keepin it local...

i just wanted to take a second to thank aqua restaurant for supporting one of their local potters!

(thr pottery, duh!)

 i am excited and honored to be working with aqua to get them a line of pottery for the restaurant to use in place of commercial serving ware.

 AND aqua is now also featuring fresh, seasonal foods from local and north carolina farmers and fisherman.

as a consumer and a provider i want to say "thank you aqua" ! i hope this encourages more businesses to keep it local here in beaufort!

check out their website
.http://www.aquaexperience.com/index.htm

go now! run! don't walk!
thank them for promoting positive change in BFT.
thank them for helping to preserve small scale and local farmers and supporting local crafts people!.
why not?
with a mouth wateringly delicious menu and a fabulous wine list....what do you have too lose?


until next time my friends...

wishing you well!
and thanks for reading!

~trista

really great way to spend your weekend!

mark hewitt's spring fling!

coming soon: mark hewitt's spring kiln opening...an amazing potter and businessman, this is a great way to spend the weekend. definately worth the trip! when i was at HCC we took a class trip to seagrove. we strayed from the beaten path over to pitsboro to meet mark hewitt. he's got a big ol crop o land, all farm -y and nature-y (the lovely topography that is typical of the piedmont). its always fun to see where potters work, where their studio is and what inspires them.  it was pretty neat to see his big snazzy kiln and and see his gorgeous rustic studio. and i havent even starter to talk about the pots!!!

go check his website.

http://www.hewittpottery.com/

hope everyone had a great holiday weekend...

and as always thanks for reading! and wishing you well!
~trista

happy earth day yall!

There are times when I cannot believe I am separate from this earth,

when I could swear the wind blows through me as it does the woven

needles of the pine tree by the creek, when I feel my feet planted

deep in the earth with the roots of trees and wildflowers,

drawing essence."

- Cathy Johnson

technology is no fun

so i just unloaded a bisque, where i actually remembered to put in some witness cones! i wanted see whats going on with R2D2 (my kiln). guess what happened? its completely underfired! ugh! looks like i will spending the day with L&L ! seeing as how i havent changed my elements since i got R2D2, i am pretty certain they are gone. electronics. not my strong point. wish me luck!!!

hope everyone is having a great week!

thanks for reading,
~trista

i am not a poet, but will pretend to be one for today.

where i live

 wait all winter

(and oh what an incredibly long seeming winter it is!)

for the warm weather to return to this loveliness.

the chrystal coast.

january.

old man winter hardly blessing us with enough sunlight in a day.

sleepy    dull     damp     windy.

.where the sky and the ocean are one.

a reflection of above

 and below.

bleak. gray

 restaurants close and the big glass window  stores barely turn their lights on.

 the streets once bustling with families

on bicycles,

kids

with icecream smeared by salty hands across  pink skin sun faces.

empty.

 we take solace in the comfort of our friends. our community our lifeline.

then april.

thank you april.

mosquito whirrrr bi-izzzzz still silent.

i uncurl my toes. the sun is hot. at last.

i stretch my body

 flat to the mother.

earth.

and let the the sun a down blanket cover me 

warm

 shorts

flipflops

torture. willing on the arrival of may and june.

  the breeze is still so so cold.

on the boats

man. navigating.

child. mother. only the top of a head tentatively peering over the bow.

mmmm sun.

tingly pinprick bumps covering my skin. hair standing up.brrrr...

5 ten more degrees. almost there.

i dont care. so soon.

so soon....

( sigh. close my eyes. the corners of my lips turn upward)

happy

new to beaufort!

i like to hit the "shop local" button on my etsy page and check out who is making art in and around beaufort. today, i found this new shop, symbiotic sisters, here in town. interestingly, this super nice lady came by the studio the other day ( who later introduced herself as beep. aka symbiotic sisters etsy shop owner).  beep told me she has been traveling on her sailboat and was kind of new to town. just recently she decided that she might hang out in beaufort for the summer.  she also told me she made jewelry and took pictures. today i found her shop: very cool stuff! i love this little town full of creative people!!! i am so excited that another cool craftsperson has landed here. i wish her luck, and hope she decides to stay awhile!

one of symbiotic sister's not cards

check out more of her stuff here!

http://www.etsy.com/people/symbioticsisters

thanks for reading!

 and as always,

wishing you well!

~trista

in case you didn't know...

http://www.beaufortmusicfestival.com/?page_id=63

the beaufort music festival will be on friday may 13th and saturday may 14th. the headliner this year is justin townes earle - one of my favs!!! make an excuse to come down east!

http://www.justintownesearle.com/

appalachian treks

no matter how much (or little. ha!) i am infatuated with beaufort on any given day, my sweet sheltering mountains are always in the back of my mind, a little special place in my heart. when i am feeling unmotivated in the mornings, i like to get up and read other potter's blogs. this morning i cam across the blog "appalachian treks".

http://appalachiantreks.blogspot.com/

this blog is by a talented photographer named mark peacock. it features his photos, with inspirational literary quotes on nature (think Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Mark Twain), great mountain hikes, vast mountain overlooks, rambling scenic drives, and must-see parks in and around western nc and eastern tennessee.  i love it! it takes me home. it is such an accurate collection of beauty that describes those ethereal and haunting hills in all their splendor. and done by a person who has built his livelyhood capturing the mountains on film (okay so that might be a bit of poetic leeway, its probably digital now. but breathtaking all the same.) its definitely on my list of favorites! check it out!

thanks for reading!
~trista

settling in...

i am working on bowls this week. doing some brushwork with underglazes and some carving. hopefully i can get the kiln working correctly soon...i am so excited for my new glazes!

on another note: its funny what you learn about yourself when you move... i learned my three most treasured objects were my day of the dead dolls made of clay (delivered carefully across the country by my folks from sante fe), my riddell wine glasses and the akira satake pitcher nick gave me for christmas this year. these are the things i was afraid to even put in a box and were carried by hand to the new house.

i'm feeling pretty settled on ocean street. i am so excited about all the space and the yard, and the dogs are LOVING it!!! but until now i was really really missing pine street.  then, late last night, i walked out onto my front porch and do you know what i heard? no, not zooming cars, not barking dogs or sputtering air conditioning units, or the elks club...i heard the ocean. THE OCEAN!!! from my front porch!!!! suddenly, i dont miss pine street so much anymore.

off to go make pots now...
.
wishing you well and as always, thanks for reading!

~trista

wednesday

hello all!

its wednesday. we just got  internet here at the new house. i 've been away from the computer for awhile.

i havent seen the walls of my sweet little studio in WAY too long. i miss it so much!  i am always intimidated to go back after being away!!! it will take me a few days to get back in the swing of it all. but things in the rest of my life are back to a manageable level. i am ready for some routine.  we are all moved in at the new house and are somewhat settled. also, i am happy to report ophelia is doing much better!

so here i go... back to the studio AT LAST!!!!!!

as always, thanks for reading and wishing you well!

~trista