Painted Plant Pots

Last Wednesday I showed Henry inspecting my new houseplants. I bought them from the Garden Centre at Home Depot and chose plain terracotta pots to plant them in. I asked at the Paint Centre in Home Depot if I would be able to paint them, and he advised that I give them a primer base first and I should be fine. So I slapped a primer on, and painted away!

Initially I just wasn’t sure what to paint on the smaller one. I tried a mishmash of purples and blues. Planning to put it on my kitchen window sill, I thought it might go well with the new opal tile backsplash. What I ended up with wasn’t very attractive, so I washed it off before it even dried! I then sponged a green-yellow mixture on and was quite pleased with the textured finish. Then I had to do some swirls… because I have a slight obsession.

The larger pot was a bigger project. I love baroque patterns (and am planning to sew some couch cushions) so I thought it would be good to do a baroque pattern on the pot. Easier said than done! I sketched out a baroque pattern from mixed sources: dingbat fonts, interior design photos, website backgrounds, etc. Then I had to figure out how to lay them out on the pot so they repeated perfectly.

It was at this point that I realized I had no way to transfer the baroque sketches from paper to the pot. I texted my friend Evan who is doing the Display + Design program at Langara College. They do a lot of pre-prep and then have to execute designs, so I figured he’d have a suggestion. He did! He said to rub pencil lightly on the back of the image, place it on the surface of the pot, and trace over the lines of the design. This would cause the carbon on the back of the paper to transfer from the pressure. It worked brilliantly, but if anyone tries this, you only need to lightly rub the pencil on the back. I used an 8D pencil the first time, which is very dark lead. This caused even me pressing on the design, to hold it in place while I traced, to leave marks on the white pot. Carbon marks from an 8D pencil don’t erase easily.

Even though the baroque design was more labour-intensive, I’ve very satisfied with the final results. I had to wait for the paint to dry between designs, and then let the black acyrlic paint set for at least 24 hours to avoid smudging when I glazed it. It now houses my Peace Lily in my living room.

P.S. Happy March First!

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