In the Studio: Flower Bricks

I've had a blast revisiting the flower brick form. I took a break from it for a couple of years, over which time I changed my approach to surface decoration. I'm coming back to it with fresh eyes but hands that know their way around the form.



They all start as manipulated pillow-like forms. At this point in the process I'm looking to divide space on the pot. I'm trying to set up multiple decorative possibilities that will come to resolution later. The image below shows you the choices I made from soft brown pot to fully decorated form.



With these forms I enjoy the way the decoration comes together at the top of the pot. I've recently been collecting conical farmer's hats and Taqiyahs (aka Kufi), the hats that muslim men wear. Both of these have interesting solutions for the way an intense pattern terminates. The images below show the relationship between the side decoration and the top view. You can also see a top angle of the plates that I have been making to go under the form. I enjoy the way the plates rim interacts with the impressions on the form.





This last batch included two new variations on the form. I added a taller neck that will raise the long stemmed flowers well above those that come out of the lower part of the form. I think this space will help both groups of flowers look better. The second innovation is changing the holes cut into the form from round to a diamond shape. This part isn't totally resolved yet but they are moving in the right direction.




To wrap this post up I want to show a past version of this form. This one dates back to my Odyssey days, circa 2005. The original was in porcelain and was much larger. The platters below the form are around 14 inches. It was made as a table centerpiece where as the new ones are more compact and function like a normal vase.