Pottery

I am from `The Potteries`, Stoke-on-Trent. The home of Wedgewood, Minton, Spode. In the past there were many more pot banks (pottery factories) but as the years have past the industry has decreased considerably.

People from Stoke often have a habit of looking at the bottom of the cup or plate that they are given in a restaurant just to see if it was made at home or not, I do this myself all the time.

When I was at school I had a couple of pottery lessons and made a plate but since then I have had no chance to try. I saw a notice in a local magazine for a trial lesson to make a cup and a plate. It is a Japanese pottery studio in Manhattan.
www.nytogei.com



So a friend and I signed up for a trial lesson and went along yesterday and here is what I made.

Part way through making the cup:


Part way through making the plate:


Finished:


Once we had finished we picked the colours that we wanted them to be glazed with and the rest is done for us, they will be ready to pick up in a couple of weeks.

I really enjoyed the day, I was surprised at how easy the plate was but the cup really took a lot of work.

Bento

On Saturday we had a lovely picnic in Central Park.

The weather was just perfect not too hot not too cold and we spent a lovely few hours eating, playing frisbee and chatting.

The photo below shows the bento that I made. My friend had given me this two tier bento box a few years ago but I had never used it until now. So happy that I made the effort to get up early and prepare it, everyone was quite impressed with my efforts as everyone else had gone to the local supermarket to buy their lunch.

I don`t what it is with me but when I think picnic I think home made, even if its only a little something.

Cherry Blossoms

One of my favourite times of year in Japan is the Cherry Blossom season. There is so much excitement and energy in the air around this time of year. Going out to the park and sitting and having a few beers is always so much fun.

So when I found out that the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC are really great too I was really eager to go.

It was out first road trip and we really enjoyed it, 4 hours there 6 hours back!

The weather was just great and the blossoms were beautiful! Take a look!