Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I Need A New Planter


Like all growing things, my succulents have started to outgrow the planter I made for them some years ago.

In my old planter which I made out of scraps of salvaged regular clay from the fine arts center, I had to make drainage holes at the bottom of the bowl. This time I decided to try something new. Instead of having to drill drainage holes in the leather hard clay, I incorporated coarse coffee grinds in my paper clay to make the bottom. I then build up the sides with paper clay to complete the planter.

In the bisque fire, the coffee grinds will burn out creating naturally occuring drainage holes, kind of like a colander. I made a base for the planter to raise it above the ground.
This was a quick and rough piece since I wanted to use it in my patio. It is also an experimental piece.

I plan to glaze the sides and base but not the bottom as the glaze will clog up the “coffee-holes.”  I’ll post again once I have this piece finished.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I make pots for mesembs, a family of succulents. So I can truly say, these succulent trays are awesome! Practical and demonstrating a very unique vision.

Anthony Foo said...

Hi Maria,
I'm excited to put my new planters to use. I'll post pictures of them when I have them finished shortly.