Ceramics has always been a craft dear to my heart. It is a meditative activity and I have always enjoyed the muscle memory and learning new techniques over the years. I am constantly saving ideas for future projects, I admit; even with a cabinet full of lovely objects already. Another pleasure I find in making these handmade lovelies is the act of giving. (Have you read the 5 Love Languages? Can you guess mine?) That's right. I find great pleasure in being able to give to others. So ceramics has been a great way for me to combine two loves, hand made beautiful objects & the art of giving.
Last spring I signed up for a course at Pewabic Pottery (if you're not familiar; they're very well known ceramics studio & quite historical.. check out the link below!) Ceramics touches on a part of my spirit that loves hands on, "old school" romantic art. Just really hand built with time and precision, no way to get good at this but practice - style art.
I found great inspiration this Spring & combined my love for ceramics & eating delicious homemade, soul satisfying Ramen. Man, do I love a good bowl of Ramen. I spent hours searching for just the right bowl... what do I want my bowl to look like. How would I use it. How much Ramen can I fit in my tummy. Do I want to share? I found the perfect bowl for my kitchen & fell in love with the idea of carving holes to hold the chopsticks in the bowl (check out some chopstick etiquette if your curious about why it's important how you rest these guys while your eating, check out the link below) I was also influenced by the Japanese Sumi Painting which you can see in the strokes of black glaze I have painted over the white in the images below.
I am attaching a process photo, an additional finish shot not shown on my ceramics page & some of the yummy dishes I've made and enjoyed in these bowls! Yes they get used!! I wish I had taken more in process photos retrospect. I think it's so useful to share the creative building of a project.
http://www.pewabic.org/
http://www.fluentu.com/japanese/blog/introduction-japanese-chopstick-etiquette/
