Ceramics inspired by flowers.
Hello, Today I wanted to share some of my ceramics with you and the thought process that goes into designing and making each piece.
You see, I just love flowers! Flowers are my endless source of inspiration, in particular garden roses. The big floppy old English kind that smell amazing. I’m also enthralled by the ruffles of peonies in spring and the beautiful autumnal tones and texture of a hydrangea plant in September.
Each piece is designed in my mind whilst I’m either gardening or walking over the fields by my home, often not even making it to paper before I’ve made it. I’ll consider the flowers or colours I’m inspired by right now, how I’m feeling and what the design would work best on- either a mug or vase. Would the design suit something hand built with texture like my French coffee cups, Or maybe sit better on a piece I’ve made with slabs of clay (clay rolled out thinly to later shape into a form).
My work is ever evolving as I use different techniques to suit my mood of that moment. Sometimes I’ll enjoy the peace that comes with sitting and slowly making delicate petals out of porcelain, whilst other times I like the freedom of painting or carving directly onto the pottery. Just lately I’ve been having fun using transfers that sit underneath the glaze combined with a watercolour wash. I use a lot of gold too!
I find a beautiful freedom in switching between working with clay then painting a picture. The process of working on both relieves the dreaded artist burn out. Don’t get me wrong, I still have times of blankness where only some time away will do. Some much needed calm and alone time usually fixes this along with gardening, walking and surrounding myself with flowers obviously. I find what surrounds you to be incredibly inspiring or destructive so if I’m having a creative block and no amount of walking or switching medium is helping, then it’s usually because my home got messy. Beautiful things around me are the key to creativity. And flowers are always a good idea as a gift to a creative friend… even if she happens to be a florist… just saying.
