Shallow Ikebana Vases

As I mentioned in one of my posts below, I am inspired by all shapes and sizes of ikebana vessels. Here are the two shallow ones, made with two part press molds.

On My Way to...

These two vessels happened on my way to the tear-drop shape, and insisted on their distinct personalities, almost from the conception.

Ikebana Inspired

While I have admired the art of ikebana for years, only recently I began to pay attention to the vessels used for ikebana. The freedom, creativity, and variety of form are truly inspiring. I fell in love with the teardrop glass vase below:

I knew I would not have the beautiful transparency of glass with clay, but I thought I would use the glossy steel blue glaze to evoke associations with water.

Would love to see it some day with a beautiful arrangement of flowers.

Channeling John Maltby

A few months ago I came across inspiring whimsical creations by John Maltby. Last night I unexpectedly channeled his work though a cup below.

Black Mountain clay combined with colored porcelain. 

And here is the inspiration:

John Maltby (British, b.1936) A Cup on Stand, circa 1990