(our) summer weekend..

Summer comes late here in San Francisco, as any of you can attest to if you have been here in July or August.  Instead of seeking shade and frosted mugs, we are cranking up the heat and layers and hunkering down. Which really messes with your mind if you grew up with summer being this very distinct magical time..sigh.  But the autumn brings some brief sensations of summer and we relish every minute of it. This weekend brought that and a crisscross of the bay led to some lovely beach light and other treasures here in San Francisco and in Bolinas...and work too.

hawks assuming their position

morning meeting

locals only bench in the chute at Ocean beach

bunnies in Bolinas Beach

nighttime illuminations

installed a new garden totem near the studio..

and shipped out more pieces to Sundance..

and handed off some new plates to their new owners...

Happy Fall.

I was a New Yorker...

Having grown up in and around New York City and spending many formative years there- I always have a bit of a love hate thing going on when I go back and visit family, as I do often. I have so many memories of places, people, times in my life that are in the past. Lets call it a total nostalgia trip- which it always is. Though I have lived in San Francisco for 18 years (amazingly), I do not have the history here that I have in New York. And that includes multiple generations of family members embracing all that is NY- late 19th century emigres, some to Ellis Island later,  Lower East Side tenement life, exodus to Long Island suburbs in the 60's, Upper West and Eastside later, living in Brooklyn before it was so uber hip.   I have no home base like that in California- and for that reason, sometimes still feel like a visitor. So when I go back to NY, that part feels good. I can walk down 86th street and see where my mother grew up and, go to midtown and see where my parents, 2 of my sisters and I, got married. I see where the old Ma bell restaurant was in Times Square, where you sit at a booth to eat with telephones mounted for use, and my old lemonade selling corners downtown.  My kids, of course, are cultivating those kind of memories here in San Francisco daily and it will be their NY, and they are rooted here, though too, sense the history when they go east.

 So long story short....just got back from NY where I went to visit family and do the New York International Gift Fair again in Handmade.

I mostly had to work, but did get out a bit to walk the hi line, and snap a few memorable images topping it off in the verdant woods and funky flea markets of Northwestern, CT.

Home (new hometown), again and came back to a heap of work as well as a hawk carcass on the roof of my studio. My husband said it was a blessing, an offering. I do hope so. I will give the hawk a proper burial and return to my new roots.

place settings headed to Sundance..

Over the last year, I have been doing some pieces for the lovely Sundance catalog-
I always enjoy leafing through their western themes and rustic set-ups-- and of course picking all the jewelry I covet.
This fall they are showcasing my tableware as place settings as well as the serving pieces they have been carrying- They call it Individualist Dinnerware- I like that...

There are 2 different designs available for dinner plates, salad and cereal/soup bowls in black, opaque white, light green, oxidized copper, pink and red--great for mixing and matching.

 Though designs are repeated, rest assure that each piece is completely handmade by me, toiling away in the coop--
Because these were not stamped out in a production way, there will be slight differences to each.
Here they are readying for shipping to Utah--

These appear in their current catalog as well as online-
additional platters and bowls are also available right now online.
Happy Autumn!

car 54 where are you....

I have always loved the design of the San Francisco Police Department cars.  They have a real vintage feel and just look so cool cruising around the old streets of San Francisco...the design hasn't even changed that much over the years..
So I just made this oversized serve bowl to bring to New York, and just took it out of the kiln and was pleased with the way it came out. I just liked it and wasn't thinking too much about the origin of my color thinking...Then this afternoon, I walked by an entire fleet of police cars and realized why I was drawn to the color combo on the bowl..

the graphic black and white with a punch of cerulean blue....and the red siren of course..

very nice, car 590...

weekend sightings..

lots of green in my weekend including a quick escape to the north to grab some much needed warmth and sun..

running out at the beach and always consumed by what I see out there..

lunch in the studio..

happy hour in the kitchen..

wine stain inspired platter headed to Silver Oak Vineyards..

love the vintage mint green-will make a glaze like this...soon.

Anthology Magazine-Issue #8...

I was so thrilled when the lovely Meg Mateo Illasco and Anh-Minh Le asked me to be a part of their sublime magazine's 8th issue.  I am interviewed in the "Conversations" feature- a fun monthly column that lets you get "up close and personal".  Each issue of the magazine has a theme and this one is all about work and home and the intersection of the two-something I am VERY intimate with.
We had a fun photo shoot with Caren Alpert and Meg back in May at the old rancheria here on a gorgeous San Francisco spring day--and it's always interesting to see what ends up on the pages. Of course, Kiki, our parakeet lands front and center every time. She is so photogenic and everyone falls in love with her when they come over. Me, on the other hand, not so photogenic: note to self- next photo shoot do not wear a flowy top under your work apron or you will look about 10 lbs heavier :-)

Anthology is really such a wonderful publication and really satisfies the needs of those of us who still devour print magazines and love the idea of the permanence of print.
They also always create these sweet video previews of the issues with the perfect musical interlude to accompany:  Watch it here.
Anthology is available via subscription as well as at various shops around the world. Check out their website for more information.

renewed: abiquiu, new mexico

Just returned from another rejuvenating, inspiring time in New Mexico-partly on our property on the lake in Abiquiu as well as a wonderful week at Ghost Ranch where I took a fascinating week long course on southwest history. There is so much history to be absorbed in this region and each time I am there I try and pick up a new book to read and learn more. This time I picked up the history of Rio Arriba County and The Witches of Abiquiu- chronicling the strange and pervasive connections to witches in the area.

Every time I go, I learn more about the people and the storied history and remain in awe of the stunning landscape, shifting light and treasures that abound. We are slowly building out our small homestead there- this summer completing the deck that will hopefully evolve into a full fledged shelter where we can go warm our bones in the summer, instead of cranking the heat and layering the sweaters on here in the "coldest winter of summers" in San Francisco.

I had a chance to explore some wonderful communities-- Los Ojos and the sublime weaving and vegetable dyed wools from the Churro sheep that graze nearby, as well as visiting the home of Gabriel Abeyta an 86 year old fixture in town who spent most of his professional life assisting the Jicarilla Apache manage their resources.  Roadside grottos still in use today.

We were also treated to an intriguing walking tour of the small village of Abiquiu by Isabel Trujillo -a local historian from the library who shared many stories about the decline and resurrection and current efforts to restore some of the economic development in town. So many people new to the area believe that Georgia O'Keeffe "discovered" this area- so far from the truth- she was a more contemporary influence for sure, but serves more as an icon to those who are not familiar with the incredible history of this area and the confluence of Spanish, Native American and white interests and conquests.
So much going in Northern New Mexico and so much unchanged for hundreds of years.
We continue to find remnants of the past- and I mean thousands of years past- on our property. Perfect arrow heads carved from the that abounds as well as tools and scrapers touched and used by ancient hands.

Walking the cliffs at Puye we come across multitudes of pottery shards still holding on to their textures and colors and further reinforcing my belief in the power and longevity of clay.

So much to take in and use in my work- and being there truly allows me to breathe in deep and also breathe out..something that isn't always so easy in the throes of urban life work and family.
we're thinking we'll be back again in september to finish the shelter and breathe some more...

even swallows like grafitti

collected from the property

nests..everywhere

the long road