*more highly fired ceramics

Some more experimental highly fired ceramic pieces. I was very unsure how much the glaze will run down, so in some cases I did not glaze to the bottom line, but in the end everything turned out fine and I did not ruin the base plates of the kiln or the objects themselves. Only one bowl I made with the pottery wheel as I somehow enjoy the pinching method a lot more.  Also it is really tricky to paint very thin lines on raw pottery, the paint is so thick and the surface soaks it up so quickly, but somehow it is a nice challenge! Also you never know how the colors react in the kiln.

Today I collected some baby's breath flowers from the garden to decorate my little pink ceramic watering can. It is quite chilly outside at the moment, I even heated the stoves yesterday again, but on the weekend it will get much warmer again they say. May flew by incredibly fast, I can't believe that half of the year is almost over! Do you have some nice plans for summer? I did not dare to make plans this year after the experiences I had last year, so I will just see how it all unfolds.

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*A little mountain trip

{Music: Riptide (Vance Joy cover) – Ocie Elliott}

A little movie of our mountain trip at the very end of April. It was only for three days, but I still keep the lightness of it in my heart. It was just what I needed at that moment. All that fresh air and wonderful smells and the stunning views!

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*Easter bouquet

Pictures of our Easter table this year. Our bouquet was so simple, but yet so beautiful. The little things that give a spark of joy to our lives sometimes have such a big impact.

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*life

"If you want to know something about my life,

then go and look at the sea."

{Martin Adán}

I could not say it any better.

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*soap dishes

Those soap dishes are part of my first high firing pieces. They were actually just fun experiments and I'm not sure if they are worth to show here at all, but I like how the pictures turned out and I like chronology and for the sake of completeness I thought I show them anyway. I really like the little handmade rabbit soap that I got gifted before Easter. As a child I used to collect special soaps and I still prefer a good old soap bar to any form of liquid soap!

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*a spring portrait

Some analogue spring portraits I made at the beginning of April.

In the meanwhile everything got so fresh and green outside. Over the weekend I did the fourth bisque firing and was able to unload the kiln on Monday in the morning. I am looking very much forward to glaze all the new items. A little part I was able to glaze yesterday in the afternoon, but the rest of the day I was working in the garden, in the new herb corner, that I started to cultivate last year in spring. It should be a place mostly for herbs and flowers that would need too much space in my regular garden beds. I made a new logo as you can see on top of the page, I needed some change again. May is also the month with the most wonderful smelling flowers like lilac and lily of the valley. I brought some lilac, that is growing all around the house wildly in all different color shades, inside and the whole home smells amazing now. I hope this month also brings you lots of little joys!

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*ceramic brooches, slugs & fruits jewelry plates

I made a little ceramic slug collection and  little cat and moons brooches. I hardly ever wear jewelry, but I always loved brooches and have accumulated a small collection through the years, mostly handmade ones from fellow artists. It was so nice to make my own ones this time. I plan to make a little shop update soon, but it is all so time consuming with putting each item in the shop, that I always have to postpone it. May is such a busy month!

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*spring creativity challenge

15-20 April – Rabbits

21-26 April – Cherry Blossom

27-2 May – Nest

3-8 May – Tulips

First of all: Happy May!

As May is usually the month where I feel most energetic & creative and mentally & physically stable, I am looking forward to this month! I worked a lot in the garden lately, yesterday I sowed flowers, did weeding and watered the trees and plants for hours as it is still so dry here, even though it rained regularly a bit in April. We have been on a mini vacation in the mountains on the weekend which was a truly wonderful time-out. It is still very cold in the mountains of course, but the fresh air set me up and we saw ibexes which was amazing! I did film a bit, so you will probably see a little video of our trip soon. I also joined a new drawing challenge, the #springcreativitychallenge and I made a spring flower garland for Sunny. It became kind of a spring ritual for me to make him a flower garland every year around that time. This time I used ground ivy flowers and it looked so cute on him. {Pictures will follow} Ok, enough for now, may this month treat us well!

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