How I create a ceramic jewelry dish with a calendula flower pressed in clay

Описание: The calendula flower is a beautiful symbol of happiness and simplicity in life. Related to both sunflowers and marigolds, calendula has the same bright cheerful colors of orange and yellow. These days we sometimes hear of calendula as an ingredient of healing ointments and lotions - and through the centuries it has been regarded as a flower of healing, protection, …and even magic! Calendula was used in a potion in the middle ages for the purpose of summoning fairies, and folk tales say that planting calendula will attract garden fairies. I haven’t seen any yet, but when I add gold accents to the flower on each dish, I like to imagine how a calendula flower would look through a fairy’s eyes.

In creating a jewelry dish, I first press a calendula flower and leaves into soft clay. Calendula blooms last a long time and I like to pick them towards the end of their bloom so that I can enjoy them in the garden. Calendulas are also an important nectar source for bees, and the bees seem to enjoy them too. 🐝 (don’t worry -there are lots in my garden and picking nearly spent flowers encourages more to bloom. I’m also usually able to reuse the same flower for many dishes).

After the clay dries (this can take a week), I do a lower temperature firing of the clay in my kiln to harden the clay. This makes the clay easier to handle during the coloring and glazing phase. I add stains and underglazes to the flower and leaf imprints, finally coating the piece in ceramic glaze. A higher temperature firing in my kiln vitrifies the clay and melts the glaze into a glossy coating of glass. I add real gold accents by hand, and fire the piece one more time to melt and bond the gold. #calendula #flowerart #ceramics #clay #watercolorart #fairycore