Embellishments

There's no escaping it. The weather has been dreadful. Mostly cloudy, with 95% relative humidity, and temperatures high enough to multiply the effect of the overall wetness. My cotton dresses feel damp after working in the garden, or even walking Jasper, and when we eat lunch outside my fingers are sticky. They no longer work to swipe the electronic devices. Ha. They get stuck on the screen. Well, leave the devices inside, I guess.

So. I am determined, in spite of the above rant, to take what loveliness I can from this period. This vase, inspired by Life in the Studio by Frances Palmer, has me giddy with it's lovely presentation. I have tended toward bud vases in the past. . .tall thin ones that are wider at the bottom, narrower at the top. I could not have predicted how well the garden's current offerings would do in this reverse format. I included some very long lemon grass leaves (because they needed removing. . .they were crowding out the other herbs, and keeping the already wet soil wetter. . .) and you may notice the viburnum berries as well. I love the process of gathering these treasures as much as I enjoy looking at the product. I think there may be a series of these vases in the offing.

For now, though, I'm putting together some pieces that will likely sell well for my various non-profits. This Rhubarb Leaf platter is one of them. It's the largest piece I can fit into my kiln. . .about 16" long. The rhubarb leaf may be poisonous, but she makes a wicked impression on clay. We all have our pluses and minuses. And humans, it turns out, are great poisoners as well. Small sigh.

Another leaf inspired piece, this is a large Striped Maple leaf dish. It's not that large, though. . . only about 6" across, so it doesn't challenge my kiln with its size.

Finally, a bit of news. I launched my new website a couple of days ago. Let me know if you see any mistakes. I've never used WIX before, and it is not the most intuitive of platforms. 

http://www.LouisesLeapStudios.com