Our very favorite cowgirl/potter (gardener extraordinaire)  Mary Briggs brought her very special brand of ceramics to Passionflower last week.

 Most of this work was fresh out of the kiln like this ewe and ram bookend.  Well this is just the ram side of the bookend, you'll have to come in to see the ewe.

 Monsieur le Pig.....this piece is amazing...Mary is moving into sculpture in a big way.

 And yet , what is this? Something super painterly....she's making big slabs and using them as canvas.  But Mary told me the thick, slab, cracking earth three dimensional quality of the work is important to her.

 Oh and some trees......these two platters sold quickly....

I helped Mary set up her work last week and want to tell you that having a show like this is  really one of the true pleasures of my job....being able to look at each piece with the artist , to see their work grow over time and  to hear stories from people who have been collecting Mary's work for years and to feel that, in some small way, we at Passionflower are helping spread the love of the handmade. 

For you

 

  I have been super busy lately working on display at the store. My reward for all this hard work is that I get to take photos after I'm done - kind of like my reward for cleaning my house is I get to put flowers everywhere.  So here, for your viewing pleasure, a photo taken after a long day of display at Passionflower.www.passionflowerdesign.com

Enjoy.

Things to Do in All My Free Time

Some friends and I put together a food swap....kind of like a cookie swap except with food we put up. The rather messy homegrown invitiation is above.

I made little cards for everyone to write down what they brought. 

I brought dried italian plums, fresh frozen cider, and some peach chutney and I went home with fantastic goodies including corned beef, thyme rub, dried brandywine tomatoes, pickled beets, salsa verde and some local honey.

 

Join Me on A Mexican Art Making Adventure

I am so pleased and excited to let you know about this trip I'm putting together with Jill Cardinal....You may remember Jill is a mixed media collage artist who has been offering classes at Oregon Art Supply......A few months ago Jill came to me and proposed that we offer a journal making  trip to Mexico and after much dreaming and visioning,  I am happy to tell you , our plan is finally hatching.  Now we just need fellow adventurers like you to join us.  The thought of making art for eight days in Mexico with a group of like minded folks sounds a little bit like heaven to me.  If it does to you, click here to find out more details.....And any help you might give us in spreading the word would be greatly appreciated.  P.S.  Not only will we make great art, eat fantastic food , and see amazing sites , I also promise to share with you two of my favorite shopping places in Oaxaca!!

Kind of Nutty

Passionflower's homage to the acorn.....o ye from which the mighty oaks grow....

 

German made (that's code for well made), naturally tanned leather, these small carrying bags can be clipped to a bag, to a belt or to whatever strikes your fancy....they come in two sizes and lots of great colors.

Completely random, but the guy who played the Wiz in Wicked came in and bought a bunch of them.

There is something a little munchkin land about them.

Fabbie New Pillows

 Quite possibly, one of my favorite new things in the store.  Beautiful in a child's room....or would that be scary in a child's room? I'm not sure.

The Edible Schoolyard

We thought this being November and all, harvest time, food time, thanks giving time, it would be a great time to bring in this beyond lovely and very soft to the touch flour sack tea towel designed as a fundraiser for the Edible Schoolyard Project.  Half of the proceeds from the towel support chef Alice Water's program to include gardening and food preparation as part of our school curriculum.  Click here to find out more about Edible Schoolyard.