The Pleasures of Dining From A Handmade Vessel

I am spoiled in ever so many ways.

Presently in mind as I sip my morning coffee is because of my friend Nan… brilliant artist…inspired ceramicist. Coffee tastes richer sipped from her handmade piercing blue mug with a handfeel of the earth… and when I set it on her lavenderblue saucer, sheer delight. Coffee is from the bigger mug Nan made, my afternoon Ceylon, ginger, and green teas are from her smaller mug.

I’ve known the pleasures of handmade pottery at the table since I was a girl because during the war (that’s WWII), my mother collected Vallauris earthenware. Vallauris is a village in Provence known for its pottery, and for Picasso, who lived there after the war. Fortunately I still have a number of the fragile pieces. Casseroles and baking dishes are the color of pale earth outside—unglazed—with a dark brown glaze on the inside. The pieces are lighter than stoneware or those made of glass, and cook incomparably.

A few years ago, planning to entertain someone special, Bill and I bought a set of Provençal dinner plates. Golden to beat hell…  Their ochre is magic—I’ve seen the color named also as “royal” or “imperial” yellow taken from the robe of a 15th century Ming dynasty emperor (do you also love the names of colors?). The plate is a gorgeous background for any food I place on it, from a simple verdant salad to rosy slice of rare beef.  Each plate is different, a unique work of art…which is to say, some are relatively thick and heavy, some are thinner, lighter. The dishes give me a thrill every time I lift them from their drawer.

It seems to me every food tastes richer, is more pleasurable from an earthenware vessel. Being from the earth, it’s from whence the food itself originated, so there’s a significant, moving coalescence…

Yes in these times when we’re bent on keeping plastic and other toxic substances from our bodies, how about a movement back toward the potter’s wheel…clay from Mother Earth. With non-toxic glazes, of course!

Nota Bene on that subject: I read that beautiful hand-decorated pottery cookware from Mexico may still be suspect for containing lead because of more primitive artisanal means of glazing, painting, and firing. If you really want to use a piece—when I’ve used them—NO ACIDIC FOOD IN IT…serve quickly, then empty and wash…no food storage in the vessel. And do not serve to children or anyone with a compromised immune system…lead is serious stuff.

Presently, I am happily collecting Nan Wollman’s pieces.* A privilege and joy.

* https://wollmanstudios.com/product-category/pottery