garden on a plate workshop

This time of autumn is a quiet time of turning inward, of putting gardens to rest, of a bleak beauty, but if we look closely there are still bursts of brave life waiting for a little acknowledgment. On Saturday, we had a great time poking around in the garden looking for ferns, moss, tufts of grass,and anything that caught our eye. Michelle, our plant expert told us lots of interesting info on what would grow indoors. She also brought cones, mosses, a wasp nest and a whole collection of cool stuff. After digging around outdoors, we came into the studio to compose our gardens in all manner of odds and ends of plates, bowls, planters, cups, and whatever was lying around.Everyone had a good time and went home with at least one garden on a plate.

indoor gardens

Autumn is glorious, but I always have a few regrets at leaving the garden. This week I have been bringing bits in to make minis in old pots. It is so much fun that I want to share this pleasure with all interested. There will be a workshop Saturday October 16, $25 for a pot, $25 for the workshop. If you are interested, reserve a spot, my studio is tiny.

beautiful autumn days in Val David

We have been having a string of rainy, misty days , so beautiful in the woods. With the colored leaves the light is golden, there is a softness around all the edges. Wednesday mornings I go drawing in the woods, here are a few of my favorite spots to draw at.

chocolate/blueberry cake

The other night supper time was rolling around and I started thinking of what to make. As usual, I start with dessert. Needing a variation to my regulars,I came up with this one. It is in one of my pie dishes. Take any old chocolate cake recipe and put in the greased pan, stir in 1 cup of blueberry jam, give the whole thing a stir but not to completely blend. Bake at 350 for about 45 min. Yum

pumpkin pots

This is the time to bring in the squashes from the garden,but these squash inspired pots are still OK out. These pots are coil built, sawdust fired earthenware. I made them when my kids were little at a time when I was profoundly moved by the impact bearing and caring for children has on my body and psyche. I wanted this process to be valued, whereas I felt that as women we try to conceal all what is woman to preserve the girl. So, these pots are unadorned, a little lumpy, with some finger marks. They have a polish from being rubbed with a stone and feel ripe with the possibility to contain. They are sometimes sold as funeral urns, which I like very much. The idea of some ones ashes being in these pots, buried in the earth brings to mind being in the belly of mother earth, of earth to earth, of slowly returning to the earth. This to me feels mysterious, quiet, and lovely.

nectarine+blueberry pie

This summer, I have been using these platters for pies and they are working out just great. Here is my recipe: Pastry: in a food processor combine 1 cup of flour, 4 tablespoons of non-hydrogenated margarine, 1 tablespoon of cold water, and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Process until the whole thing makes a thumping noise and forms a ball. Press in the pan with your fingers. Sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of ground almonds over the base, slice nectarines to cover the bottom of the crust, fill in the wholes with blueberries, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the top, and dot liberally with butter. Bake at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and crust is golden. Let cool a bit and serve with a scoop of maple sugar ice cream.

Espace Kao

We are having a heat wave, so I am putting off firing for a couple of days. Maybe it's about time to look after other details, like this blog. Since the spring we have been super busy with a new ceramics gallery/shop in Val David, EspaceKao, in the old post office. We are a collective of 6 ceramic artists, all living and working in Val David or Val Morin. For the summer we have an exhibit of sculpture in stone by Jean Bisson Biscornet. He has for a theme birds and it is surprising how he captures the illusion of feathers in granite. Check out the Espace Kao blogspot for more. How did we find our name Kao? Well..... after much tossing around of ideas, we said lets just call it chaos in frustration and with a closer look, kao is the French pronunciation of chaos, kaolin is an ingredient in glazes and porcelain coming from the Chinese word for white mountains, as well as, chaos generally precedes creation, and I recently was told that the Chinese pictogram for chaos is the same as for opportunity. The past weeks have been a flurry of activity in the studio, I have been working with some new glazes all from the same base, all about half ash, and preparing for 1001pots that will start next week, [another reason to visit Val David]. Here are some of the new arrivals.

here is my first spring firing. We fired on Wednesday to unstack Friday morning. The weather was warm and it was so exciting to try out new pots and glazes. All the glazes are based on some local ingredient, sometimes all local ingredients. The ash is from our wood stove and the clays are from river beds or farm fields. This time I tried local ground stone to various levels of success. Alot had to be ground down and quite a few will be refired, but if you don't try, you never know. Allin all I am very encouraged by the results.

big bowls

I love to make big bowls. Now, I make them press molded with slabs and bits. They are in stoneware, glazed with local clays/ashes from our wood stove and sometimes more slip. These are wonderful for serving food as punchbowls, for balls of yarn, magazines or as an object all alone. 

planters

Although the temperature here is -20, I am thinking eventually things will warm up and we will be gardening once again. In the meantime, why not plant indoors. Here are my planters, some barrel-fired, some high fired. All are hand built and made for 4" pots. Check out this link.

http://garden-planters.com/

primitive fired bowls

Here are my latest barrel- fired pots. I have started doing a last polish with vegetable oil and the results are quite amazing. The finished pot is glossy and the surface is dense and smooth, no wax is necessary, the colours are vibrant with lots of subtlety. Even before firing the pots are shiny. the benefit here apart from esthetics is that there is no need for varnish or wax to be applied after firing and ,so, these are compatible with food.

winter firing

December brought lots of snow just in time to unstack. The studio is now bursting with new pots.