Disclaimer: I am not a writer!

I have spent the last few days adding the new beautiful French collection to the Emilia Ceramics website.  It is a time-consuming and emotionally exhausting process for two reasons: First, I am not a writer!  Sure I have done some writing in my past, you know things like a senior thesis on racial disparities in education and... umm... a lot of journal writing while living abroad.  But I've never written for a magazine or newspaper.  And as my friends know, I don't even send long emails.  I am more of a 'get the point across' kind of writer. 

The second reason writing about these ceramic pieces is hard is because I feel such an emotional connection to them.  I sit here, looking at this stunning bowl, analyzing how it was thrown by hand (maybe even by someone who welcomed me into their home and cooked me dinner) and how it was then individually painted, following the artist's creative inspiration.  And all this occurred in a far-off  corner of Provence, before it was packed up and sent halfway around the world.  No wonder these descriptions take me a little time and energy.  And no wonder I often find myself thinking, "maybe I shouldn't sell this one.  Maybe I should just keep it for myself."  I love these pieces... each for its own imperfections, special glazes and unique story. 

I'm not really complaining.  I am grateful for the opportunity to share these truly extraordinary works of art with all of you and writing about their beauty is just part of that.  All I ask is that you cut me a little slack when I write too casually or too passionately or make grammatical errors.  I haven't been formally trained and I'm way to attached to each piece to be held responsible for my mistakes. 

Here's my most recent description of an awesome large bowl by Sylvie Duriez called Moody Blond.  (My exhaustion is probably most apparent in the ridiculous names I give these pieces).  Please keep in mind that I've been doing this for hours now and I do truly love this bowl. 

Check out all that has made it to the website so far -- The Emilia Ceramics French Collection. (There will me more!!)  And don't forget to click on "About the Artist" to learn more about each piece's history.

Patrice and Sylviana Voelkel

It's freezing in Provence.  Seriously, I'm not kidding.  It's rainy and cold and windy and, did I mention cold?! The last I checked it's supposed to be sunny and warm in the South of France, at least from April on.  Well, not this week.

With only one day left in France and having already exceeded my pottery budget, I planned to spend today hiking.  But, as I mentioned, the weather did not cooperate.  So I did what seemed most logical: wine-tasting and shopping.  Lucky for me (and you!) I happened to drive by Poterie Voelkel and because it was pouring rain, I stopped.  Here's a shot of my little VW at their back door, as well as a photo of their interior yard... all so picturesque.

 I knocked on the front door of the house and met Patrice, who led me to the little store (below) and claimed he didn't speak English.  Not true.  He spoke and understood just enough English to charm me into buying quite a lot of his beautiful stoneware. 

 Patrice and his wife Sylviane work together.  They use black clay, but when it is fired it comes out looking just like the red clay we're more used to seeing.  Here's Sylviane, hard at work.

The Voelkels glaze their pieces with a variety of liquid-like colors, but I was especially attracted to the marbled blue and celadon, as well as a contemporary chalk white. These pieces are totally different from what I'm accustomed to buying, but I think they will make a great compliment for the more traditional pieces in the collection.

I had a great time in Patrice's store... the artwork was beautiful and the artist could not have been more humble or helpful.  Plus, it was a great distraction from the cold outside.

Tomorrow I leave Provence and head to Valencia, because you know, when it's cold and rainy in Southern France there's only one place to go, Southern Spain : ).   

Merci et au revoir!

Sylvie Duriez

Sylvie lives in the little town of Pertuis (which, when pronounced in French, reminds me of the sound a little bird makes), about 10 minutes north of Aix-En-Provence.  And what a beautiful 10 minutes... rolling green hills, rivers, and fields of yellow flowers (I have to find out what they are).  This is the Luberon, made famous by Peter Moyer's A Year in Provence, and I'm definitely going back for more today!

Sylvie and I met 3 years ago at a pottery market in Marseille.  I quickly fell in love with her work and have been hounding her for more ever since.  She told me I was the most persistent American she had come across.  Sylvie is an artist and not a business person... she does not want to worry about packing, shipping, or accepting credit cards and thus has refused to work with most people who have contacted her from afar.  Apparently, I'm the only one who took her refusal as an invitation to book a ticket and visit her in person. 

Sylvie lives upstairs from her workshop and small showroom.  It's not a lot of space, but she doesn't need much in that she's the sole member of this operation.  She throws each bowl, plate, and pitcher herself, fires them in her small kiln, and then graces each one with an original design.

First Sylvie dips the piece in a base glaze (her's has a yellow/greenish tint to it) and let's that dry.  She then uses a sharp needle to sketch her drawing on the piece.  She insists that she does not create a plan on paper first, nor does she copy a picture... she literally just goes to work with a needle, carving a very fine line through the base glaze.  Then she uses mineral-based colored glazes to create a soft, touchable watercolor effect.

I just could not get over the charm and personality imbued in each original design.  And as you can imagine, this led me to buy a lot!  I felt a connection with each piece and often thought of specific people that they reminded me of.  So I went a little crazy... I think she was sincerely excited for the business, although she did mention that she was going to have a lot of work to do now that I was taking away so many of her pieces!  I'm thrilled to add Sylvie's work to the Emilia Ceramics collection and can't wait to share it with all of you.