Monday, November 30, 2009

Dark Bamboo Vase


This is another of Estelle's pots from our Retrospective Exhibition of 2005. It has been made of McPherson's 21 clay, from Nelson, which fired best towards the rear of the anagama. This high iron bearing clay (12% iron) built up this magnificent metallic sheen as the iron migrated to the surface. It accepted very little ash and hence was this lovely reddish/purple colour all over.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Wreck


This boat was from one of our earlier firings and was subjected to a very hard time. It does hold water and can be used for flowers but it is not to everyone's taste. Although it was not what was expected when it came from the kiln I have grown to respect it for what it is.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Suiban


Not a very good arrangement but I wanted to try with these iris and a water lily. Unfortunately the lily closed up overnight and to get another from the pond was too difficult. A suiban is a summer ikebana container where the water shows in the wide form, giving a cooling look to the arrangement.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Red Poppies


These poppies are self seeding and just grow wild around my garden. They do not last long but make a bright splash of colour when they are flowering.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Single Flower Container


Estelle and I both made these vases and when a group was placed together they seemed to take on their own personalities. With a stem of miscanthus and a single flower they make a lovely display and are so simple to arrange.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Historic Aircraft


This historic aircraft is a DH60G and was flown from London to Sydney in 1934. It was then shipped to Auckland and flown to Bridge Pa Aerodrome to land here on the 13th. November, 1934 - exactly 75 years ago. The restored plane was back to celebrate the occasion last Friday and was accompanied by several Tiger Moth aircraft and several of the H.B.E.C club planes. The historic plane was flown by the daughter of the pilot who originally flew the plane from London to Sydney

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Old Lombok Bowl


This is a genuinely old Lombok bowl as its provenance says that it was found amongst many pieces from a wrecked ship some year ago. We used it to serve something and then put it in the dishwasher only to have all the ingrained dirt removed. I liked it better when it was dirty.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Liriodendron Flower


This lovely flower is from my very large Liriodendron tree. I am not sure that I have spelt its name correctly but it has the common name of "Tulip Tree" and has many flowers showing at the moment.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Bizen Brush Container


This brush container was made by Estelle and is part of a series she made in the form of "tin cans". Although called a brush container it makes a lovely small flower vase.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Natural Rock Kogo



This is a natural rock artefact which is very like a Japanese incense box. We found this on the West Coast of the South Island many years ago long before we started making Kogo from clay. A pity it is not complete but I feel that the Japanese would use such a piece if at all possible.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Wildflower Garden


This garden is just self sown and makes a pretty sight most of the year.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Square Bottle from Mashiko


We found this press-moulded square bottle when we visited Mashiko in 1978. It has typical Mashiko glaze colours and is a very sweet little pot.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Another Picture of the Full Moon


Another Full Moon picture! It is hard to get the exposure just right but I quite like this result.

Monday, November 2, 2009

White Wisteria in Kakehana


From yesterday's blog I thought I would show you how a small hanging vase called a "Kakehana" makes an ideal receptacle to show these pendulous bracts of wisteria.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

White Wisteria


This lovely pendulous wisteria is at its best now. There are three different wisteria in my garden - this one, another white one with larger flowers and the more usual purple flowering one which comes out earlier than either of the two white varieties.