Ceramic candleholders, 'Bright Sunflowers' (pair)

Product Review

NOVICA, in association with National Geographic, offers thousands of limited edition and one-of-a-kind gifts, jewelry, and home decor treasures handmade by master artists and artisans throughout the world. Golden sunflowers reach towards the heavens awaiting the soft glow of candle light in this pair of ceramic candleholders. Passionately hand-crafted by the Castillo Family, each piece will hold three candles at uneven levels creating a wondrous illusion. Artisan Info: The Castillo family's artistry has been featured in periodicals ranging from Sunset magazine to The Cincinnati Inquirer. The Castillo family has many years of experience hand-crafting Talavera-style ceramics in Guanajuato, Mexico. Their workshop seeks to rescue this traditional, world-renowned ceramic style. Although true Talavera ceramics are made only in the city of Puebla, the techniques are also practiced by artisans in Guanajuato. Talavera dates from the colonial period when Spanish priests taught indigenous peoples to craft ceramics using Majolica techniques. Over the centuries, Talavera evolved as a style of its own. To create this Talavera-style art, native clays of the region are mixed, then liquified and poured into molds. Once the creation is dry - a day or two later - it is removed from its mold and smoothed, then permitted to dry completely for two more days before being fired at 950 degrees Celsius. After firing, the ceramic is submerged into glaze, then left to dry. The design is sketched onto the