Second Ceramics Course : Vases and Bowls as Gifts

Now that Christmas is past, I can finally post the final three creations from my course, since I gave them as Christmas gifts.

#31 - This vase was a gift for my mother-in-law.  I thought I remembered her saying that the lily-of-the-valley was her wedding flower.  It turns out she had wanted it as a wedding flower, but it was not available.  But it was still a nice thought.  I think she liked the vase.  It is made with white stoneware, and the leaves painted with green and white slip (mixed), the stems in green slip, and the flowers in white slip.  Then the vase was dipped partially in Matt Green glaze, and finished with a light spraying of Clear glaze.

#32 - Since the first vase seemed to work out quite well, and I got a lot of compliments on the piece in the ceramics studio, I decided to make a second one.  This one also turned out quite well, but I forgot myself, and made both the flowers and stems in White slip.  It's funny, but quite a few people looked at both vases, and didn't notice, including myself.  I just had a vague feeling that the first one looked better.  It was my 12 year old son who pointed out the white stems.  But I've been told these look "artistic", so it's okay.  To me, it's a mistake.  But the overall look is still pretty good.  I offered it also to my mother-in-law, and she seemed happy to receive it.  I think it would look great with a potted plant in it.

#33 - This final piece was a gift for my dear sister Rose, who loves everything Disney, especially Mickey Mouse.  It was inspired by the 2-bowl and 3-bowl projects in class (see my items #19 and #20).  But it came to me that I could arrange them to be Mickey Mouse ears.  It is also white stoneware, finished in Tenmoku glaze, which I fully dipped from one side, and then the other.

I was happy to see this bowl set in use at my sister's house at Christmas, where she had them already filled with chocolates and candies.  I forgot to take a photo at the time.