Seattle, WA., March 12, 2002

WORD FOR SPRING PLANTERS THIS YEAR: BIG. BIG. BIG.

The hot big news for landscape gardening planters this spring can be summed up in one word: BIG.

At least as far as Cameron Oliva is concerned. His Champa Ceramics professional line of pottery includes exceptionally large sizes that are difficult to make. The pots, displaying heights up to 41" and widths of 36", says Oliva, president of Champa Ceramics, "consistently cause people to utter the word, "Wow!"

The Giant Ming, part of Champa Rustic II Series, for example, stands 41" tall with a width of 32" The hand-made pottery is high-fired stoneware, non-porous and can be used in all weather conditions. Champa Ceramics pieces are made in Vietnam, which recently was granted Normal Trade Relation status with America. Virtually all of Champa's garden pottery falls in the stoneware category.

"The Champa name," says Oliva, "derives from the Kingdom of Champa which thrived in what is now Central Vietnam for over a thousand years. Even now, impressive red brick towers and stone sculpture can be found in that same area of Vietnam, a testament to their engineering, creativity and artistry."

Today. notes Oliva, these attributes are expressed through the works of Vietnamese potters where human hands work on each pot to form, shape and apply the finishing details. All pieces are handmade with the clay coming from local sources.

After mixing and refining the clay, the appropriate consistency is then used to form the product. The bottom is formed first, then the walls are built up by using thick rope-like sections of clay that are then smoothed by hand and hardened using wooden mallets. Lastly, he said, the rim and any specified decorative ornaments are added to the pot. Finally, the clay pot is fired in wood burning kilns where a multitude of temperature, humidity, time and material variables inherent in the forming and firing process creates products displaying subtle unique variations.

"These large-sized urns for the outdoors are our specialty, "says Oliva, adding: "They can be used for plants, trees, water gardens, fountains or simply as objects of beauty. When they are filled with foliage, these pot plantings become 'Ambassadors' from the natural world. Used without any plantings at all, they can serve as highly-prized decorative items. Either way," he concludes, "the giant stoneware pottery can provide visual punctuations, terminations and accents in a landscape or garden as we once again welcome spring."

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