Weekend Walkabout: New Tillie Trays and a Pelican Dawn

I've been getting up earlier these days so that I can watch the sun rise. It's worth it. Really.

This new habit has become a reality because I have discovered a fabulous coffee roastery in my neighborhood. Their coffee is freakin' awesome and it wakes me up sooooo much better than the stale grocery store stuff. This morning, it was stormy and windy, and I was greeted by pelicans heading for a fishing trip on the beach:

Beach Dawn with Pelicans, June 2016, MRobb

Gorgeous clouds, too:

Cloudscape June 2016, MRobb

I haven't shown my newish terracotta Tillie trays yet, as I was having camera/computer interface problems that I only corrected this morning. These trays are made of Roja Linda clay with Amaco Bluebell and Aquamarine glaze. I love this combo soooo much!

Tillie Trays 2016, MRobb

Have a wonderful and creative weekend!

Bloomin' Babytoes Meets...The Monster!

I'm supposed to be making ceramic dishes and pencil holders this weekend, you know, serious stuff. And they need to be finished by late next week. But I'm distracted by a bloomin' Babytoes, the first of spring 2016!

Babytoes Blooms in 2016, MRobb

There it sits, right in the window of my studio, distracting me with its cheerful beauty. So instead of making serious pots, I made...the Monster!

The Monster! Greenware MRobb 2016

Yes, yes, I know, I'll get to work now. Have a wonderful weekend and happy gardening!

Some New Ceramics and....

I have been gearing up for the start of the new school year, which is coming very early in 2015. Not much going on in the gardening world, though the orchids continue to bloom- the top one is a Guartonia, so I am told (and, OK, I did show this on July 10, but it's still blooming, really!):

I've finished some new stoneware designs that have worked out very well. Here is a bowl and a couple of plates:

MRobb, Plate and Bowl, 2015

MRobb, Plate, 2015

And I'm trying to do a simple painting each day; I've been managing a couple a week....

"Hills with Green Sky", MRobb, 2015

And I'm finally finishing up some photos from 2009! These are of Lago di Garda in Italy:

"Lago di Garda, Italy, Autumn 2009"- MRobb

A little creativity can really help one get through the more stressful times of year!

Adromischus cristatus (Key Lime Pie Plant) and New Ceramics

I finally had some time this spring to work on new ceramics inspired by peacocks, a very ancient symbol of resurrection and renewal. And what plant better to pose with the new bowls than the most popular plant on my blog, Adromischus cristatus, the Key Lime Pie Plant:

New Pots and  Key Lime Pie Plant, M Robb, 2015

I used terracotta clay, then washes of light green or black underglaze topped with 3 coats of Amaco Bluebell and Aquamarine opalescent. They came out well. As you can see, my Key Lime Pie plant has sent out a few new plantlets from the top, and I'll get them potted up eventually. Have a great gardening weekend!

Tillandsia Display for Fun and Creativity

Tillies don't need dirt, and that makes them soooo versatile when it comes to indoor display. As long as they have good air circulation and decent light, they're good. You need to be able to water them properly (mistings and soaks), so I don't recommend gluing them or pinning them to objects that cannot also be misted or soaked. My favorite way to display Tillandsias is on a CD rack. Now that CDs are virtually obsolete (very sad) you can find used CD racks of all kinds, cheap as chips.

The Tillies rest on handmade ceramic trays. I make my own, but they are easy to find. Not many people smoke anymore, so you can collect ashtrays (again, cheap as chips) and repurpose them for Tillie display. Here are some of my handmades:

Bowls can also work as long as they are fairly shallow. Tillandsia bases need to get good air circulation to avoid rot.
At any rate, it's impossible not to have creative fun displaying your Tillandsia collection, so get going! Who's got some other creative ideas?

Weekend Walkabout: Yes, I Still Grow Lithops

No really, I do! I still have about 4 dozen Lithops, but they are all growing indoors now. Outside, the precipitation was just too unpredictable, and too monsoon-like in summer, for Lithops to love. These are getting a little too crowded in their pot and are ready for a new pot:

I've been working on some ceramics lately, it's been awhile, but I have a little time before the new school year:

I've been working on an Impressionistic beachscape series:

And I'm continuing work on the Tillandsia still lifes--here is a T. pruinosa:

Here's hoping your weekend is wonderful, and peaceful!

Dawn, MR, July2014

Freaky Friday the 13th: A Miscellany

I'm working on  parts III and IV of Tillandsia care, and I've got a great new monthly post coming on Sunday; it will be a tasty surprise! But for Freaky Friday the 13th, I've got a random collection of images I haven't been able to fit into the blog yet, so... it's Irrelevant Picture Time!

My last batch of ceramics features a new technique I made up. I carve a linoblock (this one is a 5x7 of my sunflower garden from this summer), imprint it onto wet stoneware clay, fire, and glaze. I think it worked rather well, and I'll keep trying new designs like this. I love carving linoblocks, but don't have much use for plain prints on paper. This gives the blocks new life.

I've got a number of my paintings on exhibit at our county library for a few months. This means there's more space in my studio to paint! Bwahaha....

I may have posted this lovely cottontail before, but I don't care, I love bunnies. For all you fellow rabbit fans, here's a portrait of a local English Angora, looking exceptionally fluffy....

Snuggle angora rabbits, don't wear them!

As you may notice, these sweet creatures have little to do with gardening, except for maybe the fact that bunny poop makes a wonderful soil builder. Not that Tillandsias would care about that. Let's see if I can find one more completely irrelevant image for the weekend....

Our sea-turtle nesting season went reasonably well this year, despite a lot of shore erosion that left little space for the nests. Here's the empty shell from one of the last hatchlings to leave for the sea...good luck, little guy!

Well, that's enough miscellany for now. I'm off to photograph some Lithops and Tillies....

Autumn- The Busiest Time of Year

I'm glad the plants in my gardens are mostly on break this time of year. My one and only orchid, a Catasetum, is now going into rest-and-retreat mode, its lower leaves yellowing and falling off. It will come back in the spring. My cacti are starting to lapse into dormancy as well. My Tillandsias have all bloomed and pupped. Lithops marmorata, aka, "The Brains" were the last Lithops to regenerate this year:

Lithops marmorata, aka "The Brains"

I have a whole stack of skyscape photos that I've begun using as my "models" for painting skies and clouds, and I'll be training as an official weather spotter for the government this month. Will I start chasing tornados? We'll see....Right now I'm mostly observing sunrises, peacefully.

Lots of work in the studio, ceramics and painting, much of it for charity.

And school, oh yeah! Middle schoolers are tough, but fun. Looking at the whole picture, no wonder I wake up tired...and it's only Wednesday! Hope you're all having a good week. And don't forget to (not) water your Lithops.

Lithops Weekend Update

Not much happening with the Lounging Lithops. Most have completed regeneration, some still have the old leaves in a semi-shriveled state:

I just finished a series of stoneware "Coconut Bowls". They are thusly dubbed because they reminded several people of coconut shells. I guess I sort of get that. They've been much more useful than I thought they would be, and actually stack pretty well, so I will probably make more.... They range from 8cm to 15cm in diameter.

And I'm keeping up with my Corel practice. Here's a shot from Fairchild Tropical Gardens down in Miami....

Blue Study, Fairchild, MR 2013

Have a wonderful and creative weekend!

Lithops Regeneration: Lithops Inspire Art!

I've been teaching and coaching pretty much forever, it seems, but my two favorite subjects have always been creative writing and art. I particularly love working with people who have very little confidence in their artistic abilities, because they are always wrong, and I get a real buzz when they realize how creative they truly are. Lithops are inherently artistic and creative. Mine are mostly in regeneration/re-leafing mode now:

L dorotheae and L. julii in Regeneration Mode

I find them quite inspiring, so I wasn't at all surprised when one of my young students gifted me a beautiful ceramic sculpture he named "Spirit of the Lithops". He wishes to remain anonymous, so we'll just call him "The Lithops Sculptor".

"Spirit of the Lithops" by the Lithops Sculptor

I'm very happy to see my favorite denizens of the plant world inspiring art in kids. I may have to try a Lithops sculpture myself....

Repotted and Lovin' It Part II

So for Thoughtful Thursday, I decided what to write for next Pensive Tuesday. It will be about...dirt.

But strangely, my post on re-potting has proven to be one of my most popular. People from about 20 different countries have read it. OK, so re-potting is good fun, it's action-packed, it's a special time for me and my plants. And since I've finished quite a few more pots recently, I've been doing a lot of it. The one above is for 3 of the young cacti I started from seed last year. The seeds were labeled "Cactus", but I think they could be Mammillaria. Let's hope so.

Here's a repotted Crassula. Though it was only re-potted about 10 days ago, it's grown so much in that time that I've already started its next, larger pot. Good grief, curb your enthusiasm, Crassula!

These Lithops marmorata, aka "The Brains" look symmetrical and tidy in their new pot. And this tiny julii (about 1.5cm tall) was so exuberant, it got its own tiny pot (about 5cm tall) as well:

This next pot is here simply because I'm proud of it. No idea what's going in it yet. It's the terracotta clay with malachite glaze; I'm quite smitten with this combo.

And finally, more malachite glaze, this on white stoneware. The sculpture on the right is part of a family project. Any family member or friend that visits me on my sand dune is encouraged to (ie: strongarmed into) making a garden sculpture for my garden. This one is my father's first sculpture ever. I love it!

For Repotted and Lovin' It Part III, I'll probably show the incredibly messy areas where I actually re-pot these guys, and make the pots! You may be shocked....

Introducing Petrapots!

The ancient city of Petra in Jordan inspired this new batch of pots,  made of red earthenware and fired at Cone 04. They're pinched, stamped, carved, and burnished, but not glazed. Plenty of small holes in the bottom to permit drainage without soil loss.  I think they'll look great with cacti and succulents that don't need the deeper Lithopots. I'm very excited about them! Once a few plants are in there, I'll show them again, these are just out of the kiln....

New Day, New Clay

I bought some Laguna Rojo Linda today- an earthenware with less shrinkage and more plasticity than some others. I thought I'd try a few red Lithopots, instead of my usual sandy stoneware. Here they are, drying into greenware (posing off the drying rack for the camera). If anyone's given this clay a try, let me know what you think of it. I'll show them again when they're fired and glazed.