Several years ago after a trip to the coast in California I was inspired to make curled bark sculptures. I happened to walk through a eucalyptus grove and was mesmerized by all the furled bark pieces lying on the ground. When I got home I went into my studio and made quite a few bark sculptures, some large, some small. I wanted them to look like the pieces of bark I had seen. I experimented using several different types of clays, some stoneware and some porcelain, then I stained them with various stains. I left them unglazed and fired them in a reduction atmosphere to Cone 10.
While rearranging and dusting my display shelves this past week I looked at one of my smaller curled bark sculptures and a light bulb went off. It looked like the perfect size to hold business cards. I tried it out and the business cards fit perfectly. I only have two of these small ones. I put the top porcelain Business Card Bark Sculpture in my Etsy shop for sale. I'm keeping the darker stoneware one, pictured in the second and third photos, for myself.
I love the organic look and feel of these bark sculptures. The porcelain one is smooth to the touch and the stoneware one is slightly rough, as if I just picked it up from the ground with some gritty soil on it. Today I plan to make more of these business card holders in the Cone 5/6 clays I'm using now. This post is part of the weekly Mud Colony what's happening in the studio. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
Great idea to make more of these. Your proto-types are very organic and quite realistic.
ReplyDeleteYour card holders are way cooler than mine. Very nice indeed!
ReplyDeleteI thought that was real bark at first.
Hi Anna, thanks, so glad you think they look real, you probably know what the eucalyptus bark looks like over there, all curled up and peeling.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzi, thanks, these have been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years and it took me that long to see how I could use them. Happy you thought they were real. One never knows about stains and how they will turn out.
I may need to order one of these from you. I use metal ones but that just seems wrong for a potter and yours are nicer than the one's I tried to make.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, thanks, I hope these next ones come out similar to these high fire ones which shrank to a nice thin size that's not too thin but thin enough to look like bark. I've always used one of those clear plastic holders and it doesn't seem right does it? Ha.
ReplyDeletePerfectly Beautiful!! Swoon...
ReplyDeletenow that is a great idea. I can see a market for those.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a clever gal! I never would have thought of that.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! We have groves of eucalyptus all along the coast as you well know. We have several groves nearby which are gathering places for the migrating Monarch butterflies. I visit these groves often and find them very inspiring. Your bark is so beautiful. And as a card holder, it's perfect!
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, thanks, I hope I can make some more that turn out as nice.
ReplyDeleteHi Patti, thanks, I hope not too much of a market because I just tried making another one today and it isn't as simple as it looks, lots of work in these and how much can I sell one for? Ha.
Hi Ms. Sparrow, thanks, well maybe not so clever since I've had these lying on the shelf for years. Ha.
Hi Charlene, thanks, oh I love walking in those groves, especially when they are thick with trees and the wind is blowing and I can hear the leaves rustling and hear the leaf litter crunching under my feet, magic can happen there I think.
i thought they were wood as well! very nice.
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ReplyDeleteHi Michele, thanks, glad you thought they were wood, we'll see about the next ones.
ReplyDeleteCute idea for a business card holder :)
ReplyDeleteSadhana
Hi Sadhana, thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea, Linda!
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw it I thought it was bark!
Hi Anastasia, thanks so much, working on some more of them, I forgot how time consuming they are to make, but they are fun to make too.
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