I never imagined I'd be the type to obsess over wall decor, but here I am, utterly captivated by a ceramic flower the size of my palm. It's blue, which is a relief because if it were green, I'd worry about my apartment looking like a terrarium for depressed fairies. This isn't your run-of-the-mill fake flower, oh no. It's been glazed with some fancy technique that makes it look like it's been dipped in the tears of a very sad mermaid. I like to think it's what would happen if Picasso decided to take up pottery while going through a serious Blue Period relapse. When people ask me what to hang on a wall, I used to shrug and suggest a calendar or maybe their children's artwork if they were feeling particularly brave. Now, I have an answer that makes me sound like I know something about interior design: "Why, an abstract ceramic flower, of course!" It's an imitation flower, which is perfect because I can finally tell my mother I'm nurturing something without the risk of killing it. Plus, it's abstract art, so when guests tilt their heads and squint at it, I can nod sagely and mutter something about "challenging perceptions of floral representation in modern ceramics."