Show & Sale Goodies

I'll be filling my extruded vases with flowers

Potters Place Spring Show and Sale is Friday through Sunday, May 4 - 6 at 127B Old West Street in Walpole, MA.  With 23 members creating in clay, there will be so many wonderful pieces to looks at, purchase, and study for future inspiration.  The show and sale is a means for the members to exhibit and sell their work, as well as, raise money to offset the costs of running a not for profit pottery school.

The show theme is Flora and Fauna. Here's what you'll see from me when you arrive at the studio.

Lily of the Valley Collection

Assorted Votive with floral surface decoration

plates, bowls, mugs of all sizes and shapes

embellished platters

and Much More!

Friday night is the artist reception and I'll bringing some goodies to serve on some handmade pottery. 

The Food and Pottery Connection ~

Serve these:

Blondies (not Brownies)

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour just until blended then fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Place the cookies 3 inches apart onto the cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on top. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

On this:

 dishwasher safe hand crafted platter

Blue petal platter

 

The HAND made connection

Over the weekend I decided to make homemade pizzas.  It was a first time adventure for our whole family.  Making the pizza dough was so much like working with clay, I must admit I was having a hard time sharing.  I found a great recipe in a new cookbook I bought recently called Cooking for Teens.  

Here's the recipe for pizza dough (found on page 92)

kneading dough

Sprinkle 1x1/4oz package dry yeast over

1 3/4 cup warm water. 

Set aside for 10 Minutes.

Combine 6 cups white bread flour,

1 tsp salt,

1 tsp sugar,

2 Tbs Olive Oil then add water/yeast.

Knead 10 minutes on a floured surface. 

Oil bowl, place dough in, cover, rest 30 minutes til doubled.

Divide into 4 balls. Cover and rest 1 hour.

wedging clay

Such Similarities!

When the dough had risen, we each made our own pizzas and shared with each other.  Our favorite was the Margharita.   

Here is the recipe for Margharita Pizza:

Preheat oven to 425. 

Roll out ball of dough to 10 inches.

Place on greased cookie sheet. 

Spread with pizza sauce. 

Top with slices of mozzarella cheese and torn fresh basil leaves. 

Bake in oven 12-20 minutes. 

Sprinkle with extra torn basil leaves before serving.

The Food and Pottery Connection:

Food: Making Pizza!

Pottery: Play with Clay!

The Hand Made Connection!

Try your HAND in clay at one of my workshops this week:

Create a Clay Bunny/Animal on Wednesday and Carve a Clay Tile on Saturday.  Signs up are still ongoing so Sign Up! Come Play with Clay with me in Dedham this week!

Photos for this blog were found using search on google images.

Vacation snacks & Pottery workshops

This Friday marks the start of school vacation week in Massachusetts.  It can be a challenging time for families not going away on vacation.  Parents look for things to keep kids happy, active and having fun. Dedham, Massachusetts, for the third year, will institute "no TV week" It's a great idea that encourages parents and kids alike to think outside the box, literally, and get out and about.

On Wednesday, April 18th from 10-11am, I will host a make a clay bunny workshop for kids first grade and older. Parents too!  

Learn to make a bunny out of clay by pinching and pulling.  Then add details like ears, eyes, feet and a nose using the scratch and slip technique. 

bunny with glaze awaiting kiln

I will dry your bunny, give it a clear glaze (see above) and fire it in a kiln at Potters Place

When your bunny is done, you can come to the Dedham Guild for pick up. It takes a little while, but I'll let you know when you can take your clay pet home.

meet "Flora", my country bunny

Sign up through the Dedham Guild. Click here for more information.

Kids need snacks to keep them fueled for creating!

Also called GORP

GOBBLEDY GOOK

4 cups chex rice cereal
1 cup peanuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pretzels
3 tbsp. margarine, melted

Place all ingredients in a 2-quart re-sealable plastic bag, seal and shake until mixed. 

 The Food and Pottery Connection:

add colorful m&ms to the mix

now they're ready to play with clay!

I'm also offering a tile workshop for teens and adults.  Click here for information on my Saturday, April 21st workshop through the Dedham Guild.

Some of the above photos have been added to illustrate my ideas.  Search google images for photo credits.

Clay Baskets and Chocolate Eggs

While vacationing in North Carolina this past summer, I visited Seagrove.  In their shop, I spotted a wonderful little clay basket. You can see it on the bottom shelf in the photo to the left. 

I thought: "You can only make that in clay!"

When I began to create my spring collection, I knew I wanted to include a basket.

My interpretation... wheel thrown and pinched.  
Hand pulled handle across with a swirl stamp.

I like the contrast between a soft white "liner" and 
a strong colored glaze for the exterior. 

The baskets hold flowers.  They would work well as a gift for Mother's Day.

I can imagine a flower girl in a wedding using one. 

The Easter bunny arrives on Sunday morning! 

Hop on over to the Dedham Square Artist Guild to pick up your Easter basket 

complete with a bunny tag!

The Food & Pottery Connection:

CHOCOLATE EASTER EGG RECIPE

http://www.painlesscooking.com/easter-candy-recipes.html

• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 6 oz melted semi sweet chocolate chips
• 3 oz softened cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 ½ to 3 Tbls hot water
• Dash salt
• 2 lbs melted dipping chocolate
• Candy decorations

1. Blend ½ pound powdered sugar with melted chocolate chips, cream cheese, vanilla, hot water and salt.

2. With hands, work in remaining 1/2 lb powdered sugar.

3. Shape mixture into small balls; then shape balls into egg shapes.

4. Dip eggs into melted dipping chocolate; let set to harden.

5. Decorate for Easter.

Food: chocolate Easter eggs

Pottery: candy baskets

Make a bunny workshop-
I will teach kids, 1st grade an older, to create a bunny from clay. The workshop will teach pinch and pull, plus scratch and slip techniques.

Sign ups are open now for Wednesday, April  18 class through the dedham guild.

Willow Avenue Pottery

Becky makes all the stoneware pots of Willow Avenue Pottery. She and her husband live in Panora, Iowa, where they raise chickens and ducks, have beehives, and, belong to a CSA called "Small Potatoes"."


"Taking a ball of clay and turning it into a functional piece of art has always been the alluring aspect of ceramics to me.  I enjoy that there are an endless variety of techniques, materials, and firing methods." says Becky of Willow Avenue Pottery

When asked about her relationship between food and pottery, she sent me this recipe.  The ingredients were fresh in her refrigerator!

Becky's Killer Salad
a mix of lettuce, hard boiled eggs, soy nuts, two kinds of shredded cheese (both local, from the farmers market), croutons, and a handful of 'trail mix' which is a bunch of dried fruits/nuts, and some parm-cheese yogurt dressing.

She recommends any of her dent bowls.  They would be great for salads.

At every point in her life, clay has been an outlet for her creativity. In middle school, she started using the wheel.  Since then, Becky has looked for a way to make pots whenever she can. 

"My pottery is one of a kind. It is made for every day enjoyment." 

For more information on Willow Ave Pottery, check out Becky's blog, website, facebook and Etsy store.