Thursday, June 10, 2010

Planter Vases




My friend Jon is great at giving me ideas for new products to try, he's very creative. The last show we did together in Philly he suggested that I make these hollow stakes that are unglazed at the tip and decorated at the top. The idea is that you stick them into a potted plant, fill them up with water which slowly seeps out of the unglazed part and keeps your plant watered. Great idea. As soon as I was back in my studio I thought I'd give it a shot. The first batch really didn't work out. For one thing, they are way to small to keep a plant watered. The water would last about a day. Second, the top layer of glaze ran all the way down the interior sealing the inside of the tube. That totally defeats the point of the object. So I'm left with a few of these weird stakes that I'm not really sure what to do with. My best idea is to use them as mini flower vases to spruce up some potted plants. Sadly I don't have any potted plants in my house since my kitty is partial to eating them up. This looks like another "mom gift", she loves my rejects and can always find something to do with them!
On the plus side, I tried a new stain on top and really like how the unglazed surface came out. That may be showing up in my real work soon....not sure if I will give these plant stakes another go or not.