Iridescent glaze Art Nouveau style vase

Hoping that someone might recognize the signature on this ceramic vase which I got at a thrift store recently. No idea if the first letter is an A or a G, or if the second letter is an R or an M, or something else. The last letter could be a lower case A. The glaze has a little more of an iridescent quality than shows up in the photo.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

From your pictures your vase seems to be a wood-fired piece in the style that originates from Bizen in Japan so to find out more..............

You mention glaze but is it in fact unglazed clay that has specks of ash from the wood burnt in the kiln on its surface?

Another question if I may.............. does the vase seem light in weight for its size?

I guess it did not occur to me that the surface color might not technically be a glaze, but some other kind of chemical treatment perhaps? The surface of the vase is rough, similar to 120 grit sandpaper. I do not see any evidence of ash particles, although the vase showed evidence of long term use for holding flowers/water, before I cleaned it. In particularly, there were some scaly white deposits on the foot of the vase, but they cleaned off readily with a soft toothbrush.

The vase is not especially heavy, but it never struck me as being significantly lighter than its size would suggest (it is just under 8 inches tall).

I've have thought it was Raku rather than wood-fired?

the only Gunilla i could find on the internet was Gunilla Råberg, but doesn't look like hers. so perhaps it reads
Gonilla
Govnilla
Guvnilla
Gomilla
or something like it

You could be right Potty, hence my questions, but without feeling it I think it is difficult to be certain either way. However raku leaks and penr0295 states, "the vase showed evidence of long term use for holding flowers/water, before I cleaned it".

Anyway when I first looked at the signature it appeared to read "Gornell" and a internet search found a female crime writer based in California, M. M. Gornell. Initally that didn't seem a good lead but I read an interview in which the interviewer thanked the author for the gift of a piece of her pottery. To that the author answered that she has her own studio.

Unfornunately, I wasn't able to find any images of her work but she has a web site, with an email address so it could be worth contacting her.

That could be a long shot but looking at other options for the signature I haven't found any that give any other lead to a potter.

I think there is a pretty good chance you have found who the potter is SP

The potter mentions:

"I’ve leaned toward what’s called high-fire reduction firing (for the glazing part). I have a propane kiln for that, and I never know what the fire-gods are going to deliver up."

if you are correct then that's some excellent sleuthing S P

dantheman wrote:if you are correct then that's some excellent sleuthing S P

If it is correct I could even appear in Ms. Gornell's next crime thriller!!!!!

Didn't Holmes play the violin?

That is indeed some impressive sleuthing. I will email the crime writer, and see what she says. Thanks all!

Madeline Gormell, the mystery writer, told me it is not one of her pots, which are signed "M M". I was a promising lead though, so thanks again.

I wasn't too hopeful. Whereabouts in the States did you find the vase?

I got the pot near Portland, Oregon.