Connections

Visit me at the Dedham Farmer's Market on Wednesday, August 15th from 12-2.

I will be demonstrating on my pottery wheel

...a vase, a bowl, a plate and bowl (chip and dip), spoon rest and tumblers!

I'm a Potters Place potter and a Dedham Square Guild Artist.  Ask me about both!

Potters Place is my cooperative pottery studio in Walpole, MA.  I make my work here with 22 other clay artisans.

Dedham Square Artist Guild is my cooperative gallery where I sell my ceramic art with 28 other artists. It's right down the street from the farmer's market at 553 High Street.

Purchase your fruits and veggies, plus a lot of other wonderful fresh options (seafood, bread, ...) at the Dedham Farmer's Market.  Think about serving these items in locally made pottery.  That's the food and pottery connection!

Potato Potato

Powisset Farm grows many varieties of potatoes that end up in my kitchen after a farm distribution. Some are pictured below:

 My favorite variety of potato is All Blue.  

The reason is their vibrant color!

The Food and Pottery Connection:

Food:  All Blue Roasted Potatoes

All Blue Potatoes -

 scrubbed free of dirt and cut into like size pieces

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Roast potatoes in a 425 oven for 35 minutes.

Pottery: Serving Bowl 

in a color equally as beautiful with hints of orange to play up the All Blue potatoes.

Lisa WB Walker Wheel-thrown Bowl

Lily of the Valley

1982 Postage Stamp

On Saturday, my cooperative studio, Potters Place has their BIG studio clean up in preparation for Spring Show & Sale on May 4,5 & 6. 

I've been concentrating my work on the show's theme: Flora & Fauna

Using postage stamps for inspiration, the "LOVE" stamp has proved to be a favorite.  I use small square dishes or tiles, as a painter would use oil sketches, to do much of my experimenting for larger work. For this series, I began by playing with the flowers that make up each letter in the LOVE stamp.

L

O

V

E

I liked the "E" dish best and although it did not start out as Lily of the Valley on the stamp, it became that to me.  I choose that design and translated it to other forms.

Tumbler with white liner and baby blue rim

Bowl with floral motif

Wheel thrown mugs with slip-trailing decoration

Plate with carved rim

The Food & Pottery Connection:

 Today, it is the pottery that inspires the food...

Fill the Plate with carved rim with roasted asparagus; it's in season! Fill one bowl with floral motif with jasmine rice and the other bowl with a green salad with cut veggies to bring in color.  Fill a tumbler with your favorite beverage to complement your menu, the other tumbler can hold a small bouquet of flowers for the table. The finale: a cup of tea in a mug with slip trailed decoration and shortbread cookies served on "E" dish. What a delicious spring meal inspired by my Lily of the Valley spring collection!

Roasted Asparagus

2 bunches asparagus, dry ends snapped off

Line a roasting pan with foil and spray with olive oil

Place asparagus on pan in single layer, coat with more olive oil

     and sprinkle with kosher salt

Roast in a 450 oven for 12 minutes

In a small skillet, brown butter, add balsamic vinegar and reduce

When asparagus is done, move to serving plate and drizzle with

     vinegar.

Visit my website to see more Flora & Fauna inspired work.

70 and Sunny

Star Magnolia

It seems spring has sprung and just in time to celebrate Mom's 70th birthday!

First daffodil of the season in my yard.

Between the daffodils and the forsythia, yellow is everywhere.... 

(it's Mom's favorite color too!)

I have a great ap on my iphone called foodgawker.  You can search for recipes via photos.  Clicking on a photo takes you to a blog.  I typed in "Yellow" and found this delicious looking recipe that I know Mom would love for her birthday dinner.  If you click the recipe, there is a link to the blog called Big Flavors From a Tiny Kitchen.

 Salmon with Snap Peas, Yellow Peppers, and Dill-Pistachio Pistou

Bon Appétit August 2009

yield: Makes 4 servings

A chunky pistou with full pistachio flavor adds depth to this fresh salmon dish. Want even more vegetables? Slice lemon cucumbers (a wonderful farmers' market variety that looks somewhat like a yellow tomato) and add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of dill to make the perfect starter.

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup finely chopped green onions (about 2)

1/2 cup shelled natural pistachios or almonds, toasted, finely chopped

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons pistachio oil or extra-virgin olive oil

2 yellow bell peppers or orange bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips

1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup water

4 6-ounce salmon fillets

Mix dill, green onions, pistachios, and 1/4 cup oil in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Pistou can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and sauté until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add snap peas, garlic, and 1/4 cup water; sprinkle with salt. Sauté until vegetables are just tender and water evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 rounded tablespoon pistou. Transfer vegetables to platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Reserve skillet (do not clean).

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin side down, in skillet; cook until skin is crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn salmon and cook until almost opaque in center, about 3 minutes longer. Arrange salmon fillets over vegetables. Spoon some pistou down center of each fillet and serve, passing remaining pistou alongside.

Lisa WB Walker Daffodil Bowl

I think this recipe would be lovely served in my Daffodil Bowl, don't you? It's for sale at the Dedham Square Artist Guild located at 553 High Street in Dedham, MA.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Carpe diem!

Winter has arrived in New England after a clear night and a full moon.  The dusting of snow has set the calendar right and with the seasonal shift, the light has giving birth to new colors. 

Spotting the snow first thing this morning, I found my curiosity peaked. I began roaming my house in search of the gifts created by the dawn of a new day in a new season...

Seeing my new photographs intermingled with ones recently taken on holiday to New York City, I found colors of a similar ilk.

And then I noticed a tonal similarity in a collection of my own pottery....
 

The combination of browns and blue side by side and together like the colors of the earth and the sky.

Life is Art. Art is Life.

The world is a beautiful place.  We can't forget to take the time to look around and see what is right before our eyes.  I can't imagine living anywhere else but in the ever changing landscape of New England.

Carpe diem!