I grew up on the coast in California, where we never truly experienced the extremes of seasons. Our typical weather was fog (ever present), sometimes rainy winters, and the occasional heat wave in late summer and fall. Snow was a novelty to me, and I never disliked the middle of winter, even in the depths of damp and cold Decembers and ice storms in the Pacific Northwest.

My first real taste of a winter with snow was this past year, my first living in Maryland and on the east coast. We had several storms, including inches of ice and sleet that stuck around for weeks, school closures, and at the very tail end, tornado warnings. I do love to cozy up with a cup of tea, blankets, and a book during those cold, dark nights, but I was ready to be done with it towards the end of this very long, cold winter. February had me dreaming of cherry blossoms, daffodils, and everything green that starts popping up out of the warming soil.

I started by flipping through hundreds of flower photos I've taken on walks and travels, and got to sketching. I transferred Daffodils, Camellias, and cherry blossoms to some mugs, mixed up some underglaze in different shades, and started painting. Making these floral mugs really helped me transition from winter to spring! I'm very pleased with how they came out and I cannot wait to make more of them. I will have them for sale at my upcoming markets, but I may have to keep one for myself as a reminder of spring for the middle of next winter.