A Plate & A Chawan

Had a much looked-forward-to lunch with J whom I haven't seen for a year! Life, work and hobbies filled our time till it was not easy to find a common date. But we did it. Opted for an easy tasty lunch at Godmama on a weekend when the mall was surprisingly not that crowded. 

I was so surprised by J's gifts of her pottery creations. Two lovely works! She has been taking classes at Mud Rock Ceramics for almost two years now, and she has kept on with the practice. She refused to give her creations to anyone earlier because she didn't think they were up to (her) standard. Hurhurhur. 

There was a plate in the loveliest forest-green glaze (Mud Rock Ceramics calls it 'Mystic Land'), and a chawan (tea bowl) finished in tenmoku glaze. They felt gorgeous in the hands. These are mine. Not for the dog. She has her own crockery, and stainless steel bowls, and her current number of pieces are more than enough to fit all her little snacks. 

Washed them both and left them on display on the kitchen counter. Not in a hurry to keep them away in the cabinets. I wanted them to sit there for a few days before using them. The plate measures 16cm across in diameter; the chawan is 10cm across in diameter with a depth of 6cm. Haha yes I measured them. I'm pedantic like that. 

I have neither aptitude nor patience for pottery, but I admire practical pieces and handy items. I like mismatched ceramics at home. I don't like people giving me factory-produced ceramics bought at the mall that hold little significance. (Tell me a story of how you bought from a potter in Mae Hong Son, Zhongdian, Ubud or Vienna.) Handmade plates like these can't exactly go into the dishwasher. So if these fragile items are to be hand-washed, I'd want to do so happily, not with reluctance. I like meaningful gifts, so I'm more than thankful that J gifted these to me. 

Well, I wouldn't be whisking up matcha in the chawan or have pu'er in it. So the first thing the chawan held was potato salad. Hurhurhur. Well, I wanted to eat a damn good Japanese potato salad. But I wouldn't be able to find the ideal one easily. So I made a batch. Hahaha. It's not difficult, but I'm just lazy. Didn't feel like bacon today. So I mashed up a crunchy vegetarian version best eaten chilled. NOMS.