Spirit of the Mountains
I choose the leaves for these pots on my walks and from my garden. I love this way of connecting with plants. I press them into clay I’ve rolled out with my rolling pin. I cut them out and appliqué them onto the pots. See a slide show.
The leaves burn off in the first, bisque, firing leaving behind their intimate details. I sometimes add stems and later “berries” of fresh water pearls or gem beads since I am not trying to be botanically correct but want to convey the sense of aliveness I feel.
When I glaze the pot I use a wash of iron on the leaves to bring out the intricacy and beauty of the impression of the leaves and to evoke the unique quality of the WNC mountains.
The “leaf” pots with iron washed leaves (tan) come in 6 colors/glazes: Dawn, a rosey pink; Sky, the blue of the sky on a sunny day here in the mountains; Spring Green; Sunset, a mixture of mauve, lavender, blue like the sky at sunset; Night, a satin black with some interesting movement; and Natural, the unglazed white of the porcelain clay. (Just to keep myself interested, I will sometimes use the white glaze you see on the Quality of Mercy “eggs.”) I also use a copper wash to make the leaves green on an unglazed pot. All the pots have a shiny clear glaze on the inside.
