Carrot Platter

Melissa Bridgman keeps a garden in midtown Memphis and paints what comes out of it. These platters are the result — carrots in four different oranges, one of them nearly red, with green tops that run off the edge of the dish. The shape does the practical work. Long and narrow, it's the right dish for the vegetables that never quite fit anywhere — roasted carrots straight off the sheet pan. Each platter is slab-built by hand, painted freehand in underglaze, and finished with a food-safe glaze. Melissa has been at the wheel since 2000 and still paints every piece herself, which is why no two carrots ever sit the same way.