Beauty

Beauty...
I was surrounded by a lot of it this week.

In the midst of homeschooling clutter on our kitchen table, I noticed beauty on my kitchen table. These mugs are from Sauk Mountain Pottery, acquired at their kiln opening last Saturday (read more on that below).

Then there was beauty on my bike ride towards Newhalem.  There is nothing like the enchanting color of the Skagit River.

And double beauty with the two pretty fairies helping me collect grass for the goats, my little daughter and her best friend.

Talking about beauty, how could I not mention my handsome husband and the gorgeous hand made wooden bows and arrows he makes himself?  And maybe the sweater I knit him ten years ago, worn so often that the edges are fraying.

Okay, now that you got in the mood for beauty, let me tell you about Sauk Mountain Pottery.  It's a little pottery shop in Rockport, 20 minutes West of us, owned and operated by our friends Steven and Nicola Murray.  We've been friends for many years, and Steven has made pottery for decades, but not until recently did I start getting obsessed with their beautiful clay wares.  Nicola wrote a book about their story ("How to Make a Pot in 14 Easy Lessons" - available here), when they first started falling in love.  She writes about the process of making pottery with a wood fired kiln, and the way she describes it makes it sound so very intriguing.  So we happily accepted their invitation to attend their kiln opening, which is the moment the kiln is first opened after a firing.  It's very exciting for both spectator and the potter, since it's always somewhat of a surprise how the glazes, colors and textures interact with each other.

Nicola looks happy with the results.  No wonder.  I drooled over every single piece.

Steven looks happy, too!

I was determined to purchase something for our household.  Every single piece Steven Murray took out of the kiln accelerated my heart rate, and my husband looked worried.  Knowing that we couldn't buy everything, we settled on two mugs - one for me, one for him.  Steven gave Kai and Lukas each their own mug as a present, since they "helped" him put things away as he took them out of the kiln.  Thank you, Steven and Nicola!