Big Baby Accretion

The Haas brothers operate a design and fabrication studio in Los Angeles. This piece is an important example of handcraft in modern design, a landmark in the technical feat of ceramics production. It contributes to that history with the invention of a process the designers call accretion. The painstaking process of creating the work begins with a hand thrown stoneware vase. Each accretion is applied to the vase in a manner intended to replicate fungus or coral growth. A brush dipped in porcelain slip impregnated with pigment is brushed against the vase form to create an extension of less than .1 millimeters. For each accretion, that process is repeated between 5,000 and 10,000 times with pigment that is graduated from dark to light to create depth. Following the application of all of the accretions, the piece undergoes a lengthy drying process, after which it is subjected to a bisque firing, and then a clear glaze is applied to the entire piece. Finally, each tip is brushed with gold luster. The work is a demonstration of virtuosic skill, so much so that the only vestige of its functional form and intent is the small neck and lip that caps the piece, the slightest suggestion of a vessel.