The small seeds you are planting today will become tomorrow’s garden full of flowers. It’s those small steps that lead to something bigger. And sometimes when the goal seems impossible, the small steps feel very possible! If your dream is to write a novel, perhaps today is the day you write a list of ideas or sign up for a workshop. If you want to declutter your entire house, maybe today is the day you tackle the sock drawer. If you want happiness, today is the day for a kind word to another person. If you long for a new relationship or friendships, perhaps today is the day you look in the mirror and smile at the beautiful person you see. Or perhaps you literally want a garden full of flowers next year, you can start planning and planting those seeds soon as well. In fact just this morning I was looking around and making a mental note of some seeds to try in next year’s summer garden. My garden here in California is doing ok with the heat and humidity we’ve had in San Diego this summer. There are lots of flowers in bloom such as lavender and several kinds of daisies. Has it been hot where you’ve been? For this dish featuring a Gerbera daisy, I press the flowers and leaves into soft ceramic clay capturing the impression of each petal. I color the flowers and leaves in the style of watercolor, using colorful underglazes in orange and yellow. Then I glaze the ceramic, firing the dish in a kiln to over 2200°F. At these temperatures the clay becomes transformed into dense ceramic and the glaze melts into a beautiful shiny layer of glass coating the piece. The gold trim on the edge is real 22 karat gold and you can see me applying it in this video (it’s the red emulsion I’m painting on the edge). Afterwards I fire it in the kiln- the red color burns away leaving a layer of real gold that melts and bonds to the ceramic #satisfying #pottery #clay #botanicalart - @vuvuceramics