There was a time, 2 years ago, I would motivate myself to get up at 4 in the morning, take my camera en just go for walks in local nature reserves. I used to love how quiet it was! Birds only starting to wake up, the cows still resting, the occasional cat coming back from a hunting spree,… but apart from that…no one. I had the privilege to see the sun come up and nature to wake up. I must admit though… these days…I struggle with waking up early like that and I need sleep…so today, I bargained with myself that 8 in the morning is still ok, eventhough I would miss the golden hour.
So, I got up, took my camera and went off. What makes it different today is that I’m finding myself in the place I grew up in. So the nature reserve today is special to me. I have soooo many memories here. And, ok, at 8 in the morning, it is not as quiet anymore, the advantage about it is that I came across an old friend who was on his way to work.
The main goal today was not so much taking pictures, athough I was really keen to show you places that I love, but today was also about finding some wild flowers to pick so I can do some flower printing in clay.
The main goal today was not so much taking pictures, athough I was really keen to show you places that I love, but today was also about finding some wild flowers to pick so I can do some flower printing in clay.
I don’t really know where the butterflies and bumblebees were today. I guess for them, it still was early. But can I just say… for me, it was already very hot. Makes me realise that doing pottery today will again be a challenge in this heat.
One of the things I love most about nature walks in the morning is the dew on plants. They tend to give the place some magic. If you take the time to look closely, you can sometimes see the dewdrops magnify the surrounding flowers. Like I said…magic!
But today it’s more about finding the flowers I need.
When it comes to finding the right flowers to print on clay, I must say these are my favourite. I love the seedpods, the strong stems and the delicate flowers on these. They tend to come out beautifully on clay. So it is nice that through spring and summer, you can always find a variant of these. So of course I brought a few of those with me.
Before I headed home, I just went to have one more gaze over the creek. Just thinking about old times… To me, it stays a beautiful place that remains close to my heart.
Once home, it was time to get into action. As 2 of my vases I previously made are gone, I felt I needed a new one. So that was first on my list.
First vase done and ready to dry. On my walk I also picked up some bark. I don’t know whether it is due to the heat or whether this is normal but I noticed all the bark was coming loose on the trees. Some of it looked beautiful so thought I’d take some home. I’m sure I can find some use for it somewhere.
Once dried, the vase can go into the kiln for a first bake.
I also printed a flower on a slab of clay. I have this wall in my garden and it really doesn’t look nice at all. So I’m thinking, if I can make some organically made shapes with flowerprints on and hang those on the wall, it might brighten it all up a bit.
I’m also still trying out some tiles. I had some comments my previous ones were to thick so I’m trying them I bit thinner. That way, they should be very usable for tiling bathroom, kitchen…
I really love making them. I hope you all enjoy them too!
Love,Ruth
