Ideas in a bowl

The last couple of years I've been making bowls in spring for Project Empty Bowls, a fundraiser to provide meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in the city.  Although I've never been to the fundraiser, it's a simple concept of soup made by renown chefs served in a hand-made bowl donated by local potters.  Since whoever attends gets to take their bowl home with them, people who come year after year would get the pleasure of filling their bowl cupboard with a wide variety of handmade bowls!
This year I thought I would take the opportunity to create little prototypes or 'sketches' of glaze ideas I've been thinking about with a new bowl shape.  I have a few more in the studio, but these were the ones that I pulled out of the kiln this past weekend.  It's a good way to flush out an idea for me and to find out if my stripes always need to be vertical or have a curved edge.  I chose to stick with subtle colours, but of course, all that could change next time around.
On another note, I have a minimal shop up-date with more on the way. My very big order for a very big shop turned out almost perfect...but not quite (I've linked to a poem by the children's poet Shel Silverstein here- Dean and I have a running commentary about this poem and my own idea of perfection). My pale pink glaze gave me grief so I'm onto round 2 this week as the drop-off and big announcement will happen on Thursday. It will be a big relief when it's all done, I tell ya!