Hello Friends! Please join me and a group of local ceramicists on Sunday, June 24th, for the 2nd annual LOCAL POTTERY SALE.
This year Kuzeh Pottery is hosting. It is being held on the lovely Monroe Street Arts Walk in Brookland. There's a lot to see over there, and if you've never been then this is the perfect opportunity. You can eat at Fox Loves Taco (yum), you can visit Kicheco, Stitch and Rivet, Latela Art Gallery, and support some local potters.
Where: Arts Walk at Monroe
Street Market
716 Monroe St NE,
Washington, DC 20017
When: Sunday, June 24th,
11am-5pm
What: Functional and decorative pots made by all of your local and favorite potters in DC, MD, and VA.
-- Here's what I've been up to in 2018 --
CONTEMPLATES AT
Have you been to the Line Hotel yet?! It's an experience not to be missed, and be sure to eat at Spoken English. It's a unique DC culinary experience and has opened to rave reviews. I could not imagine a better home for my contemplates. Make you reservation here.
'Spoken English is a Tachinomiya-style neighborhood space located within the LINE DC. This standing-room only restaurant welcomes open-minded patrons willing to engage in new interactions with neighbors, strangers, and friends alike. Spoken English brings back the lost art of conversation in a fast-paced city. Serving exclusive sake selections alongside classic and street style dishes from Asia until late night. Kitchen helmed by James Wozniuk and Matthew Crowley.'
And in case you're wondering what Contemplates are - they're quick collages I make with ceramic decals on commercial plates. I usually just use rescues from the thrift store (there are a bunch of these the Spoken English) but the majority of the pieces I've decorated are Keith Kreeger porcelain plates. He's an amazing ceramicist from Austen.
I think of them as stream of consciousness creations. I love the humor and the surreal nature of the surprises that occur from combining images that don't really go together. Contemplates are dinner conversation starters! Decals, also known as transfer or indirect printing, are primarily applied in an industrial or commercial setting. They are used to adorn and mark ceramic and glassware in a manner that is more uniform and time efficient than hand painting. Ceramic decals have been around since the mid-18th century, and many china floral patterns, mugs with images and text, and souvenir plates commonly seen are decorated with ceramic decals. The inks they are printed with are called enamels and are made of colored mineral pigments. They are applied to the glazed surface and then fired in a kiln, at approximately 1400°F, until they are fused to the piece.
I've been working hard on the coffee and tea service for Minibar! What can I say about this place? It goes above and beyond. Tom Sietsema describes it quite well (below) in his Washington post review of Minibar as one of the best restaurants in DC.
'There are other mind-bending restaurants in the country — Alinea inChicago, Vespertine in Los Angeles — but the truth is, their tricks don’t taste as good as those at this futuristic theater in the round. There are equally costly magic shows, but none that will leave you as giddy after having dropped $1,000 for two. Even the hand-rinsing ritual is different here; instead of the moist towels everyone else proffers, guests are introduced to a bowl of cool Japanese stones massaged with house-made herb oil. Just when I think José Andrés and his fleet of talented chefs can’t possibly improve on their last performance, they prove me wrong. Of the 30 or so mini courses on a recent menu, only a few were repeats — the world’s sheerest pizza margherita, mojitos designed to be eaten off lime wedges — from the year before. And some of the new ideas were as impressive as anything that has ever come out of the kitchen, which shares some of its recipes via line drawings on the chalkboard walls. Before the fun is over, you may have scooped up basil foam and balsamic vinegar “caviar” with edible Parmesan spoons; dispatched a langoustine still wriggling from its trip from Scotland; laughed at the spheres of pureed broccoli and cheddary potatoes in an enlightened version of Stouffer’s, this one upgraded (to the moon) with Dungeness crab; and discovered the affinity white chocolate has for shiso leaves. Yet another of the many details that sets Minibar apart from its avant-garde peers is the willingness of the staff, led by head chef Joshua Hermias, who cook in front of no more than a dozen diners at two counters, to pull back the curtain on how they make some of their magic. If you’ve never watched cups spun from beeswax — you know, for beeswax ice cream — you’re in for a marvel.'
MUGS FOR THE WING!
(aka: no mans land)
The Wing is a network of co-working and community spaces designed for women only. It started in NYC and now there's one in Georgetown. The Wing’s mission is the professional, civic, social, and economic advancement of women through community. "We believe that the act of coming together as women creates new opportunities, ideas and conversations that will lead to greater mobility and prosperity for womankind." Is it possible that these 75 Hollow Work mugs will only ever be touched by the lips of women? I hope so!
Check out the Wing's website here.
See more pictures of this beautiful space here.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you on Sunday!