Cat tale

My Mom always had a cat, my Dad a dog. It still seems pretty normal to me to have one of each so I have never been an either-or, fully committed “cat person” or “dog person.” Indeed, I am enough of a soft touch for animals in general to run Lost River Artisans Co-op’s community fundraisers for Potomac Highlands Animal Rescue on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. For those events, and for sale at other times too, I make pumpkin bowls with cat or dog (or even both) themes. They are fun to create and are generally well received by folks who cherish pets.

At one of my shows, a woman came along and explained that she’d bought a “cat bowl”

from me the previous year. She took it home but could not decide whether to put it in the cabinet to use for food or leave it on the kitchen counter to collect her keys and the mail. She decided to sleep on the decision. The next morning she found her cat sound asleep in the bowl—and there he has slept ever since.

As they say: “Purr-fect.” Sometimes it’s nice when decisions get made for us!

Veggie Bowls

My neighbor Esther left a bag of beets hooked to my mailbox recently. She dug the last beets of the season and was canning them. The beets were delicious and the tops were still on them. I had fresh collards and kale in the frig so the temptation was overwhelming: the beet greens went on the outsides of three lovely bowls. I like veggies (and sometimes fruits) on the outsides of bowls, although many of those are small molded models. What could be more appropriate than real greens? It began with radish tops too pretty to go straight to the compost and the bowls they graced became a gift for a chef. Now I often roll cabbage and other greens onto the clay for leafy textures.

People occasionally tell me they don't actually use their Kahoka stoneware, but I make it for utility as much as interest and beauty. It is food safe and dishwasher safe. After surviving a kiln to 2200+ degrees, no dishwasher is likely to intimidate Kahoka pots. I don't know who will appreciate - or even recognize - beet greens on their bowls, but think of the delicious foods they could hold for Thanksgiving! We've eaten all our borscht, but the greens live on!