*more highly fired ceramics

Some more experimental highly fired ceramic pieces. I was very unsure how much the glaze will run down, so I glazed in some cases not 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. 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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*painting palettes

It seems already so long ago since I made those pieces. It must have been at the beginning of March. They are little painting palettes except for the last one, it is just a little bowl. I made some bigger palettes in the meanwhile and some more little flowery bowls. Garden work is very demanding still, but the rain this night helped me. Last year I grew hollyhocks from seeds I got from my dear penpal Sylvie. The hail damaged them quite a lot, but this year the plant is coming back nicely and I can't wait to see it bloom. They usually need two years to get flowers. I hope I can do a little garden update with pictures here soon.

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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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*snowdrop vases

Every year when I found the first snowdrops and brought some home with me I had the issue that I did not have a fitting vase for them, so one of the first things I wanted to make out of clay was actually some small vases for all the little spring flowers. Since they came out the kiln, they are in good use. Today I was glazing the whole day for the next high firing. It was so nice to loose myself in it.

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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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*April blossom

{Music: Avril 14th – Aphex Twin}

At the end of April I was capturing all the blooming trees, I especially love the apple bloom with it's big luscious blossoms! And you can see Sunny with his ground ivy flower garland!

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*ceramic brooches & Easter ducks

Here are the last pieces of the second firing that I haven't shown you yet. The little cat faces and moons I transformed into brooches. I hardly ever wear jewellery, but I always loved brooches and have accumulated a small collection through the years, most also handmade ones from fellow artists. It was so nice to make my own ones this time. I plan to make a little shop update with ceramics 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! The little ducks I did not form freely with my hands like all the other ceramics, I used a little cookie cutter and I made them especially for the Easter bouquet and to add them to the Easter goody bags I made for family and friends. I hope you are enjoying my ceramic journey and are not bored yet :) Have a good day!

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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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