Cheerful Sunflowers on turquoise

I recently went wild with sunflowers.  This batch are the yellow variety, and I glazed them (as usual) with Mayco's Stroke & Coat glazes (cone 5-6).

Tiny vase, somewhat askew.

Tiny bowl in front (sauce size) and little vase behind

 Toothpick holder size in front, little cup behind (and below)

The background is an interesting mix that I'm pretty happy about.

I used our studio satin white basic glaze, about a gallon, then mixed in a mason stain called Bermuda Green (from Highwater Clay).  I used about half the packet...no idea how many grams.  And since I was using the mixed wet white glaze, this is about as "seat-of-the-pants" as you can get with glaze formulas!

I paint the lines first (Designer Liner)  then the color inlay, then paint wax over these then dip into the background glaze.

But I've done this mix about 3 times now, and don't use it that often, so it seems pretty stable.
For now anyway!

Sunflower bowl

Porcelain clay's fine white coloration helps the glaze colors be more intense.

Yellow sunflowers...and turquoise glaze background, but a matt white liner inside the bowl.   These please me greatly, and I plan to do it again.  That's what finding something pleasing is about, not only sharing it (like right now) but doing it again, and maybe better.

I like the painterly quality of the glazes...I never know exactly how much green or yellow will be prevalent on each leaf.

Red Sunflower inspiration

Honey pots.  I'd made a couple before I got sick, and they've patiently been waiting around for me to feel like glazing.

So the other day I did one just in plain yellow...it's still waiting to be fired.  Since it's speckled brownstone clay, it will be speckled yellow.

And then I tried my hand at Designer Liner and Stroke & Coat glazes (both by Mayco).  And then added some of Spectrum's Butter Yellow for the yellow base glaze.  Clay body is Little Loafers, cone 5-6 from Highwater.

This came out very pleasing for me.

Dried sunflowers

I grow them, enjoy them for a few weeks, and then there are the seed-heads, which when dried provide great seeds for birds...but I'm not allowed to have feeders for birds (except hummingbirds) where I live.  That's because of bears, you know.

Different stages of drying seed-heads of sunflowers.  Since I've grown the yellow ones from my own seeds, I am pretty sure they will also make seeds for new flowers.  The red ones are probably hybrids with non-fertile seeds.  Doesn't mean they aren't edible though!

I must share a story as well.

I gave my first batch of seed heads to my friend, Ann.  She took them home and hung a couple together below her squirrel-proof bird feeder.  A squirrel couldn't reach the sunflower seed-heads, and finally jumped upon them.  They had been hung with rubber bands, so the squirrel and seed-heads bounced up and down a while.  Mr. Squirrel finally had enough weight and bounce that he brought down one of the seed heads and started carrying it off into the woods.  Of course several other squirrels saw him by then, and followed along.  I laughed out loud at the bouncing squirrel!

I still purchase my sunflower seeds and love munching on them, already hulled!

Sunshine and birds again

I've never seen this bug-eyed look before

Harvesting day, to take these lovelies to the Tailgate Market.  I donated them to the Mudbuddiess Booth.  There were a lot of disappointed bees.

I was still not clear of antibiotics which make it really uncomfortable to be in the sun.  So I had to get there early!.

Pat Levi's tall vase.
(I heard it sold with the flowers in it!)

I think this pitcher was made by Marsha Cozart.

I suggested that they give flowers to customers who bought a pot.  I don't know how that went.  Maybe the mudbuddies took some of the flowers home with them!  I'm just glad to share them.  I went home and took a nap.

Though many of my feeder's visitors looked like juveniles or females, this ruby throat sure zapped the camera as he flew away.  I think getting this much captured made my day!

Sorry about quality.  Taken with Nikon this time, but through double-paned glass and a screen.  Pretty difficult to get good images.

Vase and flowers

Bowl vase with blue  blossoms on thrown-altered shape. 5 inches high, $25

Did you know that after being picked, a few days later, these lovelies still will produce pollen, and send it out all over the house! Achoo!

A fair trade

I have shared many ventures with Cathy, mainly related to selling our pottery.  But we tried a new one a few months ago...she'd decided to also have a raised bed garden plot next to mine at the Carver Center, here in Black Mountain NC.

The aloe is spread out for the first time, with some space between plants!

Alas, Cathy had other things that were always more important to do, and her bed just sat there full of weeds.  My offer was to trade some clay which I'd purchased in exchange for her bed, which she'd rented from the Rec department.  She was agreeable, so last Sat. I pulled all the weeds from it.

She has plenty of clay at this time, but I gladly traded the one bag that I probably wouldn't use for this patch of dirt.

My first plot, with beans, sunflowers, basil, tomatoes, marigolds and coleus!

I've got a lot of things that are root-bound at home, having lived in pots through winters for several years.  They are first to go into this fresh black dirt.

The Kalanchoe is blooming, and will probably become twice this size with room for growth.  I've had this plant for over  30 years, in various growths off the original.

Maybe these giant sunflowers will produce blooms someday soon! I planted some which are deep red, and am looking forward to them.

These are the second crop of sunflowers in a second bed

Two bean plants have begun to produce some little green beans

And I also purchased two sweet potato slips which are hardening up in soil in a window at home.  I've already transplanted a half dozen basil plants also.  I'm afraid my new plot will not be able to contain them all.  So it's going to be first come first planted.

Today's quote:

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

Carl Gustav Jung