Wintry Mix

Happy New Year and happy winter! I am emerging from a post-Holidays hiatus. A light, dry snow fell yesterday. I like how when it first started snowing the wind blew it into wispy, whiskery streaks along the street.

And how it created a halo glow around this piece of string.

The last snow here in Philadelphia was in December- we got a crazy 23 inches or something. I had to go to A Very Kensington Christmas at Greensgrow Farms the next day, and I woke up early to dig out the car, got stuck trying to drive closer to my house to load up, but eventually, finally, made it. However, I was one of the only ones to do so that day.

I had been at this event the previous weekend, though, and it was great! A Very Kensington Christmas is InLiquid's holiday sale at Greensgrow Farms, a really cool urban farm and nursery in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. People were coming by throughout the day to pick up their CSA share, Christmas trees and wreaths, and shopping at our tables for gifts.

Greensgrow was also selling soups and-- get this-- chestnuts! which were actually roasted on an open fire! I could not resist. Have you ever had one? They can be difficult to open, especially when they are charred, the leather skins get brittle. Then there is a furry layer which is funny and soft, but it tastes bitter so you need to pick that away as well. And then, if your chestnut hasn't crumbled apart by this point, you have a brainy-textured nugget that tastes sweet and roasty, with a powdery and creamy texture that ends up melting in your mouth.

Pulling Triggers: A work in progress

Here is a project I have been working on for the past few months: someone put me in touch with a fellow who needs some cups made for his wife. She has rheumatoid arthritis, so she has a specific mug that is comfortable for her to hold, based on things such as the size, weight, placement and size of the handles. This is a photo of one of her own mugs on the left. I am told that Bennington Potters in Vermont makes this style of mug, and it is often referred to as a Bennington Trigger.

But inevitably, cups break, and her supply of these are running low.


Her husband asked me to make some more for her. "It has to fit her like a glove," he told me. I said I'd give it a shot.



I finished a batch and sent them to her to try out. They returned with her user feedback on little stickies. For example:






So I have made another set, trying to get the size and hole placement right on target, and we shall see how it feels.

It is cool to have a project like this, which not only makes my degree in industrial design seem relevant but also gets me to throw many pots.

I also am learning to appreciate how difficult daily life is--just holding a coffee cup-- for someone with rheumatoid arthritis.

My Burning Question For You

One of the most helpful ideas I got from Julia Galloway's workshop (previous post) is that the point of making art is to explore and celebrate. This might have been a notion I vaguely understood in the back of my head, but thinking about what I learned from the workshop really crystallized it for me.

So I have been trying to organize my own work and process within this idea: what do I want to explore and celebrate through the making of pottery? What am I already exploring?


I think one theme I have definitely been trying to understand in my work is that of Comfort.

My years at art school majoring in industrial design compels me to gather data from the world outside my head. I mean, I have ideas of what comfort is, but maybe I really have no idea what comfort is. So I am going to ask everyone out there to explain comfort. Please leave a comment below or send me a message here. Tell me one word, or five words, or an anecdote, or send me an image that describes comfort for you.

I think Maggie here has figured out what comfort is!