Back in the winter months I was thinking about what to make for this show and the fact of being stuck at home both by the pandemic and the weather led me somehow to the idea of making sculptures with plants on their heads. Houseplants became my main inspiration and as it turns out the possibilities are endless. I started with the Art Deco inspired larger piece and the round artichoke pieces and then started thinking about The Celtic Green man. Then my childhood spent watching hours of television seeped in with thoughts of the Jolly Green Giant and Punchy from Hawaiian Punch commercials. I worried about these references but kept going with the theme, in my own way, veering into mushroom inspired lattice work and the idea of a cage and terrarium. Now it is summer after a long, chilly but blossom bursting spring. I probably would have made more flowers if I had started later. All the pieces are hand built using coils and slabs. I paint most of the colors on the clay before it is fired using colored slips. The green theme gave me an opportunity to try out different green glazes and I used China paint for a third firing as accents on some of the pieces.
 
Kim Murton
June 2022