pottery — Page 3

Fog, Paths, Pottery & Hartford

September 12, 2017 at 9:41 am by Claudia

This is the view I woke up to – one of my favorites:

Fall and fog.

Sigh. I have to drive back to Hartford today. I’ve been nestling in here at the cottage and it’s been a joy. I don’t want to exaggerate, however. I’m only going back for 2 days – maybe 3 – and then I’m home for good. I packed up quite a few things last Sunday and hauled them home. Hopefully, this will make the rest of the packing easier. Fingers crossed.

Don made this path with some pavers he found at Lowes – it’s behind the kitchen. You can see our rain barrel, which handles overflow from our wonky gutters. There is a flat grassy area behind the kitchen that gets very wet as it’s at the bottom of a small hill. We’d like to do more with it next year. Anyway, this little path is the start. (Don was very busy while I was away!)

I made biscuits last night. Yes, I’m the only one here, but…Stella. And biscuits.

Note baking chart inside oven door: Biscuits – 450. Check. 12 -15 minutes. Check, although I tend to go for 11 or 12 minutes at max.

Made a jelly roll lately? 400 degrees, 12 -15 minutes.

They get so poufy that they sometimes fall over. That’s because they’re Cloud Biscuits. I’m taking some back with me. Comfort food.

I’ve been noticing a line of pottery on Instagram, greatly favored by much younger bloggers, some of them fanatic collectors. It’s made by potter Rae Dunn and it’s sold at Home Goods, T J Maxx and Marshalls. She has other lines, as well, that are sold elsewhere. The appeal of this particular line centers on the use of words in a engaging font, along with the slightly irregular shape of the mugs. I’m not about to be a big collector, but I did buy a few pieces, drawn, in part, by this one:

Why Chill? Well, besides the obvious good advice, Chill is me. C. Hill. As I said on Instagram, this was embroidered on every item of clothing I wore in gym class or took to camp. It was written inside all my book covers.

I’m C. Hill. And I remain a Hill legally. Even though I go by Hill-Sparks professionally, I never changed my name when I married Don. I had no desire to shed what had been my legal surname for over 40 years. Don was completely fine with that.

So. Long story, but that’s why I love this mug!

Some more pieces. I love the bowls. We always need bowls around here. I’ve always been drawn to words on things – I’ve had some of the Emma Bridgewater Toast and Marmalade pieces for years. The lettering on the Rae Dunn pieces is very like the font I chose for my blog; another reason I’m enamored.

The mug behind Chill says Play.

And then there’s this one, which was in yesterday’s post. I found it at Home Goods. Also Rae Dunn.

Luckily, I don’t have a lot of extra room around here. Maybe a few pieces, but that’s it.

Some of you wrote to me when Irma was on the way to the Tampa area and I’d love to hear how you’re doing. When you have a moment, please leave a comment. Mere and her family are okay. Exhausted, but okay. Little Z declared on his own last night that it was time to go to bed. He was tuckered out.

Happy Tuesday.

On the Road: Back to Guy Wolff’s Shop and Studio

July 26, 2017 at 7:52 am by Claudia

It was a cloudy day yesterday and very cool for this time of year. Both of us miss the adventure of our road trip, so I suggested a drive to Connecticut and Guy Wolff’s Pottery Studio. If you remember, when I visited there a few months ago and talked to Guy for a couple of hours, in addition to hearing him play his banjo, I was sure he and Don would hit it off. I vowed to come back with Don in tow.

So, off we went. This time, the GPS took us on another route to Bantam, CT, and thank goodness it did! It was so lovely and avoided the interstate (I’ll have to travel that all too soon when I head to Hartford).

Quintessential New England country towns and historic homes, white steeples and green everywhere. And this:

A covered bridge in Kent, CT. It’s very narrow and allows only one car through at a time. We stopped on the other side to walk back and look at the river.

There were windows cut into the bridge walls. But here’s the view without the window:

So beautiful!

After the inevitable bathroom stop, we drove up the driveway to Guy’s studio. The door was locked and I thought “Oh no! He’s not here!” but just as that thought entered my brain, I heard his voice calling out to us as he came out of his house, where, as it happens, he was playing his banjo.

This time, we entered through his workroom, where the clay is shaped and made into the pots and the kilns fire the clay . He gave us a brief tour. Then, into the shop, where I showed Don Guy’s banjo and Guy immediately started playing it for Don. Then they started talking and got on like a house afire.

While they were doing this, I was looking at the pots. They talked music and musicians and theater and life. I sat down and joined them. It was just as fun and stimulating as the last time I visited. For an hour and a half or so, we had him all to ourselves, but eventually other customers came knocking at the door.

I bought these smaller versions of my favorite design, based on pots found in Cornwall. I love the pie crust edge.

But I also wanted to get some of his terra cotta pots.

On the left, an English hothouse pot, with his name and Bantam, CT marking the design. On the right a pot in his President series, this one based on pots found near Camp David, Maryland.

All of the pots are inside the cottage. Now I have to buy some more houseplants, don’t you think?

I also got this book. I regretted not buying it last time I visited.

Don bought a CD featuring Guy playing the banjo.

Such a lovely day!

Today: a visit to my car dealership for a recall replacement of my airbag. And mowing.

Happy Wednesday.

A Toast to a Dear Friend

June 5, 2017 at 8:49 am by Claudia

For your viewing pleasure:

A catbird taking a bath. A little blurry – he was shaking off the water and my camera wasn’t the steadiest, but I like the water going every which way.

I found this schefflera for one of my Guy Wolff pots.

I’m in love with these pots. I have to find two more plants for the other pots, but it’s surprisingly hard to find interesting houseplants around here. There are the usual contenders, most of which I already have. I miss the days when there were lots of little shops that carried interesting and exotic houseplants (I’m dating myself; this was in the seventies.) I suppose they’re still out there, but not in my neck of the woods. There is a little shop south of me which I will check out sometime this week.

I’m off to NYC later today. Back story: When I was teaching at Boston University, one of my colleagues was a gentleman named Rick Seer. Rick and I became great friends (he was an actor turned director and taught both acting and directing at BU.) When, in 1993, I realized I needed to move on to a better paying job, preferably at the graduate school level, Rick confided in me that he was applying for a job to head the Old Globe/University of San Diego Professional Actor Training Program. He then told me there was an opening for the Voice/Speech teacher, as well, and urged me to apply. I did, all the while thinking that though this seemed to be the perfect job for me, no department was going to hire both Rick and I at the same time. Rick had the inside track as he had guest directed out there and they knew him.

Nevertheless, I applied and much to my surprise, I got an interview. So did Rick. I think our interviews were a week apart. I flew out there, met everyone, taught a class, talked to a lot of powers-that-be and flew back home. Rick interviewed as well. I never thought I would get the job but, interestingly, I got the news that I had been hired before Rick found out if he had been hired. I didn’t want to entertain the thought of going out there without him – I’d never been to California before my interview – so I was on pins and needles waiting to hear about Rick’s situation.

He finally heard from them. He got the job. We said goodbye to Boston (very bittersweet) flew out there to find places to live, and then started a whole new life in San Diego. Rick turned out to be the best Chair there could possibly be. He built that program into one of the most respected training programs in the country. He spearheaded the building of a new theater on the campus of USD. He raised the standards for training and, together, we auditioned actors for the program in major cities throughout the country, accepting only seven each year (one of them was Jim Parsons.)

After eight years, I left the program to move east with Don.

Rick is retiring after having run the program for 24 years. There was a goodbye party and celebration on the west coast and tonight is the celebration on the east coast.

Besides being my dear friend, Rick was the catalyst for my move to San Diego, where I worked at the Old Globe theater coaching over 80 productions, taught in a program that is greatly respected, and when I went back there to coach Shakespeare in the summers of 2008-2010 because Rick recommended me to Darko, established a connection that continues to this day. Much of my professional coaching since then has been the result of contacts made while I was at the Old Globe.

And, of course, that is where I met Don.

So I have much to thank Rick for. Can’t wait to see him this evening and raise a glass for a great colleague, boss, and friend.

Happy Monday.

Fog, Paths, Pottery & Hartford

On the Road: Back to Guy Wolff’s Shop and Studio

A Toast to a Dear Friend

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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