My wife, who is Haitian-American, requested I make a pilon for our home. A pilon is a mortar traditionally made out of wood and has a concave base, and many have a bold exterior design. Consulting my wife on the design, she asked that the word “pilon” be included on its face, and I used a glaze transfer to serve as the exterior floral design. Because this would be ceramic and not wood, I needed to take some design liberties on the shape and drew inspiration from Japanese ceramic mortars (suribachi). The final result maintains the essence of a pilon yet remains functional as a ceramic piece meant to withstand heavy wear.