It is no secret that I am passionate about all things ginger jar! Their utilitarian purpose has long since been replaced by a decorative one. The history of the ginger jar and its simple origins for such an exotic looking storage jar for storing and transporting spices in Ancient China is an exciting one. We buy ginger in the supermarket and toss it in the fridge, not in a ginger jar – something that should be revised! Originally these beautifully decorative jars were used as containers for salt, oil and rarer spices such as ginger, hence the name they got when they began entering the Western world. I think everything should be stored in ginger jars in your kitchen! Even the most basic and utilitarian of kitchens would look stylish with a selection of ginger jars scattered around the kitchen storing your favourite seasonings.

One evening watching an interior design programme on television I noticed one of the houses had beautiful ceramic flatware (for want of a better description) in circular shapes with a chinoiserie design on hanging on a wall in the kitchen. It got me thinking. I am not a potter so how could I create something similar, and that was how I came up with the idea of MDF ginger jar cut-outs. The MDF has canvas glued to the one side and then that surface is painted to look like a ceramic surface. Once dry the chinoiserie design is created.

Originally I varnished the ginger jars once complete but then I got to thinking…. The result was ginger jars version 2.0. I’ve been experimenting with some ginger jars and resin and the results have been fabulous. The ginger jars illustrated below have a clear resin epoxy over the top giving them a high gloss finish. It looks like the decorative work has been captured in a clear glass bubble. Quite cool for the birds, fish and dragons! Unfortunately you cannot really see the effect of the resin on the jars in a photograph.

Ginger jars with an epoxy resin