My flaming pearls are an exploration of the potential of the 25 or so glazes I have been developing since 1984. The total number of possible 3-way glaze combinations is 25 cubed, or 15,625. Most weeks, I throw 10 or 20 pearls, and finish them with an eye toward new possibilities for my overall work.

       It happens that flaming pearls are also very much coveted by dragons in the Buddhist tradition. There is much artwork from the last couple of millennia, of dragons on the brink of aquiring a hovering pearl on fire, which represents enlightenment. Dragons suffer perpetual frustration, never quite capturing this object of their desire.