Bunny with clover ceramic dish, how I press leaves into clay,

Описание: “The only difference between a flower and a weed is judgment.” For many years I used to pull out the clover and oxalis and dandelions in my lawn, as I worked towards an “ideal” grass lawn. Then one day I realized all these “weeds” were quite lovely and I was going to go with the flow and see if I liked it. I soon noticed that as the dandelions, clover, and other tiny plants in the lawn flowered, I had happy bees and butterflies buzzing around them, tiny birds eating the seeds, and a baby bunny that spent a couple weeks nibbling them all day long. It was so sweet to look out of my studio and see all this activity. This piece was inspired by that tiny bunny in my garden and the beautiful imprint of wood sorrel leaves ☘️ Wood sorrel (oxalis) is also known as lemon clover or shamrock clover. It’s considered a weed but it is a favorite of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
I start with soft ceramic clay that I roll out with a basic kitchen rolling pin. Then I arrange the heart-shaped leaves and roll them into the clay, capturing their delicate imprints. After I shape the dish, i sculpt the tiny bunny out of the same clay, and I join it to the clay dish. With pottery and ceramics like this, there are generally 2 firings in a kiln to finish a piece (I have a third!). The first is the bisque firing which is a low temperature firing (and by low I mean over 1900°F!) which hardens the clay enough to handle it. Then I add the color and glaze. Here it’s green stains for the leaves and bright pink underglaze for the bunny nose and ears. Then comes the second kiln firing to a higher temperature - this is the glaze firing which vitrifies the clay and melts the glaze into a coating of shiny glass. The colors generally become more muted and a bit darker in these high temperatures, which is something I like. In my process I have a third kiln firing and that’s for the gold, which is real 22kt gold applied by hand.
#vuvuceramics #clay #creative