Easter is like Christmas in a lot of ways. Both carry enormous religious significance. And both have to do with the bringing of light into the darkness. Unfortunately, both have also been heavily commercialized and encumbered with Disneyesque overtones that are intended to inspire people to spend money. These two days are also alike in that they are much more enjoyable when there are little children around. Easter is a day for parades and Easter egg hunts, Easter dresses and bonnets. bright colors and other things that always bring delight into the eyes of children.

Easter is also a day for flowers. Especially lilies. There's nothing that says "Easter" like a lily. That was the "inspiration" for this year's Easter cup. I have to acknowledge that my work pales in comparison to Mother Nature's. So I'll still be buying my wife some real lilies. But this one might last a bit longer and remind us in some small way of the joy and beauty of nature.

I have a bad habit of starting things two days before I need to get them done. Then I have to rush the work to finish it on time. This time I got a good jump on it. Only three tries this time! The first one looked more like an exploded big toe than a lily. The second one was going pretty good until I forgot about that little tail sticking out the side and got the tool rest a bit too close. That produced some very interestingly shaped shards to add to my ever growing collection.

I should note that out of all the lilies I looked at before attempting this, not one had perfectly even curves or perfectly smooth transitions from one element to another. So I tried to emulate this imperfect quality while still maintaing a "true" form. As with most of the things I make, by the time I had finished this I had completely lost sight of it. So any comments and/or critiques are most welcome.

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