Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Nostalgia and nasturtiums...

My sister Vivienne has done some beautiful nasturtium watercolours, posted on her blog.
Since I've been neglecting mine - I thought I'd post this photo of my bowl I painted ten years ago, during my "painting pottery" phase. We were limited in the colours we could use. The little blue star flowers should be cornflower blue - not royal. They grew on a weedy looking plant, but are edible and folk who had them growing in their gardens would often toss them into salads for a splash of colour and intrigue! I saw them growing in my mother-in-law's backyard in Oregon and brought a plant back to Texas with me, but the heat here killed it! Back to the pottery studio - it was in the private home of a friend, built onto the back of her garage. There was also a kiln, so she could fire our works of art right there. At 11 0'clock sharp she'd carry in a tray of mugs steaming with tea. It was winter and that little room was cold - and the hot tea so appreciated! Not to mention good times and good company and creative fun. Joy - if you're reading this - my bowl still reminds me of happy hours shared together! More nostalgia for East London, South Africa!

6 comments:

Cathy Gatland said...

I still have one of your pieces from those happy potting days, and love and cherish it. This is beautiful - I must have seen it before, but not for a long time.

Vivienne said...

Oh! It is lovely! And lovely to have you back on line too.
What a joy-ful bowl,most beautifully done, and no doubt a family heirloom. I forget about the salad thing with nasturtiums ... they add a great touch, and a peppery flavour

Gillian said...

Oh - do folk put nasturtiums in salad too...? I think I remember something about that...??!! I was talking about the blue star flowers... They have a sweet honey flavour. Yes, I do like my bowl - and I'm hoping my kids think its an heirloom! Your nasturtiums are DEFINITELY an heirloom, so beautiful.
I must try and grow some here.

Cathy Gatland said...

I think the blue flowers are borage?... I planted some and it nearly took over the whole front garden, so pulled it out again over many months - it was persistent! You can eat nasturtiums, and violas - and the green seeds of the nasturtiums you can use as an alternative to capers, apparently, but they seem to have a terribly strong burny flavour to me.
Your kids will fight over that bowl someday!

Anonymous said...

You do wonderful work Gillian! I love your dog sketches.
Ronell

Gillian said...

Hi Ronell - so good to see you back on line. Thanks for stopping by here and for your email. Hope you're feeling better.