Sometime last summer the gallery was contacted by a British-based design firm who had seen a wood-fired ceramic piece displayed in our web shop (www.theislandgallery.net/shop/) and was interested in having two made especially for one of her projects. The ceramic piece was local artist Shane Watson's Skyline Vase; the project was the world's tallest hotel, the new Hong Kong Ritz Carlton.
Shane went to work. Despite the extremely high level of difficulty, including the threat of clay body shrinkage and the high failure rate often associated with wood kilns, he was able to produce on time and to the hotel designers' exact specifications two big, magnificent pieces that look something like this:
Wood-fired Skyline Vase Shane Watson, 2010
The vases were delivered (very carefully) around the beginning of the year and now grace the Ritz Carlton's Fire Pit Lounge & Bar on its 102nd Floor. The hotel opened its doors on March 30, 2011. 
