Beautiful Aspen leaves pressed into pottery clay to create a jewelry dish. #autumnleaves #ceramics

Have you seen Aspen when the colors change in Autumn? In fall, the leaves of the aspen tree turn to a golden yellow, and it’s a breathtaking sight to see a grove of aspen trees with their yellow leaves shimmering in the breeze. Aspen leaves symbolize different things in different cultures, but much of the symbolism is associated with magic, spiritualism, wisdom, and seeing truth. In seeing these trees, I am always moved by their beauty and form. This ceramic jewelry dish is made from smooth porcelain-like stoneware ceramic clay. I use actual Aspen leaves that I collected from a garden tree in Northern California. I press the leaves into clay capturing their impression- the imprint is actually quite faint but you can see how it transforms into something more bold in the final result. Each leaf is carefully painted by hand, color added layer by layer, until I can achieve a depth of color that highlights the beauty of these leaves. I love the finished look, gentle golden yellow with subtle tones of of orange. The piece is glazed (the dip into white liquid in the video) and then fired in a pottery kiln to 2200°F/1200°C - the glaze melts into a layer of glass giving a soft gloss over the vibrant colors of the leaf. A touch of gold reflects the feeling of the leaves shimmering and moving. The 22kt real gold overglaze is applied to the dish and rim and then fired a third time to bond the gold to the piece. #fallcolors #aspentrees #botanicalart satisfying #pottery art process showing creation of ceramic dish from start to finish