Queen Anne’s Lace
Every summer when the prolific Queen Anne’s Lace is in full bloom everywhere I look, I get busy! Queen Anne’s lace, Daucus carota, is in the carrot family and a common sight in fields and on roadsides.
One of my favorite handbuilding techniques is imprinting texture into the surface of clay. Queen Anne’s Lace is an ideal flower for pressing into the damp slab of stoneware. I make trays of all shapes and sizes and use the flowers to create an “arrangement” on each tray. They are all one-of-a-kind floral arrangements using all parts of the flower, even the leaves. I use a green gloss glaze that really highlights even the faintest details of the flowers.
I’ve tried to find a way to preserve the flower for year-round use, but with no luck. Therefore, I seize the precious window of time during the late summer to make as many pieces as possible. I just finished creating many new Q.A. trays for the Fall Studio Tour, October 7-8.
The gallery here is open daily year-round by chance or appointment. The next eight-week session of pottery classes begins October 23.
Hope to see you!
