potteryscape

Between attending performances at Artscape in Baltimore, I was on a mission to buy pottery from one or several vendors in the kiosks. I bought a few pieces from favorite local ceramic artist, Mea Rhee and her Good Elephant Pottery. Trust me, the compost pail -- I believe it's the first one Rhee has made -- was put to use immediately when I got it home. I started a compost heap recently, and I need a temporary parking spot for kitchen scraps between trips to the heap. For example, paper coffee filters with the grounds in them are going straight from the coffeemaker into this pail. Later, as I cook, there will be egg shells and some vegetable scraps, and maybe banana peels. I just hope that no visitors mistake the artful-looking covered pail for a cookie jar. They'll be in for a nice surprise!

I also found Scott Martin's pottery and met his fiancee and his mother running the kiosk today. (Sorry for missing names.) They hail from Michigan, and this is their first visit to Artscape. I was drawn to some distinctive stamp patterns in various color schemes that distinguished Martin's work. There was a lot of the cobblestone pattern that also suggests pebbles and even alligator hide, and there was one piece with a tree bark stamp. Mostly this was on various flat pieces like trays and plates, but this pottery produces a lot of vases and other vessels, too. (If my browser isn't failing me again, I can't see any pictures of this particular kind of stamped work on the website.) So I bought a couple of these small trays. One of them looks great on a black metal table next to a set of Good Elephant Pottery's fossil crab coasters bought at an earlier Artscape. Let's hope the Martins return next year to enjoy Charm City's lovely summer heat and humidity.

Other fine arts and crafts were on view in many kiosks. I had to stop somewhere, and it's mainly the pottery that interests me at this event, though I caught sight of some great photography, too. Don't ask me about food at Artscape. I cheated and kept visiting City Cafe for sustenance and refreshment.