Today I was throwing a number of vases, a very direct way to discover living ceramic shapes. I can make sketches, view contours on internet or in a museum. But when I feel the clay going through my hands, the shapes takes hold of my mind and body as a whole.
Vases are great, they have a function, but they are mainly about form. Why is this vase “in balance” and this one not so much? What is a beautiful shape and why (not)? Visually, a (thrown) vase should have proper proportions, be in balance. Details should serve the shape as a whole. Finish should fit the design, (visual) weight the content. The intention has to match the result.
There are many more design principles that need to be reckoned with or taken into account. But pure shape I see best without glaze, without color, right after turning….