While creating Iga style vases, I envision showcasing the flowers. The coarse rough clay, harsh rib marks, dry surfaces dusted with ash, a line of glaze running or pooling, stout forms and heavy clay walls contrast the delicacy of petals. The service these vessels give is to showcase and honor the plant material. Traditionally, these arrangements are placed in the tokonoma to be viewed and contemplated daily.
Flowers carry many metaphors. Their colors exuberate a vitality in life. Their delicacy tutors us to entreat others with kindness. Their fragrance exemplifies joy in giving. Their withering on a windowsill implies that death is eminent. Their blooming is a reminder that in life, growth takes effort and time.