Earth and Vine Series

It is always exciting to try something new…….. I often have too many projects going on at once.  Sandi and I have collaborated in the past on a number of projects such as our Twig and Tile tables and some garden installations.  We have chatted about trying to incorporate grapevine, bittersweet vine or cedar into my pottery but until this year it has just been talk.  So we decided to get busy.

I started with making some pots trying to keeping in mind where I thought the vine or root would be attached. I wanted to have a variety of shapes and sizes of pots to play with so we could see what we thought worked best once they were completed – just in case we wanted to do more!  With this in mind, I threw some open bowls and vases and also did some hand-building, both slab and coil work. At the leather-hard stage, I added some holes for lashing on various vines. Once my pots were bisque fired, I selected some glazes that I thought would complement the natural materials to be attached.  After glazing and firing, we were ready to start.

Sandi raided her studio for vine, cordage she had made, cedar bark and some great twisty roots she had collected. We were ready to have some fun creating.  It was a learning process for both of us.  Below are some pictures that give some idea about the process and the final product. Click on the images for more detail.  Some larger pieces are in process now and I am excited to see how they turn out.