Does this bottle look zen?

This bottle is one of my latest creation. I am pleased with how the dark stain turned out after the firing. I couldn't quite visualize the look when I glazed it and had tried a couple of technics before settling down with the final glaze. The glaze I used are shino orange for the body, and tamaku for the black stain. I initially used black underglaze for the stain but was not too sure about how it would look if covered by a white glaze (window clear glaze ran out that day). In the end, I switched to tamaku just to be safe.  The creation of the flower decoration was actually an unintentional design.  While trimming the pot, it moved and left a scar made by the trimming tool; in order to salvage the work, I extended the scar into a frame and made the design as it is today.  It turns out nicely.  I think.

Mr. Tofu in Flower Soup Bowl

I bought a Nikon D60 recently, so I have no excuse of not posting some of my latest work online. Last year I made a series of rice bowl with bright flowers painted with Amaco cone 10 underglaze. The end product exceeded our expectation; bright colors such red, orange, and yellow generally don't come out at high temperature firing; however, Amaco has produced a number of colorful underglazes that can withstand cone 10. I was lucky of getting these underglaze via a promotional offer. I paid $6 shipping and handling for 6 2oz. jars of bright red, orange, and yellow. I just checked the price online last week, one 2 oz. jar of bright red cone10 underglaze is about $6.00.