Scientists tell us that the Sun is approximately 4.5 billion years old—nearly half-way through the "Main Sequence" of its lifespan. It has another 5 billion years (more or less) of hydrogen to burn, similar to the way it burns now. When the Sun no longer has enough mass remaining to stay tightly-compact, it will expand enormously, becoming a "Red Giant"—swallowing Mercury and Venus and making the Earth too hot to be habitable by living organisms (eventually swallowing-up the Earth, too). After the Red Giant burns-up any of its remaining fuel, it will contract into a hot, small, White Dwarf—no longer generating new heat but undergoing a long cooling process (over trillions of years) into a Black Dwarf, which will continue to cool for a further quadrillion years (however long that is).
The production of ceramics uses heat and fire, chemicals and oxygen (or the lack of oxygen) to achieve the potter's goals. Like the swirling matter of the Sun's mass, heat, fuel and chemicals (and chemical reactions) create various effects.
The English vase, shown here, was made by Pilkington Royal Lancastrian in the Twenties. Its sensuously-sculpted form is satisfyingly beautiful—including the extended neck, which might be likened to a solar flare. The bulk of the vessel is glazed in a curdled orange and yellow glaze while the neck shoots upwards with a fiery yellow. Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome vase.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.