Large Hibiscus Flower Candle Holders - Yellow + Maroon + Green
I created this pair of candle holders by disassembling an actual hibiscus flower. I then used the pieces to make impressions into my china-grade clay. When I had cut out all the elements I then modeled the flower to match a photo I had taken before the disassembling process began. When the clay is rolled out as thin as a petal should be, it is very floppy. As I was styling each petal I used wads of tissue paper to support each of them until they became leather hard. I then created the stamen as a separate piece. The leaf base was made by impressing 4 hibiscus leaves, stem to stem, to form the star shaped platform for the flower to rest upon. A ring of clay was formed as a forth separate piece to eventually hold a candle. Once all pieces were dried I very carefully cleaned up all the delicate edges with a small wet sponge. A bisque firing was done to turn the clay into ceramic. All pieces were then brush glazed in various colors. The tricky part comes when these glazed pieces are arranged together on a shelf in the kiln and fired for the second time. The goal is to have all of the pieces stay put and fuse into one piece. I have only made 4 sets of this design. The first set I gave to my Aunt Barbara as a 50th wedding anniversary gift. She is the second generation artist of our studio's history and the person who taught me as her apprentice for the better part of a year before she turned the operation of the studio over to me in 1996. As a note of interest this photograph was taken outside with a glossy sheet of poster board as a background. The sky and clouds in the photo is actually a reflection of the sky on the poster board. My eye did not see this image but the 35 mm "film" camera did.
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PAT YOUNG CERAMIC ARTS is a story of THREE GENERATIONS OF CERAMIC ARTISTS with each successive generation learning from the previous one, continually creating new designs and improving the quality and efficiency of our work.
We have always been a home based studio "Creating our handmade original designs of fine ceramic gift ware, based on natural leaf patterns."
The studio was established in 1954 by my Grandmother, Pat Young, in Inverness, Florida, USA. Her business grew so fast that by 1974 her ceramic art was being sold in over 135 of the finest gift shops in America.
As a kid (8 to 14 years old) I lived in that studio with my Mother, Grandmother and Grandfather. They tell me I was a great help. Little did I know how much I was actually learning about ceramics.
One of my duties was to attend to the cultivation of the many varieties of plants we grew in our greenhouses. My Grandmother selected only the most perfect and correct sizes of leaves from these plants to create the patterns we used in making our original pieces of ceramic art.
I learned the science of ceramics by making many, many small items for my own pleasure. I still have a few of my early ceramic creations on display in my studio today.
In 1989 Pat's eldest daughter, my Aunt Barbara, moved the studio to Ovedio, Florida. She continued to sell our "Pat Young Hand Made Originals" for nearly a decade, until she decided to retire. With that decision she began a year of long weekends training me to eventually take over the studio.
Once Aunt Barbara was confident of my skills, the studio was relocated to my home in Saint Petersburg, Florida. I have carried on my family's tradition there since 1996.
How do I make these ceramic creations?
Using the slab technique I hand model each piece from a flat slab of white china-grade earthenware clay. Once the clay bowl, plate or flower has dried to the "green ware" stage it is fired in one of my 3 electric kilns to the "bisque" stage. They are then hand brushed with at least 3 coats of ceramic glazes. All pieces are kiln fired a second time. I do not use either a potter's wheel or slip molds.
In the past I used to sell my ceramic art at craft shows. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet the people that bought my work. I would tell them the history of my family's ceramic studio and describe the methods I used to create my art. The customers would have the opportunity to actually hold my ceramics before selecting their purchases. They were always surprised to see how delicate and light weight they were. I would demonstrate this by "thumping" one of our round bowls with my finger causing it to ring like a piece of fine crystal.
On the other hand, when I would send out a shipment to a gift shop I would never know who had eventually taken my art to a new home. That always disappointed me.
But now CustomMade is my favorite connection to reach new customers. By allowing you to be an active design partner I can use my talents, clay, glazes and kilns to be just that much more creative . With your help I look forward to the opportunity to expand my creations beyond my normal line of ceramic art.
I am hoping you will see something I have created, pictured on this web site, and would like to start a creative project with me.
Thanks for reading,
Andy Sheppard
Owner/Artist
Pat Young Ceramic Arts
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