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A Good Dish

making food simpler

The Americano Cocktail -Just When We Need An Easy and Refreshing Summer Drink

July 10, 2020

3 versions of an Americano cocktail
Kurinuki yunomi by Carey Nathanson

It was a long, difficult spring and summer is looking rough. The pandemic is far from over and we can’t let down our guard or our masks yet. We have much work ahead to learn to be more activeIy anti-racist and we must do all we can to push for change in November as a start. I don’t know about you but I need a drink. I actually felt too stressed to do a lot of drinking this spring but as I start to take some deeper breaths, I am craving some slightly buzzy refreshment. I have two requirements for summer cocktails – they need to be lighter than those we drink in cooler weather and they must be easy to make. Summer days get so warm that anything we imbibe needs to be cold and refreshing and when you are trying to stay hydrated, the last thing you need is an alcohol bomb. Save those for longer, colder nights. As for easy, keep it simple; You don’t want a long list of ingredients to measure out when you are already hot and thirsty!

Americano Ingredients
Vermouth heavy Americano
Porcelain yunomi by Carey Nathanson

My favorite summer drinks are heavy on tonic, soda water or some kind of citrus juice, cut with Prosecco or a light amaro and rarely include whiskey (which at other times of the year would be my base liquor of choice). One great summer cocktail is an Americano, equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth with fizzy water and a slice of citrus. The bitterness of the Campari is balanced by the sweetness of the vermouth (and vice versa) and the soda water lightens and brightens up the whole thing. The vermouth you choose will determine the flavor as some are sweeter and more one-dimensional while others are more layered and distinctive. My current faves are all Spanish: Atxa (complex and herbaceous), Priorat Natur (balanced and rose-like) and Vermut Lustau (sherry based and full of botanicals) although good old Martini & Rossi works just fine in a mixed drink, if that is what you have on hand. You can play around with the proportions depending on whether your preference, the classic being a one to one ratio. I tend toward more vermouth while my husband likes more Campari. If you want less bitter altogether, substitute Aperol for the Campari (although just plain Aperol and sparkling water is delicious, especially with a big wedge of orange). You can also vary the amount of soda water from a splash to a generous pour.  And I wouldn’t say no to a sprig of mint for freshness. What could be more American, in a good sense, than an eponymous drink composed from imported ingredients which, when combined, create a whole that is greater than its parts? And if you happened to squeeze the orange, lemon or lime slice/wedge before adding, so much the better. To healthier and cooler days ahead!

Campari heavy Americano
Stoneware yunomi by Carey Nathanson
Aperol and vermouth with soda water
Stoneware yunomi by Carey Nathanson
Americano cocktail
Stoneware yunomi by Carey Nathanson

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Filed Under: Drinks, Potters

Ceramic Reamers: One Of The Kitchen Tools Contemporary Potters Are Creating

June 13, 2019

Porcelain reamer
by Jen Allen

We have been to many ceramics sales in the past few years and while we have continued to find many beautiful pots, what has surprised me is the growing number of potters making specialty items, such as salt cellars, butter keepers and even citrus reamers. When I was still making pots, it never occurred to me to make a juice reamer. I had seen many lovely Depression glass versions but hadn’t remembered any made of clay. Well, times have changed and creative potters are producing beautiful and useful reamers in many formats. 

Porcelain citrus reamer
by Jen Allen
Porcelain reamer and rest
by Gwendolyn Yoppolo

The simplest reamer, like the standard wooden version, is just the juicing head (the part inserted into the cut fruit) attached to a handle. We found a delightful porcelain model with a beautifully ornamented handle by Jen Allen at the Old Church Pottery sale two years ago. It is easy to use,  easy to clean and feels comfortable in my hand. Another, a sleeker but equally comfortable version, with a crystalline glaze by Gwendolyn Yoppolo, rests in its own dedicated holder. Both the forms and surfaces are dazzling, with every detail thoroughly designed and thought through.  A third variety, like the Depression glass originals, sits in the center of a dish which collects the juice and has a pouring spout. I was gifted a brightly colored, well-designed and crafted version by the skillful Swiss potter Peter Fink and it works wonderfully. Berkshire potter Lucy Fagella makes yet a fourth variety of reamer, an elegant two-part thrown composition in which the juice drips through holes in the top half and collects in the bottom. Fagella generously made an instructional video to demonstrate how she makes her simple but well-structured solution. I’m sure there are other beauties waiting for us to discover out there.

Ceramic juicer/reamer
by Peter Fink
Ceramic juicer/reamer
by Peter Fink

Growing up, I used to enjoy squeezing orange juice for breakfast. Even as a kid, it is a good feeling to feel useful around mealtime. But since I don’t really drink fruit juice any more, I use my reamers for juicing mostly lemons and limes, which I use quite frequently in cooking (and an occasional grapefruit or orange, depending on the recipe). It is a useful tool for getting the most juice out of any citrus fruit. I am happy to have found a few useful ceramic versions to beautify my kitchen and heighten my own aesthetic pleasure while cooking. I love handmade culinary tools of all kinds – wooden spoons and cutting boards, cheese knives and spreaders, seed grinding bowls and colanders. They certainly enhance the pleasure of preparing and serving food in the same way a beautifully made cup betters your morning coffee or tea. Thanks to all the creative potters out there who are brightening our kitchens every day!

Stoneware citrus juicer/reamer by Lucy Fagella
Photo by Lucy Fagella
Stoneware citrus juicer/reamer by Lucy Fagella
Photo by Lucy Fagella

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Filed Under: Potters, Products

The Holiday Pottery Sales Are On!

November 23, 2018

A detail from the wall of cups available for sale at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia

Some people wait all year for the Black Friday sales. I wait for the holiday pottery sales. Just as September always feels like the beginning of the year to me because of the start of school, the holiday season starts off with pottery sales. I hosted a sale for decades but always managed to get to some of the others. Now the season is here – the clay sales have begun!

A corner of Melissa Weiss‘ booth at the PMC this month
Pots by Nick Moen-The Bright Angle
at the PMC show earlier this month
Bryan Hopkins Pots at this year’s PMC
Paul Eshelman Pottery at the recent PMC show

The PMC (Philadelphia Museum Craft Show) has come and gone (it was a beauty this year) and every weekend from now until the end of December, there will be wonderful exhibitions and studio sales of ceramics and other media all across the country. Not only do you get to see and buy pots but you also get to meet and chat with their makers!

Donna Polseno pots at the Old Church Pottery Sale

One of my favorite shows (and these are really exhibitions as well as sales – a chance to see new work as well as buy it) is the annual invitational Old Church Pottery Sale in Demarest, New Jersey. We have been going for more than 25 years and a number of our favorite pots were purchased there, including some early Ayumi Hori mugs, Bernadette Curran tumblers, Silvie Granatelli bowls and Matthew Metz cups. This year a number of young potters will be exhibiting there and I can’t wait to see their work!

Peter Beasecker pots at the Old Church Pottery Sale
Some of Adero Willard‘s pots at the Old Church Pottery Sale
Mark Pharis pots at the Old Church Pottery Sale

Of the many terrific group shows I can’t get to this year but wish I could, the 16 Hands tour that takes place this weekend in Floyd, Virginia seems particularly appealing. And I would love to peruse Art Providence and the Foundry Show in Pawtucket the 2nd weekend in December. I have listed below the group sales I know about but there are certainly plenty more. If you have favorite potters, contact them to see when their sales are or in which group shows they will be participating. Many college and university ceramics departments hold holiday sales as do clay galleries, both brick and mortar and online. If only we could get to them all…..Happy hunting!

Holly Walker Pots at
Society for Arts & Crafts in Boston
  • The Clay Studio, Philadelphia “Gifted” started November 6th and runs through January 3rd
  • Archie Bray Foundation Holiday Sale, Helena, MT – November 15-December 23rd
  • Northern Clay Center Holiday Sale, Minneapolis, MN – November 19th-December 30
  • Wesleyan Potters Annual Sale, Middletown, CT starts November 23rd (Black Friday competition)
  • 16 Hands Studio Tour, Floyd Virginia – November 23rd-25th – 4 stops with 9 artists
  • Objective Clay Annual Holiday Sale online at objectiveclay.com– November 26th at 12pm-December 14th
  • KC Clay Guild Holiday Pottery Sale and Studio Tour, Kansas City, Missouri – November 30th-December 1st – 13 stops with over 50 artists participating
  • Art School at Old Church Pottery Sale, Demarest, NJ – November 30th -December 2nd
  • Foundry Artists Association Holiday Show, Pawtucket, RI – November 30th-December 2nd and December 7th-9th
  • Highland Park Pottery Tour, Pittsburgh, PA – December 1st-2nd – 6 stops with over 17 artists
  • Art Providence, Providence, RI – December 8th-9th 
  • San Diego Pottery Tour, San Diego, CA – December 8th-9th – 8 stops with over 30 artists
  • Tampa Tour De Clay, Tampa, FL – December 8th-9th – 5 stops with 16 artists
  • Craft Boston, Boston, MA – December 14th-16th

(A little consolation if you can’t get to some of the shows or miss the pieces you desire online – there will be another batch of sales around Mother’s Day).

A favorite mug by Perry Haas purchased at the Old Church Pottery Sale

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Filed Under: Events, Places, Potters, Products

Holiday Sales (Brick & Mortar and Online) are a Great Opportunity to See and to Buy Handmade Pottery

November 29, 2017

Servers by Maggie Finlayson that were exhibited at Greenwich House Pottery last holiday sale and which I still regret not buying!

One of the pleasures of the holiday season, besides the lights, store windows, Tuba Christmas at Rockefeller Center, baking and the sense that people are generally cheerier than usual, is the handmade pottery that is available to buy at the many holiday ceramics and craft sales!  Wherever you live, this is a great time of year to find handmade pots for sale.

Adero Willard‘s pots at the sale at the Art School at Old Church

As I noted in an earlier piece on pottery, New York has become a difficult place to find and buy ceramics. There are still a few outlets but many, many less than there used to be. Fortunately for New Yorkers, the holidays bring potters and pots to the city and nearby and, since it is 2017, there are many, many online holiday sales. Handmade pots are more expensive than the commercial variety for many reasons so remember that when you hesitate at their cost. Their price includes not just the materials but the time involved in making, glazing, twice firing, shipping and the cut taken by the place where it is sold to say nothing of this time it took to come up with the forms and decoration in the first place. They make great gifts, if you can stand to part with them. The pots you do keep, you will appreciate every time you use them.

Here are a few of the sales that I found and are tempting me this year:

Earthenware salt cellar by Holly Walker for sale at The Society for Arts & Crafts in Boston
  • The 62nd Annual Show & Sale has already started at Wesleyan Potters, one of the tri-state areas best known source for pottery. Their sale includes the work of dozens of local and national potters alongside that of some jewelers and textile artists. It continues through December 10th in Middletown, CT
  • The Clay Holiday Annual Sale at Clay Art Center in Portchester (yes, you can take Metro North) is an exhibit and sale of work by both Westchester and national potters and includes a wall of clay ornaments. It continues through December 23rd.
  • This Saturday, December 2nd, more than 50 artists will be selling work at Made in Clay 2017 at Greenwich House Pottery downtown from 12-7. From 5-7 there will be an opening of the wonderful wood-fired pottery of Naomi Dalglish and Michael Hunt from Bandana Pottery in North Carolina.
  • Also on Saturday, from 11-6, Hand Crafted Holidays will take place at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. Along with tastings, demonstrations and hands on activities, there will be special discounts in their well stocked shop.
  • The 43rd Annual Pottery Show & Sale at the Art School at Old Church in Demarest, New Jersey is one of the best opportunities near NYC to see and buy pots from 30 known and respected potters from around the country. Friday evening is a fundraiser and party and the sale continues Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 11-4 with a suggested donation of $10.
  • 2017 Native Art Market at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian may be best attended for its jewelry but there will be ceramics from several pueblos including Jerez and Santo Domingo among others. The preview party is Friday evening and tickets can be purchased in advance. Saturday and Sunday admission is free.
  • If you live in or will be in Boston, Crafts Boston 2017, sponsored by the Society of Art & Crafts, will be at the Haynes Convention Center. Among artists working in other media are several wonderful potters. The show runs December 1-17 and costs $15.
  • And if you find yourself in Rhode Island, The Art Providence Holiday Show at the RI Convention Center, continues the tradition of the RISD alumni show featuring over 200 artists in many media. December 9-10, $8 per day and a preview party on Friday, December 8th is $100.

Online sales can be ongoing or confined to certain dates. Many clay artists have websites and others sell through galleries or on Etsy. These are just a few that I like:

  • archiebrayfoundation.org 
  • santafeclay.com
  • objectiveclay.com
  • store.northernclaycenter.org
  • charliecummingsgallery.com
  • schallergallery.com
  • penland.org
  • theclaystudio.org
  • bandana-pottery.myshopify.com

Support good handmade pottery and the potters who make it by buying their work!

The shop at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia has a great assortment of work from dozens of potters and even more than usual for the holidays – it can be difficult to choose!

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Filed Under: Events, Places, Potters

Larry Bush Makes Pots Meant to be Used

February 1, 2017

 

Glazed porcelain mugs (1988) by Larry Bush

A really well made pot, in my opinion, is one which you want to pick up and use. As I explained in my post on the value of handmade pots a couple of months ago, a skillful potter is one who crafts pieces that heighten your experience of eating and drinking. Larry Bush is such an artist and his pots are among my very favorites to use. Food looks great in them and I never tire of their shapes, surfaces, decoration or inventiveness.

Scalloped bowls (1999) 
Thrown, carved, sprigged and glazed porcelain

I first saw Bush’s work when he was a graduate student in the mid-1980’s at Alfred University in upstate New York. At a time when “vessels” and kiln sized clay sculpture were dominating the clay scene, Bush made human scale, useful pots that were artistically and technically sophisticated while being down-to-earth functional. His pots, like the potter himself, were smart, direct, friendly and thoughtful.

Carved Footed Tumblers (1991) 
Whittled Porcelain

Nature was an early source for Bush, a Seattle native, providing structural and decorative source material that still inspires him decades later. As a professor, and for many years as department chair at RISD in Providence, RI, Bush worked with a mid-temperature porcelain clay, casting a variety of objects to generate forms and then carving to vary the surfaces. His pots became more delicate and deeply textured but retained a distinctly handmade touch. In recent pieces, he continue to use natural sources and historical references, going back and forth between a darker stoneware clay with flowers and vines for forms and/or decoration and carved or whittled porcelain. In either format, his pieces make having a cup of tea or coffee (or a sandwich) a pleasure.

Narragansett Electric (2004) from the Providence Plate series 
Painted and Glazed Porcelain
Across the River (2004) from the Providence Plate series 
Painted and Glazed Porcelain

In a 2006 statement, Bush reflected on his inspiration. “Nature is my model, sometimes literally, always conceptually. With clay and glaze I imitate nature. With function and form, color and texture, history and need, I attempt a layering of forces similar to that found in natural things like flowers.” He notes that the geological characteristics of a clay can determine how it is used, stylistically and in terms of function. The darker stoneware serves one purpose and the porcelain another and going back and forth between them leaves open more possibilities for him to explore ideas.

Preamble Plate (2012)
Glazed Porcelain with transfer drawings and overglaze enamel

Usefulness is key to Bush’s work. In the same statement, he explained how a combination of function, form, color, texture and historical references result in pieces which prompt interaction, requiring touch. “Pottery is a haptic as well as a visual art: it is handled as well as looked at. Like other useful things, pottery can simultaneously be a focus of attention, a facilitator or activity and a background to life. It can be important and familiar…The meaning of my work lies in the way it might shape and give texture to life.”

Larry Bush at work in his studio (2015)

His depth of thought might not be obvious when you first see Bush’s work, since it has such immediate visual appeal. But the longer you use his pieces, the more you find yourself repeatedly surprised by the layers of references beneath the skillfully formed surfaces, whether carved or painted or both. The morning glory vines spreading over a generous jar (with proportions like an ancient Iranian prototype) prompt me to think of a sunny summer morning in a garden or a painting by Bonnard or Vuillard. The accordion like ridges of a white porcelain tumbler keep my eye moving up and down the pot while providing a good grip to prevent it from slipping out of my hand. Handles and rims are designed and articulated for maximum comfort in the hand or mouth.

Presentation Dish (2016) by Larry Bush
Thrown, whittled, sprigged woodfired porcelain
Silla Cups (2015) by Larry Bush
Flyash, overglazed wood fired stoneware

I’ve used Bush’s pots for 30 years, acquiring one or two whenever I had a chance, although it isn’t that easy to find them for sale. Because he teaches full time during the school year, the bulk of his own work waits for the free time of summer. Bush always has multiple projects going. When I spoke with him last summer, he was figuring out an in ground watering system for his garden, working on a series of plates (recently shown in art galleries in New York and Philadelphia) he was making as part of a collaboration with printmaker Andrew Raftery, writing student recommendations and configuring new kiln furniture so he could fit more work into each firing.

Morning Glory Jar (2014) by Larry Bush
Whittled, sprigged, flyash, overglazed, woodfired stoneware

Whether for a cup of coffee, a bowl of cereal or a martini, Bush’s pieces are unabashedly functional without any compromise of art or design. His recent food storage jars have recessed knobs so they fit more easily in the refrigerator. His “to go” cups are designed to prevent coffee from splashing out while feeling comfortable for drinking and being aesthetically engaging. In each of his bodies of work, utilitarian and decorative elements reinforce each other, resulting in pots that please the eye and feel good in the hand. These are pots you want to pick up and which you will want to use because they are so well thought through, crafted and artful, heightening our experience of eating and drinking. Lively yet intimate pieces whether on a shelf, in your hand or drying in a dish rack, Bush’s pots are a pleasure to use.

 

To Go Cup by Larry Bush
Whittled and woodfired porcelain

 

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Filed Under: People, Potters Tagged With: Contemporary ceramics, Potters, pottery

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Welcome to A Good Dish

Here you will find recipes and ideas for easy to make and tasty meals, sources for interesting dinnerware on which to serve those meals and resources for ingredients, classes and food related travel. My goal is to make daily cooking simpler and to inspire you to try different recipes beyond the handful you already make repeatedly. I hope that relaying my experiences will enhance yours. Follow along and let me know about your own cooking and food journeys.

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