Blog Post

Spring in the Country (and lunch)

marydavistudio • Apr 24, 2019

It looks like spring has finally sprung. We get a warm day here or there sometimes as early as February, March, but by April, especially late April, the weather here is definitely looking up! We even cut our grass today! And our famous daffodils are in full bloom. It is also my birthday month and Eve’s birthday. We celebrate birthdays here.

Lunch is a big deal around here. Everyday at around noon I walk over to my newly renovated kitchen (another story) and prepare lunch. Menus pretty much consists of salad as a foundation and in cold months soup is on offer, ii warmer weather chicken salad, egg salad, cheese, good bread, nut butters and hummus usually comprise our regular offerings. The gang at the studio, Eve, Chris, Janelle and Racquel come over to eat and we have a relaxed hour midday when we enjoy a simple repast, break bread and mangia bené. Since dinnerware is my mainstay and meals a part of our regular practice, it follows that lunch would be an important part of our daily routine here at the studio. It stands to reason that meals are taken on our dishes. So, local produce, in season, and eggs from neighborhood chickens. Since our dishes are made right here, by us, they represent a further and deeper benchmark of local, sustainable practices, living in the here and now, being present in this place and time. We take our time, so slow making, slow eating and basic human kindness marks our vibe. We relish and foster community – with each other and hopefully, in our broader environ.

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Making in the Time of a Pandemic

By maryanne • 04 Aug, 2020

Here is a short film of a typical two week cycle on the studio, me working mostly alone. Keep an eye out for various guest visitors...

Local Fairs, Festivals and Markets

By marydavistudio • 17 Jul, 2019

So, for the artist, selling has historically been the purview of the gallery owner or agent. The artist has been thought of as too "pure” or too “temperamental” to be the direct agent for his or her work and that translation into the hands of a party willing to pay dollars for it, for the privilege to own the work of “genius”. In contemporary society, this is no longer true. The artist must sell his or her own work to survive. This may seem an obvious observation but the sentiment and the after-effect still color many artist's approach to the commercial side of creating. That commercial side of creation has been problematic for me over the years, in spite of a dedication to its resolution. One way I have attacked the demon is to approach it head on – I show up to a select number of local and regional fairs and craft shows. This also bolsters my local economy ethos; what I consider an essential act of rebellion against corporate domination and a balancing of the scales of economic disparity. When an artist scratches an artisanal itch and stands with farmers and other makers within a community, there is a new kind of enduring hope present in that act. When you, the people who chose those objects to purchase, do so from a passion for the handmade, the local and the rendered, a solidarity is expressed through the support and the appreciation for the craft, care and artistry of the maker. That kind of romantic vision fuels my enterprise and I am proud to boast a 20+ year track record. In the days of Amazon, it is hard to compete. But local fairs make my work visible in my own neighborhood, my studio part of the fabric of our community. That kind of work imbues meaning in my life and in the lives of those I work with and who appreciate and buy my work. I am proud to be part of a makers community in Chatham, Columbia County and the Hudson Valley – artists and artisans who live through the skill of the hand and the years of mastery put into the work we create.

Set Your Table

By Mary Anne Davis • 03 Jul, 2019

A philosophy about eating at home.

Meditation on an Udon Bowl

By Mary Anne Davis • 11 Mar, 2019

The simple bowl contains a multiplicity of ideas worth exploring. It contains – today soup, tomorrow curry, and perhaps later in the month milk for the cat, or flour for the muffins, onions for the omelet and maybe even a small potted African violet. The bowl is also a symbolic gesture for containment. It might contain a blessing for someone in need, a friend who is in pain, a prayer for our world, always careening and skittering about to lose control completely, but then a new day dawns and things seem a bit calmer, at least for now. A bowl full of grapes or cherries, an offering for guests about to arrive and share in the abundance that is our lives, living more for each other than for any individual’s absolute sovereignty, because without each other, what are we? Well, alone, for one thing. And who wants to be alone? I prefer company, friends, family, the people in my life that I have relationships with, even those who come over to deliver the mail, pick up the package, clean the house, help make the pottery and watch TV. My life is so very full and I am blessed. All of this I see in this bowl, hot out of the kiln, beautiful in its simple lines, ready to contain all of that and more. A little announcement to anyone reading this blog. I graduated on January 12th with a doctorate in philosophy and art theory. That basically means I spent the last 6 years reading, writing, arguing and presenting my ideas to a small group of scholars, who, like me, were part of this wonderful program cultivating scholars out of artists. I am glad I did it and hope that my efforts will be reflected in this new iteration of the blog, perhaps most importantly just a regular posting.