Flowers And Fish- Here I Come

Pottery starts up again tomorrow morning and I spent a little time online today, looking at examples of both flower petal bowls and ceramic fish things, mostly platters and bowls. And what I mainly discovered is that I am far from being the first person to enjoy having fun playing with fishes. 

In case you've forgotten, here are what the two fish spoon rests I made look like. 

I hope to make a few more happy fish during this session, perhaps even some fish bowls. Not bowls you put fish in, but bowls made in the shape of fish. 
I'm sure you understand. 
In a way, I was almost indignant to see that my ceramic fish are not unique, but mine will be my own and no one else's. I wouldn't even mind doing a few that are meant to hang on a wall. I mean- I'd hang them on a wall but then again, I'm pretty famous in these parts for hanging anything on a wall. 

I also saw some beautiful flower petal bowls. One was a sunflower bowl and I watched the video of how it was made. 

The petals in this bowl are made not from different pieces of clay fit into the whole, but delineated by small rolls of clay attached and shaped so that the result looks as if they overlap each other. It doesn't seem to be a simple process and may, in fact, be more work than the way I made my last flower bowl wherein I made separate leaves to attach to the petals. 
We shall see. 

But the bottom line here is- I am excited to go back to the studio. I am so glad I was finally able to admit that throwing bowls and mugs and pots on the wheel is not going to be in my future, because once I gave that idea up, I was able to let myself go in other directions. That first little fish spoon rest was the product of having forty-five more minutes of a class in which everything I'd tried to do had been a huge disappointment and while looking in the molds cabinet for something to make a slump mold out of, I came across a regular spoon rest and for whatever reason, my mind went to fish. 
Ta-Da! 
And speaking of fish, I am cooking myself some salmon tonight with spinach and couscous. I am inordinately excited about this. Mr. Moon reports that he will be eating the same supper he had last night which looked like this.

Mer-made soup and a toasted English muffin with cheese. 
I am absolutely mystified at where the doily came from. 

Well, I better get at it. I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow in order to pick up Jessie and get to pottery on time and that is not going to be easy as I have become evermore slothful each day since the beginning of the holidays. 

But it will be worth it. 

Love...Ms. Moon