For Penny

[MattA]

This is the other little marble suiban I mentioned to you the other day, rather than try & transport it & have the mountains fall off/get damaged I took some pics this afternoon. The tray is approx 8cm long. The lichens are not looking there best as its about time it moved back into my shade house. I move most of my moss & lichen scapes out to full sun during winter and with the extra humidity in the shade house during summer the growth rates are much faster than in the wild. The only problematic area is that lichens are very sensitive to the chlorine etc in tap water.

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Matt

[mudlarkpottery]

Matt, that is really beautiful. I can see you trying to get past the dogs without upsetting the landscape (not!). It won't be long before you are making more of your own.
Penny.

[Amanda]

Matt, this is a lovely little suiban. I'd be interested in a few for the same reasons if you're still making the trays and pots.

[MattA]

Anja,

Its funny you say that, I do have a couple that came out of Penny's last firing, will try & get some pics sent down to you today.


Matt

[MattA]

Heres a couple of my pots that came out of the latest firing at Penny's. I wasnt very impressed with how this one came out, then I noticed one of my Caladenia's was flowering. Never liked the tray it was in (terracotta saucer) think the match isnt too bad. It hides the ugly inside of this suiban.

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Anja, this is the smallest and best suiban from this batch. It has bowed in the glaze firing but surprisingly it still sits steady on its feet, just under 10cm in length, 5 cm wide & 2.5cm to top of tallest point.

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And some of my little free form pots, largest is 11x9x3.5cm high with an ash glaze, the smallest is 6x5x3cm high with a celadon glaze.

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Matt

[archie1979]

Wow they are great congrats

[nealweb]

Wow! VEry nice little orchid mate. Is this from around your area? It is similar to our WA native orchids. I'm impressed you have it growing so well in a pot. What a sensational accent that makes

[MattA]

Cheers Archie.

Neal, the Caladenia is a common genus thruout much of australia, I the ones you get in WA are a different species but they all have the same flower in varying colours, mainly white thru to pinks. It was collected growing in the moss it still has around it from the top of a boulder in the middle of a dry creek bed. There are 4-5 bulbs in the mix tho not all flower each year. I have to ensure it gets its dry rest period over summer but otherwise are very easy to care for & do look sensational in flower.

Matt

[Mitchell]

Can't believe I missed this thread!!

Not going to view these now. Will set aside a couple of hours tonight.


I don't think everyone truley appreciates the care these lichens/mosses take to keep in tune.
I have over the last couple of years taken a keen interest to them.

Matt IMHO seems to be leeding the Australian community atm.
Keep up the good work mate, AU has some of the most stunning miniature ferns/mosses/lichens in the world. too few of us realize how lucky we are.

[MattA]

Can't believe I missed this thread!!

Not going to view these now. Will set aside a couple of hours tonight.


I don't think everyone truley appreciates the care these lichens/mosses take to keep in tune.
I have over the last couple of years taken a keen interest to them.

Matt IMHO seems to be leeding the Australian community atm.
Keep up the good work mate, AU has some of the most stunning miniature ferns/mosses/lichens in the world. too few of us realize how lucky we are.

Hey Mitchell,

thanks for the compliment but I am just a nobody doing my own thing, I have met a few over the years who have really delved into the subject of lichen & moss and more than a few handy hints have come to me from them with regards keeping some of the more temperamental ones alive.

As with alot of things I come across in life, there are no answers available to the questions I ask (maybe I ask the wrong questions) so generally make it up as I go along & see what works. Its also why I try to share as much as possible with the rest of this wonderful community we have here and anyone else who will listen (some of my friends & neighbours just roll there eyes and groan when I even look like getting started).

Observation is the greatest teacher, observe the natural environment the subject is growing in, observe what it is growing on (soil, rock, timber live or dead etc). Take a small sample and taking into account all your observations give it a home as close to its natural one as possible. If you can keep that little piece alive while mimicing its natural environ then you can move to the next stage & start experimenting with different things.

Water is the key & the killer, excepting some of the wet species I have tried that resented any sort of drying out, for the most part the issue I have found with lichens is too much water! One of my dryland pieces lost all the lichen shield while I lived in the wet Yarra Valley, it then sat wrapped up in a box for 3 yrs. Since unpacking & potting up the lichen has returned from nothing and is finally starting to be thick enough that its noticable beyond just a light blush, that has also taken another 3yrs, these things can be VERY slow growing.

Matt