The Vase at the Base:

When we first started selling artificial flower arrangements, we knew we wanted to use only the highest quality stems for our compositions. These are, naturally, the most expensive. We try to constrain the costs of our arrangements by placing them in containers that are relatively inexpensive but look good and complement the composition. There are many inexpensive glass, ceramic and metal vases available that look quite nice and that do not detract from the overall quality. It came as a surprise to learn that clients may develop attachments to specific vases and, in many instances, are not deterred by the cost. In fact, one of our first clients found a vase on line, asked us to order a couple of them and to develop arrangements that were compatible with these vases.

In most cases, we still aim to be cost effective in the vases we use when illustrating the arrangements posted on our site. However, in our previous blog posting, you read that we had a vase custom made for Beth’s composition designed for the Art in Bloom event. We have also noticed a design trend to group empty vases as decorative focal points. I am currently working on some designs that emphasize the vase. 

Lacking the dexterous prose style of Dicken’s, I now abruptly jump to the subject of this entry: vases can have a form and beauty independent of the floral arrangement they contain. In Japan, the makers of pottery vessels (among other disciplines) who have attained a high degree of artistry and who, thus, preserve the ancient traditions of their art form, are officially recognized by the state as “living national treasures” and receive a stipend to support their work. This is not an easily achieved status.

I was reminded of this aesthetic cultural concept this past spring when returning from a visit to my family in southern Wisconsin. Bob is from a small town north of Madison.  As he no longer has family there, apparently nostalgia beckoned and he decided to add an additional day to our trip home by abandoning the freeway and swinging through his hometown. His father owned property and two acres with buildings were sold, many years ago, to a young couple that wanted to start their own pottery business. We stopped in to see how their enterprise had developed.

Clay is composed mostly of silica that has been broken down over millions of years into tiny, tiny particles or flakes suspended in a liquid medium. It is what chemists call a colloid. (So is Jello.) The size of the flakes determines the properties of the clay. The potter we visited, Susan Anderson, explained the practice of kneading the clay before molding it so as to attain the desired texture. Actually, explained is too tame a word for her discourse. Susan waxed rhapsodically, describing her goal of working the clay until the metal flakes – feldspar, copper and zinc - were perfectly aligned to her satisfaction. As she said, she wanted to capture their repetition.  Mind you, she can’t see this property; it is a tactile exercise, maybe an intuitive one, much like a baker kneading bread until it is just right. (For another analogy, read chapter 94 of Moby Dick.)

With the clay expertly prepared, molding can begin. Susan takes her cues from nature, modeling forms based on leaves and plants. Her work is very compatible with the aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement, but with more modern sensibilities. Below is a small dish we purchased that is patterned after a leaf. Not only is the form exquisitely graceful, but the glaze has a depth and luminous patina to it that result from the application of six layers of glaze, each layer a different glaze and each glaze a proprietary recipe. This knowledge and experience results in a superior piece. It is an amazing piece.

This small, leaf shaped dish requires no less artistry
than the large, sculptural vase shown below. Of course,
the logistics are more challenging for a larger piece, but
the quality of the small dish is a comparable
testimony to the artist's skill.

Like the best artists, Susan is always pushing the envelope. Our little dish reveals her craftsmanship. There are no flaws to suggest a lack of commitment to her process. The smallest piece is valued no less than the largest. Then we saw the largest. Is it a vase? Is it a sculpture? Yes. To me it suggests a plant opening to the sunlight.

This amazing construct demonstrates the artist's mastery of her medium
as well as it testifies to her prolific imagination. The different colors result from the different minerals
of the many overlaying applications of glaze used.

This creation was crafted with the same care as any other object in her studio. Susan gave me several photos she took as she developed the piece. As the composition is built up, it must periodically be given substantial time to dry so that the completed part is able to support the weight of additional clay as the form grows. The clay must also be very dry and contracted before it goes into the kiln if it is not to crack from the heat. Visible in a photo taken during the development phase are strips of fabric lining the margins of the flat, leaf-like structures. These keep the edges moist so they can be shaped and augmented while the bulk of the piece dries. Susan has made special shims to keep heavier parts of the construct from sagging as they dry.

Considerable work has already been done to
achieve the general structure, but, obviously,
much more refinement is required before
this piece is ready for the bisque firing.

Progress in refining the piece's appearance is obvious
here, but much work lies ahead. Note the fabric on the
edges of the leaf/petal/vane structures. This is used to keep
the edges moist while the heavier  parts air dry. Keeping
these edges wet allows Susan to curve, taper or augment them
as she chooses. Thus the piece evolves in its own unique
way.

When forming is completed and the clay is dry, it is fired in a kiln. This is called the bisque firing and produces a chemical reaction that binds the molecules and hardens the clay so it wont fall apart when it gets wet.  After the bisque firing and subsequent cooling, the piece is glazed. Susan has her own recipes for liquid glazes, which she applies with a brush. Thus, all her patterns are deliberate and nothing is random. Her pieces will have three to six thin coats of glaze applied. Each layer must dry before the next is applied. The glazes provide a vitreous seal and the metals in the glaze color the clay. When the glaze is thoroughly dry, the piece is fired again, at a higher temperature than the bisque firing, for 12 hours, and it remains in the kiln until cool. Then if it is removed without breaking, the process has been successfully completed and the world may be treated to the spectacle of something magnificent. (See above.) I believe her work attains heirloom status: her pieces will be kept in the same families over generations, much like Stickley furniture, for example.

Susan is showing her work at the Edina Art Fair, June 3,4 & 5 and at the Powderhorn Art Fair, August 6 & 7. She can be reached at grpottery@hotmail.com. I urge everyone to go out and support her and all the artists who have mastered and preserved these art forms that were once on the cutting edge of human technology. And if you should find a nice vase to take home, give me a call and let’s make arrangements.