Something old

I have three small antique Chinese ginger jars, the everyday, cheap earthenware pots that were used in every home. They were found on Vancouver Island, buried in a garden, and are much the worse for wear. I use a couple of them to hold small tools and brushes that I use in the aquarium.

Today, I was looking more closely at the old glaze, and took a few close-up photos. Laurie says they look like fields of flowers.

Glassy crystals, pitting, and old earthenware showing through.

Almost like frost patterns.

The third pot holds some real flowers; dried pearly everlastings from a few years back. They seem to fit in with the pot design.

Pearly everlastings, Anaphalis margaritacea.

These grow by the roadsides in dry spots, and are dry and stiff even freshly picked. And they keep for years, as bright as the day they were picked. I always have a jar of them somewhere around the house.

The small whitish to yellowish flower grows in a corymb inflorescence. The inflorescence's most conspicuous part is the numerous white bracts that surround the actual flowers. (Wikipedia)

Work, work, work, work

... but I met the deadline.

How is it that every job takes 3 times as long as you budgeted for it, and needs something that you can't find?

I'm off to bed. But here's a photo, anyhow: Laurie's favourite vase from the Culture Crawl, made by Red Iron Studios.

'night, all.

Wobble Pots and Wonky Teapots

Blogging the Culture Crawl: third of a bunch.


I promised to look inside the Paneficio, but London Drugs Photos machine called in sick, so the photos will be ready tomorrow. I hope.

Instead, we'll wander down the street and look at a few ceramics studios.

Our first stop was Gailan Ngan; we had been pressing our noses to her windows every time we were in Strathcona, and never finding her there. This time, we would find her.


A wobble pot. Yes, that is its name. Her website explains;

Her ceramics blend a playful, sculptural energy with crisp, functional design. Her tableware includes an ongoing series of meditatively simple bowls, plates and cups, as well as her new “wobble pots,” footless, kinetic pottery that rocks gently, but safely, on your table. Designed to be stacked, these sets work as a unified sculpture when not in use.

And they do wobble, gently. And right themselves nicely, like one of those tipsy dolls we used to play with. The cups look like they would nestle happily in a hand, but I wouldn't want to fill one too close to the top.

I love to look at other people's work spaces. (Not mine; I always think, "Oh, I've got to clean that up!") So, here is a corner of Gailan's:


On down the street, we found the Red Iron Studios, and the pottery by Rod Wuetherick. Nice mugs, beautiful vases (later I'll post Laurie's photo of his favourite), bowls, and some delightfully wacky teapots:


Laurie calls this one the "Tin Man".


Against the window, the light fights with the pot. But then, this pot fights with reality in general. Imagine trying to pour hot tea out of that spout!

A quote on Rod's site warns us:

"A bunch of pots together is the worst place to view individual pieces--
it's like having all your friends in an elevator"
-Jack Troy, at Hiroshi Ogawa's kiln opening

And he's right. These pots, and the next group, really should be looked at one at a time. Imagine them sitting in state in the centre of your favourite table, maybe with your best cloth on it. See the difference?

And on to the next: Kathleen Murphy. No wobbling here, no jagged lines. Smooth, serene shapes, gentle curves. And vases that seem to stand on a point.



My favourite one, but look at that tiny base!

And something a little more practical, in the blue-y light from the window.


And no, we didn't buy any. Not this time. But we will be back, cash in hand.