My Love of Clay

I tried my hand at working on a potter's wheel in high school art class. We really enjoyed this, but since we had only one wheel...we didn't have much time learning it. I then went on to forming things with clay...I worked on an African woman's head that the teacher kept...now I wish that I had it. I used to go to the art supply store and buy clay to work with at home. My work with clay took a backseat to marriage and kids. When the kids were small...I used to buy little bricks of clay in different colors...all in the same package. You could tear these apart and everyone had a different color. Then playdough came on the scene and the kids and I sat around the table with cookie cutters, rolling pins, garlic presses, plastic utensils and formed shapes with this wonderful stuff. I then learned how to make playdough and kept it in plastic bags for the kids to have more colors.I was always picking clay out of the carpet and finding little projects crumbling away in the toybox. My little son would carry the big soup pot, filled with cookie cutters to the table, so we could play with clay. So, you can see that "clay" has been a big part of my life. I have always been drawn to terra cotta pots. I love the texture, the color, the rough feel on my hands, and the way it blends into my garden. I am always drawn to that color and used it a lot in my painting. I have put terra cotta pots in so many of my pictures. This love affair with clay may have rubbed off on one of my kids. My daughter has a wheel in Wisconsin...I haven't tried it. I'm sure I would be rusty, but when we have more time...I'll give it a try.

I was watching Martha Stewart one day, long ago, and she had this fellow named Guy Wolff on her show that day. Here was this happy man with the familiar bandanna on his head showing some of the most beautiful pots I had ever seen. Guy started his pottery business in 1971 in Connecticut. On this particular show...he was showing Martha how to "throw a pot." Guy is a big believer in architectural pottery, pots that stand the test of time, both in terms of their functionality and their style. Drawing inspiration from the 18th and 19th centuries, Wolff is as prolific as any of the great masters. So, with that in mind you know how I would love a piece of his pottery. The pieces are a bit "pricey" for me, so I haven't even thought of owning a piece. I was reading a bit more about him... just the other day... and found that maybe I could afford one of his pots. Guy says..."I have always wanted to make a line of pots that was easy enough on the pocketbook that one could fill a green house with them" - traditional in form and in beautiful proportions - to answer many gardening needs. In the last few years the need to find an inexpensive line of pots for the market... sent his people to working on this exciting project. They started in Viet Nam with a group of wonderful potters but quickly found they could not keep up with the demand. With some scrambling... a line of pots was made in China in turning mold machines with less success. This project had a hard time keeping up quality. Then they found a great throwing shop in China that they could use..making one pot at a time on the wheel. Now, they offer pots at a much lower price, so that we Americans can "fill" our greenhouses with these wonderful pots. I put in an order, right away, for 4 pots from the Peabody collection. (I'll show you his different styles tomorrow. ) They came by UPS yesterday. I was so excited when I opened them...would they be the same as I'd seen on the shelves of his shop? I opened the box and three were perfect...one was cracked. Now, I have to send the whole set back and wait for another box to come. I do love these pots...and now I have to search for just the right thing to plant in them : ) They will stay inside or on the porch although they can be used outside as well. They aren't signed by the artist, but stamped and numbered with his familiar stamp. If my orchids survive...my dream is to own some Guy Wolff orchid pots. Some women love diamonds and pearls...just give me a Guy Wolff pot for my garden...
Balisha