In With the Cold, Out With the Old

Or something like that . . . it is getting colder - I saw a few folks out over the weekend with hats and was actually a tiny bit envious - and I am changing things around a bit. 

I went over to Society Hill Designs yesterday to freshen up the stock there and I will be working on adding some new pieces to my Etsy store this week!

Sunday Stretch

In a bit of a worlds colliding coincidence, I get to be at the Grand Reopening for my favourite yoga studio this Sunday. 

With new LePennyJ works to show! 

Come out and join the fun!

Block Party Tomorrow

Come out and join the fun - and help keep the rain away! 

Nalls Produce is having a mega block party at their place tomorrow and everyone is invited. Like they say, food, fun - a moonbounce (sorry, I think it's kids only!), and I will be there with some new works. 

Maker Traveler | Clay Fish in Singapore, Pewter Bowls in Penang/Georgetown, and Okonomiyaki in Tokyo

Well, back for a while now but had a little (okay, more than a little) trouble with re-entry into "normal" . . . time change was much harder coming back and very much disliked having to (horrors) actually drive myself places after a couple of weeks traveling via plane, bus, taxi, or train. I've been back in the studio a couple of times since and hopefully will have a few finished pieces again this week but wanted to say hello and share a bit of my experiences here.

My family had told us about an opportunity in Singapore for a pottery outing so as we were on the plane over, I started thinking that it would be interesting to make a souvenir in each location we visited and to some degree that came to be. We went to an awesome workshop in Singapore at Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle where we made clay fish. 

We used a hand-building technique that was new to me and one I may start incorporating into my regular works soon. The pieces had to dry prior to being fired (it's an open air space so it takes a little longer) and we were only in town for a few more days, so we're still waiting for the fish to make their way over - yet to be seen whether they'll be swimming or flying . . .

In Malaysia we visited Penang. Most of our time was spent in the Georgetown area wandering through Little India and Chinatown checking out the shophouses - and street art. This is probably my most favourite thing about traveling, just seeing another city's normal routine.





We ventured out to Straits Quay where we made pewter bowls at Royal Selangor's School of Hard Knocks. Not nearly as relaxing as the time spent making clay fish in Singapore - but then we did get to bring the finished product home!

In Tokyo, we were scurrying around so much that the only thing we made were "pancakes" - okonomiyaki - for dinner one night. Those weren't brought back of course but gobbled up in a few minutes time. We visited so many places in Tokyo!

As nice as it is to be back home, I do wish we had more time everywhere that we visited. Nowhere more than Japan - we did venture out to Mt. Fuji for a day trip and were lucky to have a beautiful view of the mountain, but there is so much more of Japan, even just in Tokyo, that I would love to see sometime!

One thing that held across the board was how nice everyone was to us - no matter where we were and how inconveniencing we might have been at the time (and we were somewhat frequently imposing on someone). I hope I/we are the same to visitors here also - something for me to continue to think about and take more notice of my own behaviours.

Goings On - Here and There

I was at Society Hill Designs earlier this week to refresh the stock there, visit and look around myself. I always find something - usually a few somethings! - to fall in love with while I'm there. Here are a couple of pictures of some of the new pieces I dropped off.

For some reason I wanted a quote about birds on the bigger plate. I had William Blake on my mind that day but when I did a search on quotes, this one from Eubie Blake came up. It struck me as pretty fitting for my mood right then. I shortened it just a little for the piece - the full version is here.

"Be grateful for luck. Pay the thunder no mind - listen to the birds. And don't hate nobody."

Right now, I'm grateful for the chance to go on quite an exciting journey.  Tomorrow I begin the day here in the DC area but will surface somewhere entirely different - first stop is Singapore, with a side trip to Malaysia and then back through Japan for a few days before coming home.

I started working on a few new pieces this week and am looking forward to getting back to them on when I return. But for now, just looking forward to the trip and finishing up the last minute packing involved with going somewhere new! 

Birthday Bash @ Stifel & Capra

There's a party happening this weekend with plenty of treats for everyone!  

Come celebrate at the Stifel & Capra Seventh Annual Birthday Bash with birthday cake, wine tastings, and shop specials. 

Society Hill Designs is offering 20% off entire boutique, including all LePennyJ Ceramics!

New York New Work

I recently had the chance to experience some aspects of one of my favourite cities - New York, New York.

It was an anniversary outing - we try to go somewhere special to celebrate each year. It's always a treat to spend some time together away from the hurry of every day.

This trip to NYC really reminded me of a previous trip to Venice, Italy. Like that trip, we walked most everywhere - from midtown a zigzag around the city and across the Brooklyn Bridge, all the way to the Fort Greene outpost of the Brooklyn Flea. On the way back, we took the subway to near Brooklyn Bridge Park, walked a bit more and then sat in the shade there before catching a cab back over the bridge. We knew we would never make it walking back the seven(ish) miles in time for Bullets Over Broadway - the other big reason we were here. What a show that was!

Just as I remembered, New York never really sleeps so we were able to grab a very authentically Italian pizza after the show and still make it to a bakery where we were treated with two bags of not-quite-day-old extras to bring home.

This piece that I had been working on was waiting for me when we returned - seemed like the perfect way to sum up the trip, a happy wish.

And a few more in the works that should be completed soon. This is somewhat of a new colour palette on some designs I had been playing with last year so we'll see how they turn out. Maybe if I Wish Happy some more, they'll be to my (and others) liking!