Finding a Trend in Your Own Work

Recently while going through some work digitals, I discovered a lot of tubular handles on my work.

They are are so ubiquitous, I didn't see the trend until the images were opened up as a group on my computer desktop.

Most of these handles were made of solid clay.

The two teapots below are the same form, but the handles are entirely different.

I thought about a tubular clay handle for "Texas Tea" but decided on a cane handle instead. (That was before I discovered a technique for drying large handles that won't crack.)

When I attached the cane one to the pot, it didn't seem to work visually. I thought about painting it black, but decided that wouldn't work well because of the chance the paint would flake off, if not immediately, eventually.

It pays to be a pack-rat. I had a stash of black leather cording and wrapped it around the cane. It worked. The black leather reduces the importance of the handle's image, and fits well with the eccentricity of the pot.

"China Tea's" handle looks as if it has been threaded through the supports, but of course, this is a fool the eye kind of thing. The connection "hooks" were added on the outside of the ends. The top section of the handle is really not that heavy--it's hollow.

And this last pot is an out-of-the-box (What box?) kind of thing.

Taking the handle and pushing it into a different element on the pot, as if the handle had split and slipped down the sides of the form, it is a playful variation of the idea of a handle.

So, think about analyzing your work by taking a good look at what could be your own trends.

Then, think about taking that element and interpreting it in a new way.