The Peach at the Bottom of the Bowl

The folks I live with decided it was time to remove the peach from the kitchen. Apparently, it was too fragrant for them. I had hoped to keep it until it became totally dry. When I flipped it over there was a lot of dampness surrounding the stone.

It may seem peculiar that I am documenting a molding peach, but it brings to mind the types of glaze surfaces I used on my work in the 80s and 90s.

This is a piece that I made while in undergrad at Ohio State University in the 80s. I was delighted to find actual lichen living on the piece. Surprised, but delighted.

The pieces can be arranged in a couple of different ways, but this is how it has been positioned for over twenty years on our upstairs deck.

As was my process at the time, the piece was glazed multiple times. The base glaze was a lithium blue. It was followed with multiple red lead glazes. Yep, that was red lead with chromium dioxide.

When I was using lichen and lizard skin glazes, I was not looking at moldy peaches. Because I have used those glazes, I now look at mold growth.

Often people assume that a piece references something that is not part of the content. I believe that the reason this happens is because we view things through a filter of our experiences. The viewer’s interpretation may not be correct, but it is a way for them to access the piece.

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