Introducing: The Stem Collection

You know how they say that necessity is often the mother of invention.  Well that's a little bit how my latest stem series started for me.  I had a few too many bad batches of my red glaze this summer- the glaze I use for my poppies and the only commercial glaze that I use.  After several frustrating firings and a whole lot of bad poppies, I felt I had to come up with an alternative.  Plus, after making pots with poppies on them for 2 years now, I was getting a little tired of making them.  Don't get me wrong.  The poppy design came out of an old painting of mine that I re-worked into a glaze design on a mug, so my heart is still into making that series. I just felt like a change had come.

The stem series is kind of like a 'variation on a theme' for me.  Taking elements from both my Ginkgo stem design- namely the stem, and playing around with the shape of the poppy- making it more of a teardrop shape with the center of the bloom coming out of the stem, and thinking about a hollyhock- which has flowers and leaves coming off a tall stem and voila! the idea was formed.  Playing around with the glaze colours was next.  I'm such a turquoise/yellow/green kind of gal.  Really, pinks and purples don't even enter my wardrobe, let alone my ceramics.   I hummed and thought and tried and failed a few times before coming up with these glazes colours.  Literally there were sleepless nights.  But I'm pleased and loving the combos.  Best of all I like that I can switch it up a whole lot.  Blue, dk brown or pale yellow centers, with a few different turquoise blooms.  Green stem and leaves.  And I'm loving it!

I've just started putting the work up in my shop and on my Etsy shop- more to come soon... It's ready to ship- get it before the holiday shipping costs kick in, I say:) And please, let me know what you think about the new work!