big thank you to Southern Living

for including gleena wee teas in their Holiday Gift Guide this month. what a gorgeous issue with so many decorating ideas and yummy recipes!

so much to be thankful for

As the Thanksgiving weekend draws to a close, I am at home recovering from a minor injury at the studio. Or maybe not so minor. It happened this morning, and it is still hurting, and I might be out for a few days. It was a scary accident, one of those that happen so quickly, and one of those that could have been much worse.

But I am thankful for a friend that came over at a moment’s notice to take care of me, to drive me home. I am thankful for my family and friends that keep checking in on me. And, after the jolting experience of this morning, I am thankful for these simple peaceful moments from the past few days.

Berrie sniffing the ocean air, illuminated by the setting sun

the moment right after the sun blinks out at the horizon

the soft glow of porcelain in my cozy new home

the graceful wall sculpture made by my friend Paul

gleena colors

from top: avocado, tangerine, lilac, turquoise, warm gray, rose, mustard, ocean

still life saturday with photographer pia ulin

Pia Ulin is a Brooklyn, NY based photographer.

as local as it gets: a tale of green figs

My new house came with a “Black Jack” fig tree, and by the end of August, the tree was full of figs, green unripe figs. A few turned purple and delicious by the end of September, but most stayed green, and hard. I had to pick them before the first frost. New England is not an ideal zone for fig cultivation.

When life gives you green figs, you make preserves! I found this very simple recipe from NY Times:

1 to 1 ½ pounds of unripe figs
2 ½ cups of white sugar
5 cups of water
6 whole cloves
1 organic lemon, peel removed in six longish strips
2 wide-mouth canning jars (1 pint each), sterilized

Easy ingredients, but time consuming, and hot! I steamed up the windows with all the boiling, and got a wicked steam burn. So if you ever follow the full recipe here, get a glass of wine, put on great music, and be careful not to singe your hands.

It was all worth it...

Breaking into the jar a week later, the preserved figs came out super tender, not too sweet, and oh so good on top of bread with butter. Plus they were infused with that extra goodness that comes from having picked my own fruit from the front yard. Can’t wait to do it all over again next year.

thank you, bearleader chronicle

In July I had an unexpected visit from an old friend from my art director days, Daniela Stallinger. Daniela, a wonderful photographer, and I had worked frequently together on photo shoots ranging from weddings in Arizona, to toys for your pet. It was such a pleasure to reconnect, and to spend two easy days, this time being the subject of a photo shoot, as opposed to the director behind the scenes. Daniela was launching a new online publication, Bearleader Chronicle.

The journal launched yesterday, and it was such a treat to discover Daniela’s talent for writing in the premier issue. Follow her adventures from London to St. Ives to Crete and then Vienna. And what an honor for Providence, RI and gleena to be the very first entry! Read the full story by clicking here.

Here is a bit of a photo preview, I love how prominent my little ceramic muses are in the story. They oversee the studio, and guard all the firings. And they are my first explorations in clay, way back when...

kiln moments

Opening a kiln is a treat, almost every time (except when the elements or the thermocouple burn out). Here are a few of my favorite moments, and one not so favorite...

This last photo was taken while I was replacing the kiln elements, arguably the most unpleasant task in the ceramics field. Hanging upside down for a few hours, pulling out little sections of burned, brittle elements is torturous. Thankfully, the other kiln moments make up for that.

Martha Stewart American Made 2013

This year I was honored to have been invited back to participate as one of the vendors in Martha Stewart’s American Made Market. I loved being in NYC’s Grand Central Station, it has been so beautifully renovated since my days in New York. We had three days of bustling activities, with sales and attendance way up since last year’s event. Big thank you to the organizers, who worked from wee hours in the morning, to late at night to ensure a very smooth set up.

Also a big thank you to Martha Stewart, who was at the event every day, hosting the awards ceremony, meeting vendors, doing workshops, signing books. She still inspires with her energy, and charisma. Martha was the one who inspired me to create my own brand, as I’m sure she has done for many many others.

Here are a few moments from the event, there were oh so many more...

gleena next to Cricket Radio linens. Don’t we look good together?

mabo kids clothing. super adorable, beautifully made. i wish they came in big people sizes.

sydney hale soy candle. the most delicious, and subtle, fragrance. yummy and addictive.

It was a joy seeing so many incredible American makers recognized publicly at a beautiful event. There is a lot of talent in this country, small businesses doing what they love. I’m proud to be a part of this amazing community.

in a blink of an eye, summer is gone

Where have I been? My last post is from August 17th, while I was at the NY NOW show. I find it hard to believe that I blinked and more than two months went by. I got lost in purchasing a house, renovating it, moving in while it’s under construction, and juggling the contractor, the plumber, the electrician, the tile man, the painter, and well, my dog, Berrie (who freaked out over the whole thing). Then onto the RISD Alumni Sale in Providence, and the Martha Stewart American Made event in NYC’s Grand Central (all in one week). And of course there is my studio work and filling all the amazing orders I got at the NY NOW show. Whew. Now I have a moment before the Holiday craziness really starts, taking a breath to enjoy my favorite season. Hello Autumn, you snuck up on me...beautifully

gleena past and present

I am in NYC for the NY NOW show, and am staying at my dear friends’ house in Brooklyn. M&A have collected my work from the very beginning, and keep it beautifully displayed (and constantly in use) in their kitchen. I love the way they have mixed early (the turquoise) and current gleena in with vintage serving pieces and french cafe o’lei bowls.

I am very grateful for M&A’s continuing support, their encouragement keeps me going and inspired.

how to make a cover for an ice bucket, out of liquid porcelain, hmmmm...

The cover had to be spacious enough for the ice bucket to be removed easily. Making a model is a hard process, made more difficult by the fact that my porcelain shrinks about 10% while it goes through all the firings.

For the ice bucket to fit well, the model had to be at least 10% larger than the final product. Quite a design challenge.

I created a model out of plaster, it is giant, and heavy, and took about two months to get right, the first and second try ending up being too small.

The mold for the cover, also out of plaster, is even larger.

It takes 5 gallons of porcelain slip (liquid) to fill the mold all the way to the top.

It is impossible to empty it out by myself, and I end up spilling the slip all over.

When the cover finally comes out of the mold, it has a very rough edge due to being drained upside down.

While the cover is in the ”leather-hard“ stage, I cut out the handles, and clean up the edges with a sponge.

You can see how much the cover shrinks, the knob of the lid is peeking out on top. It is well below the rim in the previous photo. The carrying handles double as a resting place for the ice tongs.

I made four covers, one for me, and three for the client, Lippincott, a graphic design firm in NYC. The covers are glazed blue inside, and ivory on the outside, to match Lippincott’s other gleena dishes, click here to read more about their custom tableware set.