Look what we found. A beautiful ceiling!

If I haven't mentioned it before, we're doing two, count 'em, two kitchen renovations. One in WA and one in AZ.

The Washington one was planned; the Arizona one, not.

The Washington kitchen was charming, but old, decrepit and worn out.

The Arizona one was a whole-house disaster caused by a broken reverse osmosis water system that flooded the house. All the walls had to have the drywall removed, the framework treated for mold and the carpets ripped up. Built-in cabinets de-laminated and had to be removed. Thankfully, we have a very good insurance company that is replacing and repairing all the damage, but we are of necessity doing kitchens in stereo.

Anyway,

We're down to the studs in Washington. And when the ceiling got ripped out this Friday, look what we found!

A Great set of rafters. Unfortunately, we won't be able to raise the ceiling to the apex of the roof--support beams will have to be added and it will flatten the top somewhat, but hey, anything's better than it was before.

We also found a pristine wood floor under the top layers of parquet flooring and linoleum.

Inspiration

I ran across this on the web the other day.

It really hit my eye.

At first glance, I thought, "Round picture frame."

It is not that, but my mind went spinning into design mode and I saw this wonderful charger with a plain center and a highly decorated curved rim.

It is a form I've done before experimentally, a large plate with a curved down rim. But I have not made one with the plain center and ornate rim.

I'm clipping this as a springboard to tack up on the wall of the studio. A reminder of the next project, perhaps.

Now the full story--

It's an antique silver Japanese incense jar. The first photo was an overhead shot showing the bottom and rim of the piece.

Not a bad form either.

On the whole, Japanese silver is underrated and under priced. Only recently has it come into it's own as valuable pieces.

Same goes for Mexican silver. The quality is high in silver content in both productions, but until the value of silver began to go up, the work had little attention except for affectionados.

Virtuosity

An artist who paints, makes sculpture, weaves and makes jewelry is confusing to the world of commerce. Even though there are people who do all these things. It almost seems you must have a certain amount of fame before 'permission' to do multi-level work.

Let's face it. Artists are a unique breed. We see things differently. We have a different attitude toward work and our own interpretation of it.

Look at the work of Bennet Bean. Instantly identifiable. Once his work hit the main stream and the gallery world, everybody wants to have one of his sculptured and painted ceramic pieces. Debate raged about how to classify it. Is it sculpture? Is it painting? Is it 'really' pottery? (Who cares?-----me.) It's art. It's beautiful. That's enough for me.

But that's not the end of the story. Did you know he designs Tibetan rugs too? And jewelry? And knives? And he paints? I'm in awe of this man.

Take a look at bennettbean.com.

I have seen some of his knives and they are a thing of absolute and breath-taking beauty.

Renovation Revolution

Coffee and Dog Food are now available in the guest bathroom,

dinner will be served in the Living Room,

and the laundry room is the new multi-purpose room.

The kitchen renovation has begun!

P.S. Wonder if you can make a ceramic gong? I've made a bell before; it could work.

So Simple

How beautiful.

Featured artist at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Portland OR, Jason Russell's work is the essence of distilled form married with beautifully simple design.

His is the kind of work that makes you think, "Wow, I wish I had thought of that."

Definitely reminds me of Danish ceramics.

More on

http://www.designsponge.com/2011/08/jason-russell-ceramics.

and

http://www.jasonrussellceramics.com/gallery.html#

Flying Dreams

According to one source:

"Flying dreams fall under a category of dreams known as lucid dreams. Lucid dreams occur when you become aware that you are dreaming. Many dreamers describe the ability to fly in their dreams as an exhilarating, joyful, and liberating experience.

If you are flying with ease and are enjoying the scene and landscape below, then it suggests that you are on top of a situation. You have risen above something. It may also mean that you have gained a new and different perspective on things. Flying dreams and the ability to control your flight is representative of your own personal sense of power."

Well

That's encouraging.

Last night in my dreams, I was in a space-age airport. I watched a conversation between a uniformed pilot and a stewardess and decided to collect my luggage, which was wicker, and get my car so I could drive to a ferry and head home. My luggage disintegrated before I could pick it up. (So now, I have no baggage??)

I was in a hurry so I decided to fly. I levitated as soon as I left the terminal and floated near the treetops toward a security gate of hurricane fencing. People were pointing to me, but I didn't care, I was making really good time. All of a sudden, a reporter began running on the ground trying to ask me questions.

"How are you doing that?" he asked.

"I make a counter force against gravity; it's very simple." I said. "But I have to concentrate to maintain it."

"Who are you and have you been doing this long?" he asked.

"I won't tell you my name. I've been doing this since I was a child." I answered.

Meanwhile the gate guard begins running around in circles like a bug, worried I will cross the gate without identification. I know I have the right pass, but ignore him anyway and proceed to float across the area where the gate is.

"Will you tell the secret of how you can do this?" the reporter asks.

"Yes, I'm going to do a college seminar soon on how this works." I said.

I woke up feeling absolutely wonderful, exhilarated and well-rested.

The reference article ends with:

In reality, we cannot really fly, of course. Thus, such dreams can be representative of things that are beyond your physical limitations. In your mind, you can be anybody and do anything. Another way of interpreting flying dreams is that these dreams symbolize your strong mind and will. You feel undefeatable and that nobody can tell you what you cannot do and accomplish. Such dreams are sure to leave you with a great sense of freedom.

I guess my mind is saying, "Everything is going to be okay."

I'll go with that.

Update and Thoughts on Pitchers

Before & Now

Our house is slowly being put back together. Thank heavens we have another place to stay.

However

We will soon be tearing that up......but only partially. We've been planning a kitchen re-do for some years and finally, finally got down to it. Of course, practically the day we signed the contract was when the flood happened. So some fast reshuffling had to go on.

I must remember to take some before and after pictures.

Anyway

In reference to the previous post, I was thinking about pitchers. What makes a good pitcher?

I immediately thought about balance and function. First, a pitcher must feel right when you pick it up. It shouldn't be too small or too large depending on what you plan to put in it.

Almost goes without saying.

A pitcher must feel right when you pick it up--not too heavy on the bottom that you feel you cannot pour it without ease. A lot of that has to do with how high the handle sits on the body. Too low and it feels uncontrolable; too high and it feels like you cannot pour it all out. Luckily most pitchers are made well so the problem rarely comes up.

The handle should have as good heft to it, one that gives you the confidence that control will be easy.

The body must be big enough and light enough to hold the quantity of liquid needed. Nothing is worse than a pitcher that isn't large enough to contain all that you want in it.

And last, but most important, the spout must pour well. You must be able to aim the liquid to the target with confidence. Not too stingy; not too generous, the spout must also be designed to contain the liquid without the threat of spillage.

I've often wondered why pitchers have traditionally been made with no lid. Of course, fitting one would be tricky, but do-able. You would think keeping bugs out might be a good thing. Wine, fruit juice, beer--they all are attractive to bugs. The German beer mug is one example and the Mediterranean net-work cover is another, but an integrated lid just didn't seem to happen.

Some of the best examples of well-made pitchers are the old wash stand sets used in the age when indoor plumbing was absent. They were made of all shapes and adornments, designed to hold large quantities of hot water. And the decorative designs are legion.

Today, pitchers are not used that much. As a matter of fact, one show I was in brought a surprise when a very young child looked at a pitcher and asked his mom what it was. Juice boxes, canned drinks, milk cartons, plastic bottles have just about pushed the pitcher out of modern life.

Two Pitchers

More from my files:

I often wonder if pitchers are going to be a thing of the past. At one show I where I had a booth, a potter remarked to me that the younger generation hardly knows what they are.

If you think about it, we don't use pitchers nearly as much as earlier generations did.

Nearly all our liquids come in either plastic or cardboard-like boxes.

These two pitchers are literally worlds apart.

The Chinese one looks like castle walls, roof tiles, curly toed boots and heavy fur-lined coats. I find it interesting that the structure above the handle serves no purpose except decoration. The pitcher is solid. straightforward and no nonsense. I also like the idea of the lid.

The glaze is perfect for the form.

This pitcher is all elegance and practicality at the same time. It is designed to hold a lot of liquid.

The spout would certainly pour and do that generously. I'm guessing it is a large piece meant to hold water or a liquid that would be used liberally. It's primary use was probably for water.

The handle is hefty, yet very decorative. It's almost too light for the rest of the vessel. Because it is decorated in a reference to a dog head, I would guess it was made in either France or Germany, since both those countries used that motif in their handles.

The design touch of banding serves as to emphasize the wonderful curve of the pouring lip, the roundness of the body. What an elegant piece.

Charmer

Since I can't get to my studio to work, I thought I'd share a few pictures of pots I've grabbed off the web to dream over.*

This little gem comes with not much information. All the information is in what the eye can see.

It's either Japanese or made during the period of high influence from Japan and China. You can guess just by looking at it that it isn't large; it's probably very light in the hand.

It's interesting both in form and decoration. The piece probably was mold-made. It is more than likely porcelain and has an applied lid knob and handle. The triangular shape is unique.

Two things tip you off to know it's made in the East: The side-mount handle and the spout, which hearkens to saki-pot pourers.

Just look at that glaze design! Almost like someone had taken glue and layered the pot with fine brocade. And what a sensitive bounce of bluish white and dark navy. That fine white line all around the rim sets off and calls attention to the triangular shape. A sensitive design element that adds grace to the pot.

How I would love to handle this pot. To turn it over and see what the base looks like, what clay was used, to try pouring out of it. (Although you already know it would do an excellent job with nary a drip.)

What an inspiration to use for shape and decoration.

*If you have a Mac, it's easy to click on a jpeg, drag it to the desktop, let it go. It will sit there waiting to be opened or drug into another folder to be stored for later viewing. I usually re-name the file as a memory aid, or if I know who made the piece, the artist's name.

Yee Gods!

From this:

To this:

Our osmosis water treatment unit under the sink sprung a roaring leak and the entire house was flooded up to the door sills.

The carpet and pad soaked it up like a sponge.

The yardman noticed our side patio door porch was wet and went to take a look. Then called us.

We don't know how long the leak had been going on, but enough to damage the walls and furniture.

We have a wonderful insurance company who immediately called a disaster rescue company who arrived with about 5 trucks, big pumps, fans, dehumidifiers and went to work moving all the furniture to the center of the rooms, removing soaked carpet and, when the dryness reading was reached, started tearing out the walls up to about 3-3 1/2 feet. (In the second picture, you can see from the dining area into the kitchen through the bottom of the wall.)

All, I mean all, of the cabinets in the house had to go as well as the doors--except the outside ones for now. All of the closets and storage areas had to have the bottom shelves and built-up floors removed.

So, for the past week, we have been dealing with insurance contractors, first in damage control and now in trying to figure out how to put everything back together.

Some furniture can be saved. We're in the process of working with a restorer/estimator who will take the fixable back to his workshop and start work on putting it back to new. My great barrister's bench, which is mahogany, will probably survive. As will the safari chairs and end tables. (we think). My lounge chair and the office chairs will make it.

Our very clever hide-a-bed cabinet delaminated and the mattress is toast. The front of this chest folded down to reveal a folded-up twin bed. I'll not find another one like this. And, I'm afraid the Chinese Chippendale chairs may have split legs.

An antique Empire red oak drop-leaf table is standing in the family room looking very drunk. Legs splayed like a poleaxed oxen. I think it's done for.

Our office furniture is ruined, but the paper in the files survived. The beds are all okay, since they are on high metal legs. But our bedroom furniture didn't make it.

We just put new drapes in the family room and bedroom.

And my little Featherweight Singer carrying case with it's custom card table were on the floor of the guest bedroom. They may be a loss.

My studio was virtually untouched. All the books survived as did my pictures and prints. The Christmas decorations were all in a big plastic tub. My quilts are okay. The family room sofa and chair as well as the end tables seem to be okay.

But--

Nobody died; nobody got hurt.

And it's just stuff, after all.

And our insurance with either restore it or replace it. So in the end, we're lucky. It was worth all those years of premiums.

And guess what. I not only 'get' to to a complete kitchen renovation, I get TWO kitchens and a whole house.

(Um, all the bathroom cabinets have to be replaced too.)

Paint chips.....floor tile..... granite counters.... cabinet doors ....This is going to be my life for quite a while, I think.