Vase 1 3

An early entry in a series of vase forms, this one is decoration before anything else: a standing vessel that gives a flat surface something vertical to work against. Mantelpiece, windowsill, the corner of a desk behind a monitor. It does not need contents to justify being there. If you want it doing a job, dried material is the answer. Wheat stalks, honesty, a handful of bleached grasses. Left bare it works just as well, and the profile carries the piece on its own. Printed large it becomes a floor-standing object for a hallway or beside a doorway; printed small it joins a group of candles and small ceramics without competing with them. For anyone whose printer has so far produced brackets, bin clips and organisers, this is a straightforward way to make something the rest of the household will actually notice.