Mirror Lake

A shallow pool at the foot of Half Dome, fed by Tenaya Creek. In late spring, when the snowmelt is full and the canyon wind has not yet come up, the water lies still enough to hold the whole granite face upside down. Mount Watkins folds in green beside it. By August the pool has gone to sand and willow; by autumn there is only a meadow and the trail back. John Muir used to ride out from the valley floor to see it. The shuttle still stops here. People walk the loop slowly and stand at the far bank without talking.

Slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, in our family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee.