#JA01 Grey Goyet Azalea

When my neighbor asked me, What to hang on a wall? I nearly choked on my microwaved burrito. The last time I'd given decorating advice, it ended with a restraining order and a lifetime ban from the local craft store. But she, bless her heart, was undeterred by my reputation.

"Have you considered a ceramic wall flower?" I suggested, surprising myself with my sudden expertise in modern artwork. "It's all the rage in Wall Art Decor circles, or so I've read on the back of cereal boxes." Her eyes lit up like a kid discovering that yes, you can indeed put ketchup on ice cream. I described the piece: a medium-sized grey-blue flower that bore an uncanny resemblance to an azalea, if daisies grew up in the mean streets of an industrial park. "It's perfect," she whispered, as if afraid to spook the idea. "It'll really tie together my collection of taxidermied squirrels and my great-aunt's urn."

As I watched her scurry off to find this ceramic wonder, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride. Here I was, an accidental trendsetter in the world of wall adornments. Move over, "Live, Laugh, Love" signs ?€? there's a new sheriff in town, and it's made of kiln-fired clay.