End of Summer

On Wednesday we spent the night at Cottonwood hot springs in an impromptu, relaxing getaway. We drove back the next morning and, turning off the highway toward our house, we were greeted by the most gorgeous aspens: breathtakingly vivid golds, oranges, reds, and even a few stubborn spring greens. It was the peak of the season; this morning everything is still quite lovely, but not the stunning show I saw yesterday. I took a different route home this morning and snapped some photos with my cell phone.

This is my favorite view on the way home. I look forward to it every day.

An old abandoned house; a mining structure from the 1800s back among the aspens.

Summer is nearly gone. It's been a tragic, difficult season but also gorgeous, sunny, and filled with ceramics. Here are some of the more interesting commissions I've had the pleasure to make.

First is Lydia, a beautiful baby who celebrated her birthday in August. I enjoy making work for people I meet because I can make the right glaze choices for their pieces. Lydia's mother was completely uninterested in anything easily breakable or overly girly, but she wanted Lydia to have something special out of clay.

I made Lydia a free-standing name display. Hopefully she'll enjoy looking at it until she's old enough to play with it in a carpeted room.

Next, I met a woman at Alma Fest, Cynthia, who really liked a vase I had with blue flowers, but preferred dark pink flowers instead. I totally agree with her, the dark pink is a great choice!

I ended up making her two vases and they turned out quite lovely. Now I need to make her a bowl but we're both stumped as to how to glaze it. Then a week or so ago I had the pleasure of seeing a dear friend, Janie, who always comes up with interesting clay ideas. She doesn't work with clay at all but loves buying pottery and has a constant supply of "What if you tried..." or "What if you were inspired by..." I love her enthusiasm. For this visit, among many other things she showed me photos of foxgloves, pointing out how beautiful the inside of the flowers look. She thought it would be beautiful to recreate the look with glaze. This summer I bought and planted 12 foxgloves at work, but never thought of this myself. I'm excited to see if this idea can translate into something great for the bowl for Cynthia, using the colors above plus yellow or tan. (Stay tuned!)

Janie also encouraged me to make more tiny pieces, which I did at Alma Fest (and sold them all, thanks Janie!). She collects cream & sugar pieces, so I made her a set with a leafy tray (keeping with my leafy espresso and tea set style). She bought a nice blue bowl, a couple of heart bowls, and a hummus & chip tray. The hummus tray was, of course, Janie's own suggestion, and it turned out great!

This is not intended for large tortilla chips; it's wonderful for pita chips or crackers. Also, I made the hummus bowl nestle perfectly but it is separate if you want to heat it in the microwave (I'm thinking something yummy and cheesy) and for quick washing. The bottom section fits easily in the dishwasher.

In Breckenridge I brought new work to Mary-Anne at Magical Scraps Boutique: flowery mugs and coordinating stacking bowls. 

The mugs take forever to glaze, so I have to re-think the color choices. But they look so cute!...  I also restocked the Backcountry Apothecary in Frisco with more work and have some to-go mugs drying in my studio right now. I enjoy finding inspiration from each of these unique stores to put custom Wild Iris pieces on their shelves. Magical Scraps is a beautiful, cheerful space I want to fill with color and flowers. The Apothecary has supplements, herbs, and teas, and serves as the entrance to the Naturopathic clinic with massage and acupuncture as well. I make drinking vessels for them, usually inspired by or referencing their artsy logo. I'll have photos to share later.

Finally, I made a beautiful pitcher to celebrate an upcoming September wedding. My client, a dear friend of my mother's, told me the shape she wanted and then described her daughter's personality to me (the daughter and I were really close friends through grade school but I haven't seen her in at least 15 years). Maybe I've been well-trained by all the Project Runway episodes I watch, because I had a great time coming up with the right design for the pitcher. The first one I made (below) didn't dry well and when I bisqued it the handle popped off! I'm so glad it did, though, because I'm much happier with the second one.

My idea of carving the roses came about when I found an old flyer from a show I did in 2007. This time I used a similar technique as I did for the work in that show, but I created a much more delicate effect. I love the roses and I love the satiny glaze (poured on for a subtle layered look). As I always do for wedding gifts, there's something written on the bottom to celebrate the happy couple.