Danielle Blog

Texas Sister – Pottery

My sister in Texas has been making pottery for a few years as a hobby.

Recently, she sent us three new pieces.

I was overwhelmed by how much her talent has developed and the beauty of her creations.

The fine detail of the carving and the glaze colors are so gorgeous in person; I’m afraid that the pictures really don’t do the pieces justice. But here I am, posting them anyway, because I am so proud of her.

The New Pieces

The pitcher has two carved stripes where unglazed clay is exposed on the edges with an almost-metallic blue stripe of glaze between.

I call this next piece the beehive. What impressed me most about this piece is the progressive space between the carved stripes. Also, I checked with her and she did tell me that she only gets one chance to carve the piece (i.e. no mistakes allowed).

The final piece has the glaze colors of her eyes, which are inherited from my Dad, and are similar to HB’s. So, it reminds me of all of them.

The Older Pieces

Knowing how fond HB and I are of tea, she made us a teapot.

What a seestor. grin

Yes, you can see my reflection in the teapot. How fitting is that?

One of my favorite parts of the teapot is the way the lid feels when I hold it. It has to do with the smooth, almost wet feel of the glazed side, the way the knob fits between my fingers so perfectly, and the weight of the clay. Here is a pic of me holding it a different, less satisfactory way, just to show off the size and shape.

At one point, she was trying out different glazes and made test plates.

I love all of the following pieces too. They have become permanent fixtures in our decorating scheme. Note that she has told me that the clay and glazes are safe for using the bowls for food. But at this point, I just can’t bring myself to use them as everyday dinnerware. They are too special. She has told me that if we broke them, she’d make us other pieces… but still. Not yet. Maybe someday.

Three cheers for Texas Sister
Hip-hip, hooray!
Hip-hip, hooray!
Hip-hip, HOORAY!

Final note: All pictures are taken with a Sony Cyber-shot with natural lighting from our living room window. Yes, unfortunately, I haven’t yet figured out how to minimize the reflections in the glazes, but at times, the reflections are interesting too.