Pottery

My connection for all things Polish, but especially pottery (!), is coming home. Aw, well, okay, my friend Shelley is headed stateside for a few months. After hearing the good news that she will be in her U.S. home for celebrations like her Dad's 65th birthday in October and her own birthday this Fall, I was first thrilled to hear that she would not be across the ocean on these family days.

After the "Yay!" for her began to fade into a"Hmmm... I wonder if...", I e-mailed asking if she would please bring me back a bit of the pottery. (While my Polish was sufficient to keep me from saying "I need to pee like a racehorse." in greeting a missionary moving to our area from Poland, per Shelley's impish instructions, it is woefully inadequate for navigating pottery web sites created for native speakers.) I'm not looking for wacky pieces like a cheese lady or an apple baker, but just a couple of mugs with saucers to eventually build into a tea, coffee, and dessert service. (Not that I have given this much thought...) She e-mailed back a website. I did manage to get from the Polish into the English section (Yay, me!), but then I became distracted by all the patterns and shapes. *sigh* A bad case of the "I wants..." later, I ended up snapping a photo of my not-so-vast collection of pottery to avoid duplication and give her an idea of what I particularly liked. The numbers for a batch of patterns and the photo zipped off across the internet to Shelley.

The fascination with the seemingly mundane plate, bowl, and cup instilled in me early on by my auntie has yet to abate. I can wander through a china department or the dish aisle at the local megamart with equal enjoyment. Thanks to the internet, I don't even have to go out to get my fix. Part of the fascination is that dishes tell something of a story and they give glimpse into history through the specialized pieces unique to a country or time, the patterns popular during a specific decade or century, and even the materials and craftsmanship (or lack thereof) common or unique to a certain geographical location.