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Art studio, dining pavilion, cozy yurts, cut flower barn studio, miles of hiking trails, 4 acre lake, organic veg and flower farm on 98 acres: completely private and exclusively yours.

A woodland retreat venue for intimate meetings, workshops and gatherings in beautiful Goochland County, Virginia

September 6, 2021

How to make a giant ceramic flower wreath

Well just look at that gable end…something had to be done!

Isn’t this so cute?! My family and I have been working away at this shabby chic DIY greenhouse idea using old windows for a while now. Like a really long while now. And even though it still needs trim, fans and vents, I just couldn’t stop staring at that gable end and thinking it really needed something to doll it up a bit.

Well, right now my favorite creative activity is all things ceramic. I’m actively making not only dishes but sculpting figures, creating signs for each future cabin, making plant markers…you get the idea. Clay and me…it’s like peas and carrots. It just makes sense.

If you like to watch videos rather than reading the how to, click here.

Anyway, my first thought was a wreath but immediately I realized this could go wrong. All wrong. Anyone’s whose ever picked up a clay pot knows terracotta is heavy. But, undeterred I carried on making flower after flower, shaping all my favorite flowers. I punched little holes in the back so I could wire them to a form. After the first firing, I glazed and wiped it off, letting the glaze settle in the textures. Then it was back to the kiln.

After second firing, they were ready to go. I cut out a 4ft ring of plywood and drilled holes all over it willy nilly. Using coated wire, my daughter and I tied the flowers to the form. Using hot glue, we stuck green moss in the spaces in between to fill it out knowing of course this will be an occasional maintenance project in the future. Especially since this will live outdoors most of the year. Before the first hard freeze, we will bring it inside for protection and a fix up. It’s the perfect time to change it out for a Christmas wreath anyway!

So that’s it! Here’s the video showing our process. click here. Hope it inspires you to try something a bit crazy.

ceramic wreath video

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