A Change from Pottery

This lovely piece of glass is by Brendon Sole of Wanganui. There are three pieces, one purple, one violet and this rose coloured piece. They are vase shaped which makes them akin to pottery but I have not tried using them as vases. Hope you enjoy this blog.

Cube Arranged

I know that I have shown this cube before but this simple arrangement with the last of the miniature roses and a lichen covered branch was so easy and attractive.

Orchid

This orchid "Earica autumnalis" grows in our patch of native bush. The name is a contradiction of terms as "Earina" means "early spring or summer" where-as "autumnalis" obviously means March or April flowering time in New Zealand. The best way to find it in the bush is to recognise its perfume then look up into the trees nearby. It has a strong and distinct perfume. This orchid also grows in Japan.

Horse Eye Plate

This lovely plate used to be in Peter Stichbury's collection which is where I photographed it. It is now in the collection of the Te Papa National Museum in Wellington. I am sorry I did not try and purchase it from Peter and keep it in the public domain rather than it be locked away in a museum collection. It is one of the nicest Horse Eye plates that I have seen.

Arthur's Pass Viaduct

For those people who live elsewhere in the world I would like to show some images of New Zealand amongst the pots and other photos published on my blog. This first one is of the wonderful engineering feat of the Arthur's Pass viaduct. This structure made a huge difference to what was a very tricky part of the trip between Christchurch and the West Coast of the South Island. It is also, I think, a very beautiful structure.

Tea Pot Estelle

This is one of Estelle's tea pots fired in the large anagama. Lovely to look at but anagama firing for thinly thrown pots is not really satisfactory for everyday use. For all that, I wish I still had this pot.

Autumn Colours

The autumn colours are always irresistible. After the rain the other morning, with the wet trunk of the tree being darkened, this Pin Oak was looking its autumn best.