Jade

Four different pots with four different treatments of Amaco’s Jade Celadon glaze 💚 On the left are older pots, including one of my first mugs and bowls with the glaze on two different clay bodies. In the back is a jar I will post about later with the Jade glaze under the Temmoku glaze I used for my tea set. At the front and right are my latest pots, a simple bowl/cup form and a vase. Both are glazed with a mixture of the Jade glaze with another celadon called Snow. The pot in the front has Snow brushed over Jade, and its inside is coated with a 50/50 mixture of Jade and Snow, which also covers the vase and its simple carvings. The first picture also features a jade necklace my bà ngoại (pictured in the right photo on the wall) gave me—which she purchased from Macy’s in the 90s according to the receipt still left in the box.

My bà ngoại gave me this necklace after she gave my brother a pearl one. She is such a thoughtful lady. My brother is very fashion-forward and often wears garments that disrupt gendered notions of fashion. She took notice of his appreciation for pearl necklaces and simply offered hers as a small token of love for him.

I joked with her where mine was, and the next time I saw her before flying back to Philly, she discreetly handed me a red box with the pictured necklace inside. Jade also has many meanings for Vietnamese people. My maternal lineage has their own story with jade.

My mother’s maternal grandmother once had a beautiful jade bracelet that got smashed while she was using a knife in the kitchen. Broken jade is typically seen as a symbol of bad luck, but my great grandmother took the jade pieces to a jewelry and had them repurposed into more jewelry. This included a ring that my bà ngoại inherited, which eventually landed in my mom’s hands. While many other special family heirlooms were left behind, this ring survived a refugee journey to the United States.

While glazing these pieces, I remembered this jade ring of resilience, abundance, and connection. I really love how well the latest pots match my bà ngoại’s necklace too 🥰 Oh the stories that pots can tell 🌱