Nicaragua!

This Thanksgiving, my family and I forgoed the family trek to the east coast and instead ventured south-way south to Nicaragua, C.A.-Spurred by the idea of my great friend Sherry Stein (of famed bag design wonder-check her out www.ssteindesign.com
whose lovely sister Char and husband Fred are co-owners with Don and Georganne, of a sweet little hotel in San Juan del Sur, on the southwest coast (www.laposadaazul.com). So we all set out for warmth and supremely interesting terrain, culture and wonder. We spent a few days in Granada--the oldest city in Central America--Loved this little place with its really interesting colonial buildings-small chaotic streets and bustling town square- SO many visuals that I banked and tried to capture with my not so great camera--but lots of inspiration for future plates-
I like to use my plate design as a camera--it allows me to remember what I see wherever I go-not just an image--but a form, a color or a feeling evoked by a scenario, sound or vision.
Here are a few examples of what really captured my eye-look for some of these images on my plates!

Holiday Trunk Shows This Weekend!

Come visit me this weekend December 5th and 6th where I will be doing two holiday trunk shows at the Gardener (www.thegardener.com) in San Francisco and Berkeley.
I will have lots of new work in small and large sizes-so do stop by and say hello!

Saturday 12/4- Gardener at the Ferry Building-- San Francisco 10-2pm
Sunday 12/5- Gardener in Berkeley-- 1836 Fourth Street 12-4pm

If you cannot make it but want to scoop up some great holiday pieces for yourself or others--just contact me at lisa@lneimeth.com
I look forward to seeing you!

round and round we go

I have always been drawn to the circle. I remember someone telling me when I was young, that if you were able to draw a perfect circle freehand, that meant you were an artist. Well, that seems nutty really and also discouraging, but it does mean that you are someone who is interested in shape, forms and the way in which they are depicted.
Lately, circles in all forms have found their place on my plate design. Almost a little obsessively actually. To me the sphere is a hopeful shape and is also a sacred form in Native American culture as well as many other cultures around the world. So of course I see circles everywhere. Here are a few examples from my run the other day. I particularly love the way that Eva Hesse incorporates this shape--as well as the amazing sapling sculptures of Patrick Dougherty--very inspiring in all ways.

It's amazing how many circular things I have found in the sand, on the street and how cool they look when pressed into clay. I also like just drawing freehand abstract circles --not perfectly round--but executed with an opening or just slightly irregular, but still capable of enclosing an object, word, sketch in my head.....

Autumn in San Francisco

It is October 31st--the end of the month. It is. It is Halloween. It is the night we turn the clocks back. It is officially fall. I love fall--it is the time of year I was born which may predispose me to having a certain feeling when the crispness hits the air. Though of course in SF it was 70 degrees today and absolutely beautiful. But the leaves, some leaves, do change here. NOTHING like the east coast of course, where I grew up, which has such a distinct smell, taste and feel and always seems to evoke such strong sensory responses. trick or treating, fear of nair sprayed in our hair, macintosh apples --you really cannot get mac apples in No Cal that have the same taste.

The places here that I feel fall are (1) my backyard and our fish pond (2) the sculpture garden at Golden Gate Park (3) the pop-up pumpkin patch on 7th avenue and (4) the ice plants out at ocean beach and the beautiful hues they take on as they play off the sand and sky.

And pumpkins of course and halloween candy which I quietly raid after the kids go to bed--though the plastic pumpkins do stay up on top of our fridge year round--gently warming all the left over candy that no one really wanted--

I do love a good orange though--and the rough hewn reds and greens that I use on my plates...

Outerlands

A beautiful fall day in San Francisco means a beautiful summer day anywhere else. Fall is our summer and though we relish these fog free days and warm nights, there is always a hint of the latent chill in the air. For me, a warm day means one thing: the beach. I love the beach. It is and has always been a huge part of my life-it is absolute liberation. I run out at Ocean Beach regularly and derive much inspiration for my work from the random sightings and findings out there. What the waves carry in from all over the world and find its way into the sand--dissident objects pieced together-birds flocking, imprints left in the sand of footprints and others left behind, the wires that connect the rustic wood fence posts along the path, random pieces of hardware lying about. It all finds its way onto a plate design in some way.

My new favorite obsession is a small strip of Judah out by 45th ave, blocks from the beach. Within this block and a half is one wonderful grocery store-- Other Avenue Foodstore, (http://www.otheravenuescoop.com/) an amazing raw food restaurant --Judalicious--that has the best hummous and purslane sandwiches EVER and then the new small jewel of a spot--Outerlands (http://www.outerlandssf.blogspot.com/). Named after what this part of the city used to be called, this sweet spot has a vibe all its own. From the Andy Goldsworthy inspired driftwood interior to the hearty fish stew and crusty loaves of bread baked in house, this is special. Yesterday, I drove myself out from my place in the Inner Sunset to meet two of my favorite gals--Margie and Dana-who themselves, create wonderment in the kitchen at Woodwards Garden (http://www.woodwardsgarden.com/). We sat ourselves down to a sweet meal of grilled gruyere,heirloom tomato and mushrooms, fresh greens and a feeling of contentment. The driftwood so inspires me--and also was screaming--"put a plate on the dark wood table and feel the aged turquoise combo!"

So here is my little lazy susan--smack dab in the middle of Outerlands, out by the beach.

Lazy Susan..

Lazy days of summer are coming to an end, but lazy susans are just beginning in the studio! And just like the refurbished windmills down in ocean beach--things are turning on our table these days. Encouraged by our soon to be delivered 60" round table, I have been busy creating ceramic lazy susans to sit right there in the middle and facilitate sharing-

Did you know that the Lazy Susan has been around since the 1870's? Supposedly an invention of Thomas Jefferson in an effort to replicate some of his..um helpers. It had a resurgence in the 1950's when everything was required to be automated, and again in the 70's when everything was required to be easy. They are still quite popular in Chinese restaurants where dim sum is the star. I love the idea, but the plasticated wonders really didn't do that much for me. A vision then, was born. Why not make a beautiful large round platter and attach a turntable mechanism?

And here you go--my best bird Kiki, having a little ride on it..and now for the hor'deveurs.

These are available now--just shoot me a e-mail if you would like to see some more. Or visit the website: http://www.lneimeth.com/. They will also be showcased this saturday at a trunk show I am doing at the Gardener down at the Ferry Building in San Francisco from 10-2pm.

A Studio Blog....

A blog.
A forum for sharing with whoever is interested, some of the random curiosities that float around my head and provide inspiration for my ceramic work, my children, travel and whatever else comes my way..wherever I am...
I will share any pertinent news--new work, cool images, weird things I have scavanged and misc. announcements, deals and sales too.
I am a bit wary of this whole thing as I believe we are encouraging a generation of over sharers, but not necessarily in a productive way. I will not over share-except where necessary!

But then, as I pour though the fascinating book chronicling the correspondence between Maria Chabot and Georgia O'Keeffe from 1941-1949 by Barbara Buhler Lynes and Ann Paden, I realize that this piece of unique history is really their blog. No, they did not write with the intention of the world reading these letters, but they did save every letter, knowing that what they were saying was important and worth preserving, in case it became signinficant later on. It was a chronicle of their daily inspirations. Since we are not a nation of letter writers anymore--the modern day blog is really a letter to all-

So stay tuned and visit often for some hopeful inspiration of clay and muses.