Tea-bowl for Laura, #30 of 36, "The Hail Cup"

     "Hail to a Mott Street friend,
      Hale fell at my journey's end.
      From this cup we'll drink some tea,
      And then old friend, it belongs to thee."

I'm back in civilization, sitting here at the computer, re-united with the web. . . Ah our addictions! The web is certainly one of them.

The drive back from upstate New York was lovely, until 30 miles from new Haven, all hell broke loose. Hale fell from the sky. I had to pull over, along a wooded road in Connecticut. I tried to pick a spot where a tree wouldn't fall on us. So much water fell out of the sky, I began to wonder - what are the theoretical limits of precipitation?

The hail stones kept getting bigger and bigger! I rolled down the car window and stuck my arm outside. Ouch!

I come home to find that an old friend, a neighbor from my 302 Mott Street days in New York, has said she wants this cup.

I'm thrilled.

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  1, 2, 3,  4,  5,  6

  7, 8, 9, 10,11,12

13,14,15,16,17,18

19,20,21,22,23,24

25,26,27,28,29,30

31,32,33,34,35,36

Tea-bowl for David, #29 of 36 "The Red Bowl"

      "A Shino bowl, where reds have flashed,
       Now is gone, to David's stash."

This will hold tea for a true connoisseur of tea-art!

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  1, 2, 3,  4,  5,  6

  7, 8, 9, 10,11,12

13,14,15,16,17,18

19,20,21,22,23,24

25,26,27,28,29,30

31,32,33,34,35,36

Tea-bowl for Ami, #28 of 36, "Fire and a Shawl"

     "A weft ikat by fire woven,
      A sketch of flames in a witches' coven.
      On that sari, or pashmina shawl,
      My drawing behind lies hidden from all."

In cup time I'm probably out walking around a remote body of water, looking at mushrooms and plants. In cursor time I'm still in New Haven, updating these posts before hitting the road. In fire time? I have to get busy and load my kiln - I'm way backlogged in bisque! In day time it's time to get off this machine and over to the studio. Yes I went on vacation, and left this project on autopilot for four days.

So I'm overjoyed to find a few of these mugs have been 'taken'.

I've purposely shown the ashy fire side of this one, and not the red-flashed drawing on the other side. The difference comes down to this - my work or the fire's work? Which is better? Do I have to ask? Sometimes I show the drawing side simply because you have to see what the drawing is to know whether you'd even give this cup a chance in your life. But clearly the fire always, always beats me.

So what is the right 'place' for a drawing, for man's work. Should man's work be in front of nature, or behind it?

I've saved this beauty for my dear wife. She likes the size and feel of it. 

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  7, 8, 9, 10,11,12

13,14,15,16,17,18

19,20,21,22,23,24

25,26,27,28,29,30

31,32,33,34,35,36

Tea-bowl for Tasha, #27 of 36, "The Wiggen Hill"

     "A volcano's erupted, or else a wig,

      A tiny hill, sprouts grassy sprigs."

Cup 27

By now I'm sound asleep after a long day of driving. In tea-bowl time that is. I'm in a magical place with no electricity, no phone. I'm listening to loons on a beautiful lake, coyotes howling between the mountains. 

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  7, 8, 9, 10,11,12

13,14,15,16,17,18

19,20,21,22,23,24

25,26,27,28,29,30

31,32,33,34,35,36

Tea-bowl for John Manion, #26 of 36. "The Island"

     "A distant isle swathed in fog,
      From ashen fire, a dawn-rising raga."

I'm on the way to the North woods for a few days. The scene on the side of this bowl makes me wonder about the dawns, fogs and mists that are yet to rise at the beginning of a day. . . . have we even begun to experience the colors of them all?

If we pollute our planet enough, dawn will no longer be 'rosy fingered'. She'll be beet red, and she'll extend into midday.

Sunrise on Titan.

Let us not turn Earth into Titan!

This bowl has been promised to John Manion, a new friend I made this summer at the Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station course on Botany with Jerry Jenkins. John is curator of plants for the Kaul Conservatory in Birmingham Alabama. We'll have a cup of tea together and wander through the beautiful collection of trees and plants.

The grid below links all the tea-bowls that are part of this project.

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  1, 2, 3,  4,  5,  6

  7, 8, 9, 10,11,12

13,14,15,16,17,18

19,20,21,22,23,24

25,26,27,28,29,30

31,32,33,34,35,36