In summer 2025 I worked on developing a blue and white palette of glazes and overglaze stains, inspired by the many blue and white forms created by the Anabaptist/Haban potters between the 16th and 19th century. Conducting numerous experiments with my studio assistant Abtahi Hassan, we produced a broad range of blues by adding commercial stains to the basic overglaze and glaze recipes. Abtahi received an Undergraduate Research Award, a University of Manitoba program that allows students to work side-by-side with a professor of their choice in an assistant/ mentorship situation from May through August. Abtahi and I worked together every day in the ceramics studio at the School of Art experimenting and discovering techniques and glazes inspired by Anabaptist ceramics, also known as Habanware.
Additional funding from the SSHRC Insight Grant I received will allow for my research on Anabaptist ceramics to continue and expand as I investigate the research/creation potential of this obscure branch of ceramics, tied to my own heritage through my Mennonite ancestors. “In Search of Heavenly Blue” is tied to the German term “himmelblau” meaning sky blue, or in the Plautdietsch dialect “himmelbleiw.” The word “himmel” also means heaven. My search for “heavenly blue” will continue as it is an elusive goal that stands as a hopeful metaphor for what lies beyond our earthly existence.
Eventually I will be creating an open-source database with the support of my SSHRC Insight funding that will include images of the many glaze and overglaze stain tests we produced, along with recipes and methods used, plus images and videos of the various techniques explored along the way. The blue and white tests will be divided into six categories:
- Maiolica glazes
- Overglaze stains on maiolica
- Overglaze stains on terra sigillata
- Overglaze stains on vitreous engobes (also known as vitreous slips)
- Crawl glazes
- Marbling techniques
Examples of Blue and White Tests
Photography by Michael Zajac
