Thursday, April 16, 2009

fiddleheads


fiddlehead bowl
Originally uploaded by Bridgman Pottery
Spring is in full swing. I'm making pottery like a crazy woman. Yesterday I was supposed to have made herb markers, but instead I made 15 tiny bowls and 15 bud vases. And then I got my new camera and the day went to pot.

I bought a Nikon d70 with a starter lens, a good all-purpose 55mm lens, and a macro lens. Exclusively for taking pictures of pottery. I'd gotten so frustrated with trying to take detail shots with my Kodak easy point and shoot that I upgraded when we got our tax refund. And I'm SO glad I did. Already. And I can't wait to try the macro lens!

But back to pottery- I love love fiddleheads. I wish that I could reliably find them in the summer, but it is harder (though not impossible) then. So mid-spring is my fiddlehead making time. I've made platters, plates, bowls, mugs. I need to make another half-dozen platters to see me through the spring. Happily, if I remove the fiddleheads from the barely-damp platter before they're all dried up, I can usually get two platters from a single fiddlehead. Here's my technique- roll a slab of clay, press fiddleheads into the wet clay. Drape the slab over my mold, trim the edges, let dry. As the clay dries, it sucks the moisture out of the fiddleheads, too. Sometimes I can catch it in time to reuse. It is much much easier to reuse leaves- japanese maples, ginkgos, even ferns that aren't quite as delicate and won't tear up when I lift them off.

Today's task is more fern ware and herb markers. Ten days until my 2009 farmer's market debut!

Have a great Thursday!

1 comment:

Sarah Jackson said...

so pretty!

I hate to break it to you, but you'll use that camera for everything. Not just pottery. Enjoy! :)