There's a gallery in Laguna Beach that has these amazing ceramic vessels; I don't even know the name of the gallery because each time I've passed it I've been mezmerized by these things. Trompe l'oeil, French for "fool the eye", they look like a combination of drift wood and dried coral or shell. Part of the fun of looking at ceramics is trying to figure out the process it took to make an object; my guess is that these were wheel thrown with thick walls that were then carved into. They are so symmetrical I can't imagine them being formed in any other way than wheel throwing. I wish I could recreate one for myself because the cost of an original is WAY out of my budget; I don't think I have the skill for this though, so I will continue to appreciate them in their gallery setting.
