The Annual Fairview Studios Pottery sale was this past weekend. I dove in because as much as I love to make pottery, and I love to be surrounded by wonderful handmade tableware created by other artists. I’m not exactly joking when I tell people that I sell pots so that I can buy pots. My motto: If you’re going to use it every day, it should be beautiful and inspiring.

On that note, my first two purchases at the show were these lovely fish themed narrative bowls. I picked up both available bowls, and they go very well with the foursome of red koi bowls that are already in our cupboard. These beauties were created by Calgary potter Ashley Morrow . Affected by the Calgary floods in 2013, a trout could’ve be swimming through her home at that time as water brought devastation to Calgary and area. The movement of the water, and the visible making/carving lines of the artist thrilled both Jason and I. These have definitely found a loving home with us.

When I’m at pottery sales, I’m primarily drawn to techniques that I enjoy, or that are on my list to try in our own studio. For me, clay carving is meditative, and I adore how glazes break over ridges, how glaze pools into lines. Lorraine Chartier’s ware focuses on organic lines, carved deeply into her pots, appealing to both sight and touch. The blue glaze with snippets of brown on the waved curls won me over, and one of her smaller items came home with me.

Next up is Festival of Crafts in Calgary Thursday – Sunday where I’m looking for beer steins that would pair nicely with our growlers. We’ll see what we find – or we’ll see what we make when we get home if our stein search is unsuccessful.