I don't think I've ever mentioned my love of bowls here. I love bowls unreasonably, and I can always justify buying new ones. After all, they're useful, and I really do use all the ones I have. Everything from tiny little things that are meant to catch a soggy tea bag to the big, glorious green and pink bowl Rick carried home for me on a plane, back from a business trip to D.C. when we first met. I had never mentioned my thing for bowls, but somehow he just knew... isn't that romantic?
Over the weekend I went to friends Dean and Abby's open studios. Dean Pulver makes the most beautiful wooden furniture I've ever seen. Honestly. It's simple and quirky and elegant and solid and graceful. It makes my eyes happy, and it's wonderful to see it in person because touching it is as much fun as looking at it. One day I will own a piece. I promise.
Dean and Abby share a big territorial-style studio building that's larger than their home. Because Dean does wood and Abby does clay, there's a wall between the work spaces, but it's still a cozy and lovely set-up, where they can be together and alone just as much as they need to. I spent most of my visit on Abby's side. Abby Salsbury is the artist behind Butterpie Productions.
I had seen her work around town before, but had never been out to the studio. I made the trip specifically to buy bowls and I wasn't disappointed. The room was crowded with playful dances of color and form. It took a long time just to let my eyes wander through and see it all. There's magic in the simplicity of clean lines and bold color. And so I eventually settled on four small bowls in pink, orange, yellow, and red. They're a perfect size for all sorts of things. I've used them every day since I brought them home... The pink one full of cottage cheese sitting next to the orange one filled with Fritos... Seafood bisque in the pink one, on a turquoise Fiestaware plate with a grilled many-cheese-and-walnut sandwich... Even a humble bowl of cereal takes on new meaning in a truly good bowl...
Am I conveying how much I love these bowls? I won't even put them away in the cupboard. They live on the hand made tile (Jill Rounds) countertop, where I can smile at them when I'm not eating out of them.
And see those cookies in the jar on the left? Those are my own secret recipe, invented back when we had the pizza shop in Seattle. It was romantically called Honeymoon Pizza, and so... these are Honeymoon Cookies. Yes, I will share the recipe. But not today.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing the info on Amy and Dan. I especially love her work and the creative forms and colors. AND - saw your walking the plank picture in High Country News in Ernest Atencio's article on mud. When I first looked at the picture I knew I'd seen it before and sure enuf it had you name on it...see, folks are reading your blog :-) Brenda Leap, Loveland CO
Thanks for showing us the beautiful designs of your friends, Amy and Dan. There were two pieces of furniture that made me think...long and hard... the tall chest with the long oval mirror, mmmm and the big wardrobe, oh my. Amy's dinnerware was quite lovely and I loved the bowls you picked out. I collect bowls~here in NC we have tons of wonderful potters! But I also love old bowls as well. I want to see you walking that plank~where can I find that photo? And girl~I can't wait to make those honeymoon cookies. I just love that your pizza place was named "Honeymoon Pizza"...just so cool. I am enjoying watching your journey. Oh, congrats on your daughter graduating from college, it's a great feeling to see our children being successful like that.
I love those bowls! I can't ever have enough bowls.
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