How a Skull Bowl Is Made

For the past decade, I've focused on translating natural forms into functional objects, returning again and again to the skull as a subject of refinement.

Every Memento Mori bowl starts the same way: a fistful of raw clay in my studio. What follows is the process, sharper, lighter, and more precise with each edition. It isn't fast, and it isn't clean.

THE BODY

Pure New Zealand kaolin and a custom porcelain blend, mixed into liquid clay. This is the body. Everything else, the weight, the translucency, the way light passes through the finished form, follows from here.

THE CAST

The clay is poured into a complex plaster mold and cast into shape. Life-sized: 5 × 6.5 × 4 inches, 28 oz.

Once the form sets, the mold comes off and the piece is ready to be detailed.

THE DETAILING

Every skull is hand-detailed. This is where each piece starts to take on its own identity, and why no two are ever alike.

THE FIRE

Fired once. Glazed. Then fired again at 2,462°F. At that temperature the kiln burns white, and in the deepest carved areas light gathers and passes through the form. More than 10% of the pieces don't make it through the firing. The ones that do come out denser, brighter, and stronger.

This porcelain series is the most refined version I've made to date. Each piece is unique and handcrafted, imbuing the form with a sense of individual identity and soul.

The Memento Mori Life-Sized Skull Bowl is available in the shop.