glazedOver Pottery Tapas Set and a Short History Lesson

Napoleon III, also known to some as Don Alfonso Tapas, almost singlehandedly shaped the course of Spanish cuisine.

He had a broad and discriminating palate and is known for having influenced a whole generation—and all those that followed—to eat a variety of exclusively small appetizer sized portions together with their sherry.

Historians differ as to his rationale for this, but there are three prevailing theories:

1.  Tapas, in an attempt to manage his increasingly girlish figure, resorted to eating smaller portions

2.  Tapas actually had only a small appetite

3.  Tapas didn’t have much food left and was just trying to make it last longer

 

Historians may differ, but whatever. What IS important is how glazedOver has risen to the occasion to celebrate not only Don Alfonso Tapas, but the small portion based cuisine which he invented. New from the glazedOver Pottery studio is this four piece eclectic stoneware tapas set featuring the glazedOver signature Green Sherbert glazing on an earthy speckled stoneware backdrop.

For some serious history, I should admit that rather than giving Don Alfonse Tapas the credit, credit is actually due to the Spanish tavern owners for first having served tapas, which is a variety of small and succulent appetizers served either hot or cold. The word “tapas” itself comes from the Spanish word tapar which means “to cover.” Why does “to cover” have anything to do with such cuisine? An excellent question. I’m so glad you asked!

According to The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer et. al., tapas began as slices of bread or salty meat that patrons would use to cover their glasses of sherry in order to keep the fruit flies out. It made good business sense for the taverns to continue to offer such snacks with libations so that customers would continue to order more drinks.  “Eat while you drink; drink while you eat,” as they say.  Nice motto!

In case you are culinarily inclined and just about to google “tapas recipes,” I should tell you that there are no set rules for what constitutes tapas, per se. Garlic marinated black olives, spiced meatballs, stuffed tomatoes, shrimp fritters, artichoke croquetas, mushrooms vinaigrette,  hot fried patatas…whatever strikes your fancy. Bon appetit!

glazedOver Scroll Handle Mugs – Part II

Good news! The glazedOver ginormous handmade ceramic mugs with the curly handles came out of the kiln last week and they are just GORGEOUS! I experimented a bit with the glazes and I’m very pleased with the results.

These are the embarrassingly large mugs. At 28-ounces, they’re the ones for which you’d have to keep your eyes on the carpet during the walk back to your desk just so you won’t have to see the snickering and finger pointing. We know you like your coffee bucket. Nobody says you should have to strike up conversation about it though.

OK Go – Chain Reaction Heaven

Who doesn’t remember setting up a trail of dominoes and knocking over the first one to set up the captivating chain reaction collapse of the whole shebang? The visual treat is as intoxicating as the sound the dominoes make click-clicking against each other as they fall. Worth the effort, one must agree.

Chain reactions of this sort fascinated Rube Goldberg (1883-1970). First and foremost, Goldberg was a cartoonist, but he is well known for his deliberately over engineered machines which performed very simple tasks in a very complicated manner. His machines usually included a chain reaction and were so fascinating that they came to be called “Rube Goldberg Machines.”

The Chicago based indie rock band OK Go has a music video for their song “This Too Shall Pass” which is a mind-bogglingly long Rube Goldberg Machine. While you watch, notice that they shot the whole video in one long take without cuts. They did this to show that the whole sequence was one continuous machine without editing. Flawless, geek-worthy and so impressive.

It would be one thing if just the song was cool, but this video is one of the best visual manifestations of lyrics I’ve ever seen.

The glazedOver Studio Gets a Lick of Paint

Well, I should be clear, there’s no point in stretching the truth. The studio itself didn’t get painted, just my mother’s old childhood bookshelf did. Here is where my inspiration came from:

We’ve long had this gorgeous photography book Cats in the Sun by Hans Silvester. Looking now I see that it was first published in 1993 which, gosh! is a full 17 years ago. (Funny, it feels like just yesterday I was writing 1993 in my checkbook…where does the time go?)

Silvester spent months in the Greek islands observing the behavior of cats before he even took a single photograph. He writes:

“…I observed them at all hours of the day and night, and through every season, with all the patience needed to disturb them as little as possible. To the Greeks, I quickly became the fool who runs after the cats. I made them smile, but it was with the greatest kindness that they brought me coffee and cakes and told me stories about their favorite cats during the long hours that I waited for the best moment to take my photographs.”

He captured some phenomenal cat moments. My girls love to flip through the pages because the cats are so cute, but beyond that the spectacular splashes of blue on the white stucco backdrops of the Greek islands has always made my heart go pitter patter. If I could successfully do my house over in white stucco and paint the window shutters cobalt blue without it alarming the neighbors, I would.

Alas, my neighbors already wonder about me so the house should probably remain shingled for now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t put a nod to the Greek islands in my ceramic studio!

To accomplish that, I’ve painted the bookshelf blue. The walls have a light brown clay colored paint which will have pretend it’s white stucco and the pop of blue that the bookshelf adds is just the cat’s meow, pun intended!

Mango actually sniffed a little too close to the wet paint and got a smidge on her nose. If Hans Silvester hires me to write the sequel to Cats in the Sun, I think I’ll call it Cats in the Kitchen and use this photo as the cover shot. What do you think?

Here’s what it looks like in the studio. See the new shelves behind the pottery wheel on the right hand side of the photograph?  My studio is painfully small. With any luck we'll eventually be able to move to a place where I can have my own huge barn completely dedicated to clay work. Why it must be a barn, per se, is beyond me...somewhere along the line I must have associated barns with all things rustic and romantic.

The other day while I was seated at the pottery wheel trying to brainstorm the space problem, my husband saw potential over my right shoulder. Ikea for supplies and my daughter to the rescue  now I've got more shelf space AND a blue blookshelf.

Better? Better!

glazedOver Slab Built Stoneware Mugs

Today in the glazedOver studio, I’ve been working on some custom order stoneware mugs. I make these from slabs of clay that I roll out with the slab roller that my husband surprised me with a few years ago. I kept arguing that I could be blissfully happy with just my simple pastry dough roller and he kept dutifully agreeing until one day the slab roller showed up on our front door step. He’s a good guy, my guy. I’ll keep him.

The conical shape of a mug of no matter what shape is often quite aesthetically pleasing as is. As a tumbler, such a shape is sufficient, but as a mug, it requires a handle and the challenge is often to create a handle that doesn’t spoil the balance of the piece or distract from its gracefulness. I’ve been tweaking my handles for a while now and I’ve been listening to the comments of people who drink from them. I’ve gotten quite a few votes in favor of my curly handle design. People say they are not only comfortable, but they’re also kinda cute.


Here are the handles all curly-Q’d and waiting to be attached.


All done and off to the drying rack. Don’t they look like a bunch of annoyed women with their hands on their hips standing around saying:

“Hrumph! Well, will you just look at that!”


And here is a sample of  what the future may bring.

Fresh from the glazedOver Pottery Studio

Here at the glazedOver pottery studio, I’ve been experimenting with some new glazes and with using my familiar and beloved glazes in new ways. I'm very pleased with this iridescent meadow green.
 
It has a metallic sheen to it such that it practically glows when the light hits it just right.

glazedOver Plumbing Services

This morning, I unpacked the bisque kiln and was all ready to start glazing when I discovered that the drain in the studio sink was clogged…AGAIN!

Several years ago, my husband built the studio for me in the basement just beneath the kitchen (that was the only spot we could allocate). As it stands, the water from the kitchen sink drains through the studio pipes and then goes out under the entire house (over 30’) to the cesspool. Unfortunately, periodically the studio gets clogged and it drives me nuts and puts me out of commission each time.

Instead of calling the Chief Operating Plumber, who labored for over an hour last time, I did it myself. The COP was on hand capture the moment.

Enjoy, if that’s your thing.

That's a big job...Oh yeah, that's gonna cost you.

The New Artisans Gallery Team – Centralized Gorgeousness

I’m overjoyed to have been invited to join the new Artisans Gallery Team.
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