A Message from Raisin Studio

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and NEW YEAR

from Raisin Studio

Objects of Our Lives Ceramics

A pop-up store, "Objects of Our Lives," run by two gracious Turkish entrepreneurs has brought a minimalist, artisan crafted esthetic to downtown Princeton.

Deniz and Guniz Engur hosted a holiday party in the space last night, and as I have met the couple and attended some "Creative-Teas" there, I was on their email list and was invited.









So, I dressed in my classic Japanese jacket and walked there, hoping to at last have a good look at all their wares and to socialize.

Creative people, collectors and Turkish expatriates were there, and a long table set with edible delicacies.

I conversed with an architect, a jeweler and the parent of one of my art students from years ago, while trying not to spill red wine on my jacket. I did anyway. Fortunately, it is a tie-dyed pattern with reds and browns - it will blend right in.











I also photographed some of the ceramics that are for sale there, but in that party setting did not document what I was photographing, so I will not credit the artists at the risk of an error.







Nevertheless, these are some of the pieces that I admired in the store. An invitation extended to me by the jeweler to a show of her work along with that of a ceramic artist's promises to provide more impressions or fodder to inspire next year's work in Raisin studio.

Weekend High in Raisin Studio

Saturday the second day of December I opened my studio as a gallery.  There were old and new ceramics - some early pieces from our basement in 2008 were there as well as the latest Edgy bowls and plates.

My sister came down from Brooklyn to help. She stayed in the back room, the shed actually, but transformed into a wrapping station and there she bubble wrapped and bagged. She was kept pretty busy because people came and people bought.

This took me by surprise. Previous "Open Studios" were not so well attended, but signs, press releases, an email blast, postcards tacked up or handed out, all must have helped to make this one a successful sale.

Neighbors, friends, passing strangers kept coming and all, seriously, all of them were kindness itself. They commented on the garden, the studio and my work in such positive terms, I was more than pleased.











And the next day the same. Two wonderful days, I'd say two days that were among the best of my life. I felt loved. Not really, literally loved, but the sum of all those people being so nice, it was like love. My heart was full. I am grateful.

A Serious Message

I have had great pleasure transforming my studio into a display space for my clay pieces this week, so I was dismayed by a letter from the Municipality today, two days before I was to have the Open Studio that read:








A BUSINESS IS BEING OPERATED AT [MY] ADDRESS IN EXCEPTION TO ORDINANCE REQUIREMENTS.

I must correct it before December 15, 2017, the letter reads.
Open Studio is Dec 2 and 3. What shall I do? I wrote back. Here is my letter:

Thank you for the communication from Mr. ----. I had no idea my activities were illegal. I have a small studio where I primarily spend time to occupy myself since I am on disability with Parkinson Disease. It gives me a purpose and I choose to do it also for the therapeutic value for my hands and for general wellness. If I can sell what I make I can pay for what materials I need. 

I will remove my signs if that is necessary but remain open for anyone to come see my work but not to sell it.I hope that will satisfy the zoning officer. Please advise what actions I can or cannot take to share what I make with the community. I certainly don't want or need to keep all the things I make.

Sincerely,

Elisa Hirvonen

Come get free stuff.

Lights for the Season

These porcelain votive candle holders are more quirkiness from the Edgy bowl creator.

They are made with a cream colored porcelain, not the pure white porcelain you usually see.









That creaminess gives the votives a lovely buttery yellow glow when a candle is lit inside.































The bottoms were dipped in silvery metallic glaze. Most of the 18 that I made have drips running up the sides (they were fired upside down).

The Edgy family now consists of bowls, sushi and tapas plates, and now votives. I love those edges.


Examples of all of new and old work will be for display and sale at Raisin Studio where El's Clay plies her trade. Three shelves of $10 ceramics and many in the 20-30 dollar range are priced to sell to clear the studio for New Work.


Come one come all - to El's Open Studio Dec 2-3, 10-5:00 138 John St., Princeotn NJ

Artisan Market 2017

I am ready to take my new wares to market. I have over 80 pieces priced and packed waiting to go.



There are tumblers....
















Edgy bowls ....

and edgy plates, in sets of two, three or four matching plates.

There are trays in high fire terracotta...

and the Solar Eclipse 2017 series, square dishes in various sizes.

Whatever does not sell I will bring back and put out for sale in my OPEN STUDIO event in December. There will also be lots of work that is not new, reasonably priced, and seconds that are dirt cheap. I have already started setting up for the Open Studio - I get a kick out of playing store now and then.







Meanwhile, time to load. The market is tomorrow at the West Windsor New Jersey Arts Council.

Artisan Market

Chanticleer Garden in October

 




You would think by October there might be an end to garden exuberance, but not at Chanticleer in Wayne, Pennsylvania on the the 18th of October.

The weather was glorious, the slanting light of autumn perfect for photography and everywhere I looked there was color and creativity; nature and humanity in partnership to create perfect wonder.


It was the most beautiful garden I could ever imagine.

We began our own tour of the garden in the area around the house, the most obvious place to begin.















At one end of the house there is a porch with a fireplace, two rocking chairs and a view down the hillside to the more wild areas of the garden (top).















At the other end is a long narrow, shaded pool. Water trickles in at both ends from sculpted fonts.

Many pots of sizes ranging from the modest to the immense are all around, planted with combinations that surprised and delighted me. In fact the whole garden endlessly delighted me.

Craftsman and artists' contributions were everywhere, including many  benches where one might enjoy a restful and contemplative seat.

At the rear of the house are two cabanas flanking a rectangular swimming pool. Between the pool and the house a wild, grassy area was planted with a casual scattering of orange dahlias, tall stemmed purple verbena and other sun loving flowers.

There is water to be found in many places. This little stream is at the end of a series of stepped ponds. The leaves and flower pods from lotus plants, and friendly carp live in the pond just above it. The carp swam over to us, lifting their whiskered lips to the surface, no doubt seeking a handout.

A variety of sculptural water fountains provide refreshment for body and soul as we meander through the garden.





















Here a rock bowl makes a tiny pool for some water loving plants. This mossy nook is on one of the many side paths that coax one to wander off the main ones.












There are both wide open wide lawns and thick wooded areas at Chanticleer, giving the contrasts of bright or dappled light, and hot sun or cool shade.

If interested, you can learn the names of the plants growing in the various habitats. This box has a style suited to its woodland location.






I was satisfied with just observing and appreciating the plants I saw, or speculating about them. Was this a hydrangea? Probably, but one I had never seen before.

My companion checked out a plant list for this rock garden and discovered it to be a thick booklet with photographs of hundreds of plants.

Very enjoyable for me were the many man made features along the way, such as this little hut, painted on the inside with animals and tree branches or this carved wooden foot bridge.

"The Ruins" are partial stone walls and chimneys artfully landscaped and also loaded with art, such as these stone messages, and five large and impassive stone heads in a fountain.

Yet another pool was at the center of the ruin, its black stone making the water table-height. Its massive size and dark depths within the enclosing walls were not easy to capture in a photograph, yet I tried.

My favorite man made feature was this bridge, a most unusual design, made of wood and metal.

Plants are incorporated into the design with a moss garden atop one side, and more plants in a low round window, and along the floor.

Chanticleer Garden is a spectacular place to visit. I have left much for you to discover yourself. I for one will be back, to see it in other seasons.










If in October, when flowers everywhere else are mostly just chrysanthemums and asters, there was still so much color and interest at Chanticleer...

what then what will it be like in spring or summer?