Karen's Jar

I'm working on a piece in memory of my sweet pottery friend, Karen. She was kind, and compassionate, and genuine. And also a talented artist, although she was too humble to have agreed. This sunflower bowl, about 14 inches in diameter, is one of her lovely hand-built bowls. She also made delicate little figurines.


I wanted to incorporate some of her techniques and motifs in a large jar.

It's about 11 inches tall, not including the lid.

A figure of Karen holding one of her bowls is on the lid of the jar, with sunflowers and smaller flowers adorning the jar's surface.

The jar survived its first firing, so I've begun painting and glazing it. The inside will be the same blue color that appears on her sunflower bowl, and the sunflowers will also be glazed in a similar way. I'll make the smaller flowers purple, because that was Karen's favorite color. She once showed us a photo of herself from her "hippie" days, where she's wearing a calico granny dress and standing in a field of wildflowers. When I think of her now, that's how I picture her. I feel so fortunate that she was my friend, even though it was for only a few years.