mulberries

photograph by rinne allen

poppies

i still have some flowers left over from our spring beauty day…some of mandy’s beautiful poppies. 

after arranging them in a simple kenzan, i left them in my studio to dry…i love the faded colors and shapes they made!

photographs and words by rinne allen

native azalea

photograph by rinne allen

Jeruselum Rice

there were so many highlights from our beauty day and we have loved sharing our recipes, arrangements, and overall inspiration from the day!

one of my highlights of the day was spending the day in the kitchen, cooking up fresh and beautiful food with a group of talented ladies! i spend a lot of time in the kitchen but not a whole day, it was a big treat for me! 

many of the attendees asked for this rice recipe and i promised to share, it comes from the Jerusalem cookbook by yotam ottolenghi.

here is a link to the original recipe, i of course had to add some of my own touches!
while this recipe is about as perfect as they come, i wanted to add some spring bounty to the mix since we have so many wonderful herbs and vegetables growing right now. 

we added loads of fresh chives, grated carrots, spring onions, and a little bit of cilantro. we topped the beautiful salad with some chive blossoms for presentation.  give it a try and add some locally grown goodness to the mix!  and enjoy!

photos and words by kristen bach

clover

photograph by rinne allen

maria dondero

i love maria's work, and she recently got a new studio, so i went to visit. it is in an old railroad building and she shares it with 3 other potters. it is roomy and bright, after many coats of paint. there is a wood stove for warmth, and lots of plants on the windowsill.

maria has been making pots for a living for 8 years, and even having twins hasn't slowed her down. she sells her wares on her website and has studio sales, as well as other pottery shows. her work is spontaneous, colorful, full of story, and full of life that is constantly changing. her pots are thrown and hand built, large and small, but all with incised drawings inspired by what is all around.

she has an adorable shop adjoining her workspace, with tables and cupboards filled with her work, and the work of her studio mates. very welcoming and wonderful!

photographs and words by rebecca wood

stream

photograph by rinne allen

wood firing

after a few years, i'm doing a wood firing again. the wood kilns are out in the country at geoff picket's. there are two kilns to load, and i helped for two days loading one of them. it holds 100's of pots, so it takes a long time. geoff knows every square inch of the kiln, and always takes great pains to put each person's pot where it will have the best chance of success. 

there are 6-8 potters that all brought pots to fire. it seems like there are so many we will never fit them all in, but they all go in .all the potters will take turns feeding the fire.

we work all day under cover of the kiln shed to protect us from sun and rain. i attach wads on the bottom of each pot to hold it slightly off the kiln shelf. the air smells of honeysuckle and the wind is gently blowing all day. we work at a steady pace.

today i will help put the doors up on the kiln. more on that next week!

photographs and words by rebecca wood

oysters

photo by kristen bach

apalachicola

considering there is a beach as close as 4 hours away, we don't get away nearly enough!  when we do, we love exploring all of the little beach towns all around.  we recently camped in cape san blas and loved exploring the nearby city, apalachicola.  there were mountains and mountains of oyster shells, old boats, fishing nets, and many lovely buildings that were once active to the fishing and oyster industry.

while we were driving around we listened to this gravy episode on the rise and fall of the oyster industry in apalachicola.  it's worth a listen!

photos and words by kristen bach

grasses

photograph by rinne allen

bouquets

photographs by rebecca wood, blooms from 3 porch farm

native azalea

photograph by rinne allen

spring herb shortbread cookies with blooms

i made these simple shortbread cookies for our beauty day that we hosted last weekend.  our entire day was filled with flowers so i thought it would be an appropriate way to wrap up our inspiring day!

so i said these were simple.....i really mean it!  flour, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla, and juice of one lemon.  i also added some lemon thyme to give them some texture and an herbacious flavor.

recipe
1 cup butter, unsalted at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
juice of 1 small lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla
fresh lemon thyme, other herbs like rosemary, sage, or basil will work too
fresh edible flowers like violets or pansies
1 egg white
-mix butter, flour, sugar, lemon, salt, and vanilla together
-add the herbs
-on a floured surface, roll dough out
-using a biscuit cutter, carefully cut a disk
-place disks and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
-bake at 350 degrees for 40 or so minutes, until you begin to see a slight variation in color
-remove from oven and brush with egg white and carefully add the flowers to top
-place in oven for 5 minutes
-remove from oven and enjoy!

photos and words by kristen bach

flora

photograph by rinne allen

workshop recap: learning & inspiration

one of the best things about our spring beauty day was how much learning and sharing took place. we are always endlessly inspired by our friends and were thankful that mandy o' shea, paige french, erin & lindsay, and rebecca wood took the time to share their craft with us. we were also so inspired by our participants with all of the beauty and creativity they displayed - i mean look at those bouquets! 

from learning flower arranging and foraging, to photography and drawing, this workshop was full of excitement and beauty. 

words by kristin karch, photographs by kristin and rebecca wood

porcelain

photograph by rinne allen

workshop recap: rebecca's drawing lesson

rebecca draws flowers constantly. flowers are her signature subject. plus, the way she talks about drawing them is so great. first, she instructs you to just look at the flower...for a long time. at the workshop she said this may be the most important thing you do all day and she was right. taking the time to really look at something- in this case, one of mandy's beautiful booms- is a great way to slow down and appreciate the moment and the flower. by the time you are ready to draw your mind has already spent time looking at how the flower comes together and its structure and form. your mind has had time to work out where to begin and where to end. after that, there really is no wrong way to proceed, so you just begin.

photographs and words by rinne allen

spring beauty

photograph by rinne allen

workshop recap: sweet olive farm

we were so happy to have our workshop at sweet olive farm. we have been going to this property for over 20 years, and have made many wonderful photographs and memories here. our friends kat & susan have lived here for the last 4 or 5 and have slowly added animal after animal to now have a full-fledged (and official non-profit) animal rescue program. their menagerie of animals and the beautiful landscape were the best backdrop we could ask for; i mean, who doesn't love hearing a peacock call or rooster crow when they are learning a new creative skill on a sunny spring day? and, their barn is such a good spot for workshops with plenty of room to spread out and stay cool. 

thank you, sweet olive!

photographs by kristin karch, words by rinne allen