Observing the Sounds of the World

Recently I completed a special order for a woman here in Nantucket. We connected through the holiday craft shows here on the island. In December she caught up with me toting along a delicate bowl from her treasured great-grandmother. She shared with me the memories of her great-grandmother, all that she had taught her and the great affection they shared. I had the blessing of creating holiday gifts of jewelry for her, her two sisters and her mother. The pièce de résistance, which I just completed last week,  highlighted the large center decoration of the bowl and will ultimately hang from a window or a Christmas tree, unless of course my client is into bringing back some old school Fab Five Freddy huge clock bling.

What I hadn’t noticed until buffing the final piece was the name of the china, Kuan Yin. There was something about that name that was so familiar. Then, as if divinely inspired, I looked up and saw the statue of a deity front and center on my little alter in front of my soldering station.

The alter in front of my solder station

“THAT’S Kuan Yin!” I thought, this was a gift from my mother many years ago, she lived in my kitchen when I lived in Philly and now she rests on my window sill in full view saddled by a “Money” Tiki and a bright orange Buddha, also gifted from brilliant women in my life! I remembered immediately that this Kuan Yin is symbolic of compassion but I had to dig a little further. I am a sucker for “coincidence” and I knew I would want to share the story of Kuan Yin with my client when I gave her the finished piece.

Kuan Yin and the final piece

Stamp from Custom Order

It is said that she is the “observer of the sounds (or cries) of the world”, pretty heavy load lady! Apparently so heavy a load for this Bodhisattva that internalizing the suffering of the world became so overwhelming that her head exploded, oh how one can relate! Fortunately a nearby Buddha put it back together, thank god for those nearby Buddahs – always there when you need them! The result was no humpty dumpty but rather a deity with 11 heads that could see, and hear, all the world. Kuan Yin when faced with the well deserved destiny to move on to eternal bliss choose to tumble back to earth 11 heads and all and remain present for the worlds cries, calls and prayers. Maybe we could all learn a bit from this special lady and pay a little closer attention to the calls and cries around us, seems like a brave practice to me…

Kuan Yin “is goddess of fecundity as well as of mercy. Worshiped especially by women, this goddess comforts the troubled, the sick, the lost, the senile and the unfortunate. Her popularity has grown such through the centuries that she is now also regarded as the protector of seafarers, farmers and travelers.”

Source:

http://www.holymtn.com/gods/kuanyin.htm

Lemony Whipped Dessert

This is a story about the legacy of a delicate tea-cup I purchased last November at a yard sale in Nantucket, a day after moving here from my extensive travel in France.

The journey of a tea cup

Inspired by the French spoken in my booth today, the completion of a special order of a maker’s mark pendant from that very tea-cup and my growing intrigue into the history of various china makers I am embarking on a series of entries focused on history and facts about china.

A year ago, if asked what Limoges was, I would have responded that it was a delicious light lemony dessert more than likely topped with fresh whipped cream. My customers that know their stuff would have scoffed and looked down upon my tasty response. Scorn no more, ladies!! This tasty treat is learning her stuff!

Once adored for sipping tea…

For those of you who are still licking their lips thinking about lemon tarts and fresh whipped cream, it’s okay there is a little trail of drool forming at the corner of my mouth….mmmmmm….lemony desserts….fresh whipped cream…mmmmmm

Anyhow, Limoges is actually a city in the Limousin Region of France. The city of Limoges was destined to produce some of the worlds finest china, it was as many will say, written in the stars.

It was thought that the material necessary to make fine porcelain was only available and well-guarded in China. But in the late 18th century a chemists wife found a substance in Limoges that she hoped would be viable for soap. Turns out the material was Kaolin, a key ingredient in making hard-paste porcelain (the fancy shit from China). Cha- CHING!!! France hit it BIG!!!

FUNNY SIDE ANECDOTE is that back in the day (around 1520) when Marco Polo brought back the first fine china from none other than China, the French (along with the Italians) tried to ban the import. It seems that they were not happy being upstaged in the fashionable fineness department, they simply couldn’t create the kind of fine detail coming out of China, at least not for another 200+ years.

So JACKPOT!!!!!!!!! With abundant Kaolin stores at the ready France could now get to work upstaging the rest of the world in the fine art of porcelain…can’t you hear the collective sigh of relief.

And truly France did hit the high ranks. Not only did Limoges have Kaolin in their back yard it is surrounded by the forests of the Limousin Region, harvesting this energy meant ample fuel to feed the fires of the kilns. What is even cooler is the Viennes Rivers floats through Limoges providing quick transportation for the logs AND the power to beat the clay into artful submission.

See what I mean…DESTINITY! Talk about taking advantage of your local geography. To add to that pot of gold, the surrounding region had a high unemployment rate so when the factories started getting hot, the people flooded the area for work (labor costs were also cheaper in the countryside than in the city….surprise, surprise).

Pre-French Revolution the French Roy-al maintained strict control over the production of fine white ware (these were blank pieces that would be sent to prominent artists for decoration and then exported around the globe). After the French Revolution private factories took over and the porcelain industry took off.

The tiny tea-cup I discovered at the yard sale in Nantucket ultimately began its life at one of these private factories started by David Haviland, a New Yorker on a mission. Haviland working as a ceramic importer in New York was brought a mysterious tea-cup to repair. He couldn’t resist the temptation to find the exact location where this work of art was produced. His quest led him to none other than Limoges, where he set up shop and became one of the most noted producers of the city, specifically because he hired in-house artist to complete the white ware on site. His son Theodore, the maker of the inspiration of the story, apparently branched off and started his own company. The Haviland name, while today is no longer run by direct family, is still synonymous with fine porcelain among crystal and other expensive chocki gift kind of stuff (said with the utmost respect).

And today, in modern times, that little tea-cup got tastefully mutilated and turned into a charming necklace to be worn with pride by an owner and connoisseur of Limoges.

…now adorns the neck of Limoges Loving Ladies

Stay tuned for the next of edition of “Loosely Researched Fun Facts in the Exciting World of Ceramic Production”

Disclaimer: This is not a thesis or doctoral dissertation and certainly not intended to be overly researched, annotated or cross-referenced. Please forgive any inconsistencies and by all means correct them if you know…

Blessings and love to all!