Daphne at Midnight

Ok, the truth is, I needed to fill some shelf space for a glaze firing in my kiln. For a new piece that would only be fired once, I had to use clays that would not require glazing. I let my imagination wander, and came back to Daphne.

I can’t seem to get away from Daphne. I wondered if perhaps there might be an escape clause… a few hours of freedom from the tree in the early hours of the morning. Midnight to dawn, say.

This piece will be completed (or will collapse) in a single firing, so I used a dark stoneware for the tree and porcelain for the nymph. My kiln is so tall that I cannot reach the bottom shelf without falling in, so all the pieces on that shelf need to be at least 10-12” high. Right now I have a large planter depicting Acteon and Artemis on that shelf (another cheerful myth), so I was able to make this piece close to 18” tall.

Keep your fingers crossed.