Srivilasa has an ongoing interest in the incredible craftsmanship of the 18th century Meissen Snowball Blossom Teapot, observed in Germany many years ago. His series Flower Bear was inspired by the intricate, decorative technique whereby hundreds of hand-formed and painted flowers are applied to the clay surface. He was most impressed by the amount of patience, concentration and skill required by the traditional German makers and it inspired him to create work with a similar resonance and ambition.

Srivilasa is someone who admits to having a short attention span and is easily distracted by social media. The patience and time required to make dextrously apply hundreds of small flowers to his figurative work brought even more admiration and respect to traditional craftspeople.

Using his residency in Jingdezhen in late 2010 to undertake this project, Srivilasa created Flower Bears, imaginary creatures made from many individual petals and flowers.

The shape of a bear was chosen as it is cute and cuddly, to exercise the power of cuteness to connect to people.