Yesterday I stood on the patio, a bright sunny Fall day and realized I had just run out of propane. Hooking up a spare raku tank, my igniter was out of butane too. I was also out of jars and vinegar, all signs it was time to stop canning, walk away, get out of the kitchen, save yourself! I had given myself one too many vinegar facials. Pictured above is the final list of everything that has been packed away. I did the final inventory this morning and fell to my knees when I realized I had not put up one jar of pasta sauce! I checked this morning and they are still picking tomatoes out at the local farm but I talked myself off the ledge and double counted the jars of chopped tomatoes and thought just use those! Do 2 people really need another half bushel of tomatoes..... NO!
Here are the final pictures of very full shelves. (converted pottery shelves as this was my very first studio some 30 years ago).
Soooo many people have pointed out how much work this is. OK, it's NOT! I prepped in the evening and canned the next morning. Usually finished by 10 am or noon depending on what was being processed.
I have memories of my great grandma's basement canning parties, butchering parties, lekvar parties (prune butter) being kind of fun for the old ladies. I am using the term "party" very loosely here, as these were short, wide woman rocking hairnets and sweating over bubbling pots or as memory serves me..... cauldrons, yup they must have been cauldrons and the Hungarian flew off their tongues. As a little kid, ducking the under arms of these large woman washing jars, stirring pots and yelling, my only thought; they had just had us kids to run stuff up and down the stairs a million times. We ran dead, beheaded chickens from behind the garage, through the back screen door, down a flight of steps where a gaggle of women waited with open arms and scalding pots. I can still remember the smells vividly. It was a family affair and I was not super happy with any of it. But at the end of the day, the food was pretty good, everybody was tired and the shelves or freezer was full. Today it's a solitary adventure and I'm still running the stairs and counting jars on shelves and freezer. Whatever happened to community canning centers or kitchens?
The amount of food three woman could put up on a Friday or weekend, if it was high holy canning season, was staggering. My great grandmother was still leery of the Kroger that had just come to town. I remember riding in a big old Dodge every Thursday morning with the same woman now clutching coupons and comparing notes on what was on sale, while Great grandpa Frank got behind the wheel. He could barely see over the wheel and after a couple blocks has to take a Nitro pill because there was no power steering. I think back and can't believe how big that Dodge had to be, 3 large woman, one small man and two kids, who sometimes had to sit in floor wells behind the front seat. It held all the groceries and got us back home. We were not really squished. Oh and they worn good clothes to go grocery shopping, sometimes rocking a hat........ Have you been to the store lately and looked around?
Speaking of the store....... I spent $170.00 TOTAL. The woman checking out in front of me spent $283.00 on food. Because I am that creeper in the check out line, I had to ask; How long will that last you? She was feeding 5 and it would get her through about a week. Catch me, I had the vapors! I had been doing a quick inventory as her groceries rolled down the belt. She did have a lot of processed food, frozen pizzas, pop tarts, some cereal with a gorilla on the label, frozen pouches of doughy goodness, large Styrofoam trays of meat, lots of soft drinks, chips, large loaves of white bread and those things called Lunchables I didn't know they still made those. Not being judgy, just observant..... ok maybe a little judgy. I GET IT! She works, is raising three kids, and and and .... I really do get it!!! My Mom worked full time from the time I was five and it was nuts and thank god for the grandmas or we would have never eaten a real canned tomato. And besides the woman dug a credit card out of her Michael Korrs hand bag and kept her credit card in Kate Spade wallet. She smelled good and her nails were "done". I looked like homeless person paying with change dug out of my garden jeans with holy knees and I probably smelled like a goat who sprayed down with barnyard pheromones . So I guess it is about what makes you happy and what you want. I want comfortable shoes, a shelf full of garden fun and I will work on smelling good .
I have not done this for three years due to the gallery and show obligations. I ran pottery pretty hard these last three years and didn't have a lot to show for it. This year I realized my life is bigger than just pottery. I have loved my yard and outside stuff this year. Finding bugs, figuring out if they were good bugs or bad bugs and then blasting there little butts in a jar of soapy water. I lost a few battles and won a few battles, like cucumbers and terra stigillata (studio stuff). I learned hydrogen peroxide works on all plants and a bit of Epsom salts works wonders on the tomatoes and roses; not just as a flocculant for glazes! I heard the birds again and left the spent echinacea heads up in the garden for the gold finches, now wearing there Sunday best colors. I guess my worlds are starting to merge a bit and I'm kind of liking it.
As I tucked the last jar on the shelf this chilly Sunday morning and climbed back up the steps to sunlight my brain boarded the pottery train. Yes, just that fast! I set up for a four day show on Wednesday! Again, out of business cards and it's time to climb the pull down stairs in the studio and start bringing down all the booth stuff and empty boxes. I have way too much inventory as I did manage to make pots all summer. But the thought of digging all the crap out for a booth is a little dizzying, especially with the reoccurring theme of stairs in my life.
I'm kind of over the woven pots. Ya they are nice and the gallery's love them but they just don't sell that often. I look at my shelves right now and I see fermenting jars, soup bowls, tea pots and for the most part..... functional work. I did sell one woven piece at the Lakeland opening and that was great! But as I look over the past few months I've sold nice decorative stuff in the $45-$85 price range with no weaving, mugs, and a few bowls. The woven stuff takes an incredible amount of time to make and I found myself weaving on the patio wishing I was anywhere else doing anything else. I have an attic full of woven pots but the galleries want "new" work; something that hasn't been seen before. These are all sure signs to move on to other things.
I guess I'm getting there although I'm not sure where ........ peace out for now blogosphere :)
