Vintage Wednesday: Finding your passion.

Mama's got a new passion. I can't blame her because it's a passion of mine too. She's started collecting Van Briggle pottery - in Ming blue. And she's taught me a couple things as she's pursued this passion.

It started with the vase above (nestled among another of her collections). She knew it was Van Briggle. She liked the color. She liked the flower (a columbine). She got the vase, and started a new collection.

She found that this particular color was inspired by Chinese pottery. Founder Artus Van Briggle was interested in Chinese glazes - particularly the dead glaze process used during the Ming Dynasty. Ming blue is a color you'll see in all the decades of Van Briggle pottery. Some collectors note you can guess at the decade in which the pottery is produced by the highlights (or lack thereof) made by the darker blue overglaze.

Whether the color of the Colorado sky or inspired by ancient Chinese art, I'm sure it's inspired passion in many a collector's heart.