I really like making pieces, but glazing is very difficult for me as glazes can be unpredictable and color choices are so permanent. These two recent pieces have been waiting for a while to be glazed, and now that they are done I feel relieved!
The donut shaped teapot has a tiled base that I am working on now. The deadly nightshade wrapped around the form is contrasted against the white teapot body, the dark berries glistening and the flowers open in an inviting manner. This plant grows freely in the wild, beautiful and prolific yet deadly in the right amounts. It makes me think about how people figured this out over time through trial and error, becoming familiar with poisonous plants by getting sick from them. Over the summer, I had planned to make tea from some herbs I was growing in my yard...until I did some research and discovered that in the right amounts, one of the herbs causes excessive bleeding! I think I will buy my tea, and stick to sculpting these dangerous plants instead of ingesting them.
The vine wrapped around the flower vase is tight, cutting into the surface and creating a dark shadow where the two meet. The brightly colored flowers attract attention and create a decorative surface, but small vines creep out continuously and threaten to cover the entire surface of the pot. Is the relationship between the form and the flowers positive or negative? This is a question I intend to return to in future work.
