Frannie Hopper makes Fairy and Desert Gardens.
Maryalice Carl
Sharon Pelikan, our remarkable ceramic teacher, also loves to play with clay. One of her students, Frannie Hopper, wanted to make a Fairy Garden. So Sharon said sure—I can help you with that! So, Sharon made both a Fairy Garden and a Desert Garden. Frannie made her Fairy Garden with Sharon’s help. Before we knew it, several other students jumped in when they saw the results and did the same. In September we plan on having our students’ gardens on display in our showcase window. Make sure you come over to browse. The pictures noted above are Sharon’s pieces. The Fairy Garden base is made by rolling out clay and then shaping it. To make the edges look like stone you roll balls of clay to make the edge. The Desert Garden’s base is made by rolling out clay and then shaping the edges. Both are air dried for one week. Then they are Kiln fired, glazed and fired again. The bottom of the Desert base is covered with sand and many of the decorative pieces are made with clay: stone bridge, snake, quail, koi, water lily, ladybug, stepping stones, gazing ball stand, pond, lady bugs on the log, base for tire swing, cactus and bat. The skull and the buzzards were made from pre-formed greenware pieces.
Come on in and Sharon will be happy to show you how to make anything you want! Just pick a theme and let your imagination run wild—she did and look what happened! Sharon has classes every Thursday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you have any questions please contact Maryalice Carl at 602-432-4617.