A garden of Earthy delights

Cut the flowers, move beyond breakfast in bed and hit the mother lode for any Earth mama at the seasonal artisanal pottery show at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

A Saturday stroll in the garden takes on a twist as local potters show ceramic creations against the backdrop of Spring blooms. The Kiln Club Spring Sale has decorative and functional handmade ceramic giftware for Mother’s Day, hostess gifts and treasures to compliment tablescapes and interiors. Visit with artists and shop quality one-of-a-kind platters, bowls, cups and more from over a dozen potters.

Whether mama is a diva, darling or deity, she appreciates a handmade vase, adding an everlasting keepsake to a traditional bouquet, selecting a Japanese ikebana, traditional fluted or an artsy wrap- style. Upgrade ordinary selections of soaps and candies with an original dish or plate. Add a stunning surprise teapot along with breakfast or dessert.

Functional high-fire pottery, distinctive for its vivid glassy glazes over porcelain or stoneware is durable and suitable for microwave, oven and dishwasher use. Svelte silhouettes, handpainted details appeal to the artistic eye and are ready to go from kitchen to table.

Spring brings many opportunities to use ceramic art. Thrown and handbuilt platters can centerpiece special occasion tables, while sculpted and handpainted servers are ideal for sides and salads. Spring weddings are artistically enhanced by original ring holders, cake platters, servers and wine chillers. Graduates can use a starter pieces for a clay art collection and even begin the Father’s Day hunt for mug or stein.

Shop al fresco, bring a picnic, pack appreciation and imagination to be sure to find treasures not only a mother could love.

Many of the potters are juried members of the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Scope Gallery located at 105 North Union Street, Studio 19, Alexandria, Va. 22314. For further artist information call the Scope Gallery at 703-548-6288, visit www.torpedofactory.org/galleries/scope, kilnclubwdc.com and on Facebook at Scope Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

Sale is Saturday May 2, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine, at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens’ Lilac Pavillion located at 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court, Vienna, VA 22182, off Beulah Road, between Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7) and Chain Bridge Road (Rt. 123), South of the Dulles Access Road. Credit cards, checks, cash accepted; Free admission and parking.

Kiln Club is an organization of more than 90 Washington D.C. area artists working in the clay medium. Juried members exhibit themed shows every other month at the co-op run Scope Gallery in Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center and members participate in sales in Bethesda, Md. in August and Great Falls, Va. in November.

Images above from left: High-fire stoneware Japanese ikebana-style vase by Klaudia Levin of Silver Spring, Md., Hand-carved high-fire “Spring laughs in flowers” vase by Larry Bowring of Arlington, Va., Salt-fired mug with handpainted florals by Marianne Cordyack of Reston, Va., Freeform textured dish with natural base and glass detailing by Laura Nichols of Great Falls, Va., Brushpainted Imperial peony bowl by Tracie Griffith Tso of Reston, Va.