to find a new clay, too. It’s been a journey.

Now, Forest Green is fully back! But the new version is, in Kari’s words, “not a copy - it’s a continuation.” Let’s get into it.

1. Kari, Forest Green has been such a signature glaze in the collection. When you could not make the glaze anymore, did you already know you'd want to try and bring it back?
 
From  years of working with this glaze, and seeing how much people love it, I knew that I would have to try to develop something similar, no matter time and effort, and that is what I did. A lot of testing with different ingredients and proportions of combinations of materials, again and again test ovens mixed with other glazed pieces as the oven has to be full when you do tests like this, to create the right atmosphere for reliable result. This has been months and months of work. When I got closer to the look I wanted, being a bit more like the old Forest Green with playful nuances  of Blue,Green and Turquoise, I started to play with different thicknesses of applications and variations with fire temperatures and different programs, as everything influences the result of the glaze. 

2. What was the most challenging part of recreating Forest Green? Did you ever consider just letting it go? 
The most challenging part has been the recreation of the plates, which most of them came out with a darker stripe or two on the plate, I cannot explain why.  I have maybe 60-70 test plates with  some darker markings on the pattern, which of course by some might look like a artistic effect on the piece, while others might find it like a 'disturbing' marking on the otherwise green-blue pattern. If I do not manage to solve it, the new version plate might become the more artistic version and for those who likes it, great! I personally like that effect as it makes each plate really have character and its own personal look. It is all a question of definition, and as usual, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder (remark: is this correct expression?) In short, I do not want to let the plates go, I just need to redefine their characteristics and look. 


3. The new clay body also came into play. Can you tell us how it influenced the final look and feel of the new Forest Green?

I have to admit that I am still in the experimental stage with the New Forest Green on the new clay, as the experimental process takes time. I am these days starting to get to conclusions about which kind of fire program is optimal for this clay and glaze combined. Our earlier clay liked with this glaze a high fire up to 1220c and then a very long soak (holding time at top temperature) for 2h before cooling down slowly naturally. It seems on the other hand that the best effect of the New Forest Green on this clay is a shorter soaking time (1h20) and a quicker cool,  that seemingly the pattern and effect becomes more beautiful then with a more evenly runny playful effect. I have to experiment more, but this seems to be the conclusions looking at the results. 

4. For customers who already own a piece in the original Forest Green - how will this new version look next to it? Are there visible differences they should know about?

For people who look at it for the first time they might not immediately see the difference, as the over all colour scheme is the same, a mix of green with some lighter and darker spots of blue and Turquoise hints in between.  But looking closer, and for those who have some of the pieces of the old version, they will pay attention the the dark blue 'bubbles' which we often had on the old glaze is now gone, now the blue colour is more spread out in a finer pattern and mingled a bit more with a lighter nuances in direction of Turquoise. The green side are also a bit lighter of nuance. And you know what? I actually like more the new version, I find it much more interesting and playful.  

5. Is there anything else we need to inform customers about? What would you like them to know about the new Forest Green in terms of durability, finish, or color? 

I think that all our customers who are pottery lovers and have an understanding and appreciation for hand made pieces will understand that these are all natural materials going through natural processes, and and that when one ingredient changes there will be changes in the look which in the overall picture only mingles well into our general philosophy of each piece being different from the other in look. There are not two the same, and to have one piece of the old version and another piece of the new will just emphasize what we offer, namely individual beauty. The quality is the same, the durability will increase with our new clay which actually is even oven proof, but it will take some time till all the pieces with the old clay is exchanged as I still have clay left of the old clay which I want to finish, and I gradually will exchange it paralell to my testing period with each of the glazes. 

6. Before we can launch it online, we still need to take new product photos. If you could dream up the perfect scene for Forest Green - what does it look like? What story do you want those images to tell?

Ahh, the Forest green always reminds me of a lush forest, which nourishes, breathes, enchants and captivates...  An idealistic product shoot definitely would nees some fresh natural elements to emphasise that story and feeling in my head, but on the other hand, the complexity of the glaze with its pattern and nuances also requires stillness and silence to bring out its meditative effect, so ideally a shoot would have a combination of natural branches, leaves, on a natural wooden background, together with space to let it breathe, in order to magnify the magic effect of the interesting play of colours mingeling in a fascination dance at the bottom of the piece. 


7. And last we always end with a personal question: if you were setting the table with Forest Green, what other glaze colors would you pair it with? What’s your dream dinner set combination right now?

I think the Forest Green goes perfectly with quite a lot of our glazes, as it has so many nuances in itself. It is beautiful with Turquoise, Midnight Blue and Speckled Blue, which brings out the effect of the pattern. The more neutral glazes like Soft Black, Natural White and Taupe also go beautifully with it, as enhancers of the complexity of this specific glaze.  You can create your own colour combinations, the options are endless, and I am very happy to help you with it, to create your own very personal dinner set based on  your preference of taste or the colours of your kitchen environment. I love that. 

  |  

More Posts

Next Post

0 comments

Leave a comment