Clay Frogs

I once made a frog of combination clay and metal similar to this one. The upper framework was in clay and held up well during the firing.


This cylinder shaped frog is a pretty standard frog design. Good and stable, weighty, no-nonsense frog.

Same goes for the rounded one. I like the taller form. Plenty of room for the water reservoir.

One like this could stand alone, but tiny feet are advised to keep dampness off the surface it would sit on. Or it would work in another clay piece.

The winner here is a beautiful oxblood glaze.



Nice pairing of bowl and frog here.

If the frog were made taller in this one, it would take on a whole different look.

I like the combination of flower stem holes and the sculptured surface, but I'm not so sure it would show if flowers were in the bowl.

Another example.


This is the real winner. Great proportion between the frog and bowl. It looks like the frog just landed in the middle of the bowl.

 The design would harmonize with any kind of flower.

Glass Flower Frogs

Many of the art glass companies made flower frogs during the early 1900s to about 1950. Many designs could well be inspiration to potters. 

I remember a very large. shallow bowl made of black glass with a scalloped edge with a center area for a matching frog that was a "Very chilly nekked lady in a lake". She was about 6 inches tall and looked like this.

She did most of her standing in the attic, however--mostly due to the fact we lived in a small, conservative town.

I can remember only a few times when she stood in a grouping of daffodils, though, and I thought she was beautiful.


A lot of glass companies made simple frogs as well as sculptural pieces like this.

Some work better in glass. Especially as in this example of a green glass 'brick' form. It would be quite pleasing with the flower stems showing through the bottom.

This won't work in clay, but the form is nice. A great glaze or design on the face might be a good opportunity.

Somewhere I have seen a similar vase by Paul Gauguin.  Did you know he made many ceramic pieces? Undervalued, in my opinion

Clear glass is successful because it seems to disappear as in the next frogs. I don't know about Lalique, but I know Baccarat made some flower frog pieces.

The clear two-pieced set one sold at Christies for $250.

Tall vases with a removable frog in the top works well in clay. As a matter of fact, I made a couple of these and they were very successful.  The frog rested on a small ridge and could be removed so the vase could be used for used in another way. 

The same could be said for the next two bulbous vases. A pierced lid could be made either with the criss-cross motif or with holes in it. These two are technically rose bowls. Anything with a metal criss-cross flower holder is classified as such. The rounded shape just screams for a great, runny glaze. 

This is a unique take by Tiffany. I'm not too sure how it would look with flowers; you would surely want to let the bottom of the bowl design show.....

Pansy Vase

This is a bit of fun.

A lady asked me at a show if I made Pansy Vases. I'd never heard of them before.

They are small vases that are designed to hold water at the bottom and have small holes to thread pansy stems through so you wind up with a dome covered with blossoms. Any small flower will work, but I guess pansy fanciers are the ones roaming venues in search of such things.

So, of course, I went home and made some and then called her to let her know I had some for sale.

They're simple, really, to make. Just establish a form that's like a cup, making sure you have a flat base. The bring the sides up and collar it into a dome, closing the top and smoothing it out.

Make sure you use your pin tool to make a small hole so as the dome dries, the air inside can escape over time. Otherwise, the shrinkage will compress the enclosed air and all kinds of problems can develop.

This example was my first test piece, so I had fun cutting different-sized holes to see what worked best.

Now, you could use one of these as a frog for longer-stemmed flowers if you just threw the dome, cut out the holes and designed a vase with a rim near the top that the frog's base could rest upon the rim.

Or, you could take off on this form for a toothbrush holder, kitchen utensil holder, clay tools holder, etc.

Or stretching the imagination even further, you might use it inside something to support a mixed media piece, make a face-mask for a head, a lantern window. The possibilities are limitless.

This is a tiny frog for a vase I found in a junk shop. It surely went atop some other base-like piece, but it would work anywhere with something to elevate it above the water bowl. I just like it for what it is.

I'm not a gardener, so here's what I do with test pansy vases.

I remembered. I had an odd little vase in my basement from the McCoy factory. I found it, dusted it off and began researching. You guessed it; it's a pansy vase.

Vase

This is one piece I'm taking to the Tucson Art Museum Artisan's Sale March 27-29th.

Although it looks like it has three different glazes, it's just two.

I made it in a class and truly have no clue about the they were using.



I just layered them to test the reaction and drizzled the lighter one over the body of the vase for a fourth effect.

The orchids are the only kind I can grow--plastic.

It's definitely a one-off.

My work will be in the Southern Arizona Clay Association booth.

Hope to see you there!