A Day in Val David

I love pottery, so a visit to 1001 Pots is always a treat. I managed to resist most of the creations, though I did leave with one new mug.

Then off for a walk. There is a long park  (le parc linéaire: le petit train du nord)- it was once a railway line, connecting the villages of the Laurentians. Now walkers and cyclists use it in the mild months. In the winter is is used by cross-country skiers. I was finally out with my DSLR camera and stopped frequently to admire the flora.




Raspberries hung from the low bushes. I left them for someone else to pick. I have been enjoying my fill from the market. Such a great time of year for local produce!




I'm not sure what kind of flower this is, but it grew in abundance. Nearby were many milkweed - good to know the monarchs will have places to lay their eggs.



Another unidentified flower grew low to the ground near the edge of the gravel road. Its delicacy spoke to me.



I changed my gaze from looking close to looking wide. We have had enough rain this summer to keep everything lush and green.



Green on green. The sunlight danced on the leaves, calling attention to the beauty around me.

Empty Bowls

Empty Bowls, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Photo: Saturday, April 14, 2012

I went to a fundraiser: Empty Bowls. For a modest price you could get homemade soup in a ceramic bowl and then take the bowl home. Local potters donated bowls. It was so popular this year that they ran out of soup and bowls before the event was scheduled to close.

Money raised will go to local food banks. A simple concept that was very effective. See this item on the CBC site.

Pottery Planters

Pottery Planters, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Daily Shoot: What kind of other art do you appreciate? Make a photograph that celebrates it today.

What kind of art don't I appreciate?! I think I am a bit of a culture junkie. Music is my passion - playing, going to concerts - especially baroque and renaissance music. I love to go to the theatre (not possible to photograph today). I am lucky to have a collection of art, mainly inherited from my parents. But pottery has a special place in my life, because it is both art and utilitarian. I love to use handmade pieces to serve food. My plants look even nicer when they sit in handmade pots.

Ballet, modern dance, theatre, music, art, museums - can't think of better ways to touch the soul.

Handmade Pottery

Handmade Pottery, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Daily Shoot: Double your art today. Make a photo of something you've created or crafted.

I made these many years ago. I featured one of my creations previously but the daily shoot pushed me to feature these. They are coil pots - ropes of clay meticulously placed and then finger push by finger push, attached to the coil before it. I've tried a number of handicrafts over the years, from pottery to a variety of needlework. There is such satisfaction in homemade things, whether crafts or a home cooked meal. That's part of what makes each home unique.

June 18/10: Croatian Memories

June 18/10: Croatian Memories, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Objects carry memories. Some we can access, others not. This piece of pottery carries the touch of its maker whom I will never know. It carries the approval of the person who chose it to sell. And it brings with it the memories of where it was bought. After taking this photograph, the memories of its purchase led us to revisit of our time in Zadar on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. First with words, we recalled where we bought it, trying to picture the old part of the town and what we saw there. Then through photographs we renewed our memories, once again wandering the streets, looking out over the Adriatic Sea, breathing the fresh sea breezes and dining on the succulent catch of the day.

Day 251: Pottery

Day 251: Pottery, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I made this piece of pottery when I was sixteen. I spent my summer at a fine arts camp. The arts have always had a priority in my life. In those days I played the modern flute and danced a lot - had recently discarded my pointe shoes to dance barefoot. The camp had ballet classes but no modern dance so it was the first summer there that I wasn't dancing. I spent my mornings in the pottery studio producing a variety of pots, from hand coiled pieces, to slab pots, of which this was one. I never mastered the wheel. I think I enjoyed all the pounding I had to do to make a good slab pot - it got rid of a lot of teenage angst.

What I remember most was the pottery instructor talking about the inside space of the pot, that it should feel full of air, not collapsing. The interior space was as important as the exterior. A metaphor for people, I guess. It will be great when we stop focusing so much on people's exteriors, which can be molded and pinched by everyone in the beauty industry and focus on the interior space which each of us has to grow and nurture ourselves.