I was thrilled to be asked to commission a ceramic wall tile using a wedding bouquet a couple of months ago. The bride had recently got married and was browsing online looking for inspiration for what to do with her stunning bouquet from Essentially Hops in Bekesbourne, Canterbury, when she came across my bespoke bouquet ceramic keepsakes.
We chatted via e-mail about the kind of finish she wanted for a ceramic wall art tile, with some of the flowers from her bouquet pressed in.
Once the size, shape, and colours were agreed she posted her beautiful bouquet to me. It didn’t matter that the flowers were at this point a few weeks old, they were fine for me to work with and still smelt divine which was a bonus!
As the bride had requested a tile sized approx 20 x 20cm, the surface area was fairly limited and it was quite difficult to include every different stem from the bouquet. I started by carefully taking the bouquet apart and laid out one of each of every stem. There was a really interesting assortment of organic shapes and colours to work with, which was like heaven to me!
After rolling out a sheet of clay in the rough size I was going to be working with, I spent some time trying out different compositions using one of each stem. I didn’t want the tile to look too busy and overcrowded, it had to be just enough to capture the beauty of each stem in one picture.
Some of the stems were thicker than others, so there was a nice sense of depth to the tile.
The edges of the tile were trimmed, and it was then left aside for a number of weeks to carefully dry out. It was important that the drying process was not rushed, to keep the tile flat. I turned it every couple of days.
The bride asked for natural colours with a mix of greens and cream. Choosing which glazes to use where was fun, but tricky, as I had in my mind the whole time: “Will she like it?”
Thankfully I’ve come to realise that my commissions are all about trusting my instinct and going with it. For someone to ask me to make something so special, not knowing what the exact outcome will look like, and trusting me to do a good job, is a huge compliment and helps me to see that the client likes what I do enough to allow me to make and design a bespoke piece just for them.
An ‘invisible’ plate hanger was added to the back of the tile so that it could be hung on a wall.
Of course I was extremely happy for the bride to provide such wonderful feedback once she had received the tile:
“Oh wow, it’s gorgeous! Thank you for such a wonderful memento.”
– Leah, Leamington Spa
For more ideas and inspiration of the special wedding pieces I make, please see my wedding section. And don’t forget everything can be personalised/custom made unique to you!
