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Check out the wonderful video profile put together for us by Mary Ruth Shields, Gallery and Shop Manager at Wesleyan Potters. See all of our cool tools and learn how we make sure your piece is unique and beautiful! Thank you to Mary Ruth for visiting us and learning about our process. You can find our pieces in the Wesleyan Potters Gallery/Shop in Middletown, CT.
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 This summer we plan to offer our elegant, yet tiny (156 SF) cabin (where we lived for 17 years) as an airbnb! Included is our bathouse/writer's cabin, pictured above.
Off-grid 156 SF cabin for 2, with tenting space nearby. Includes bathhouse/writer’s cabin, cooking facilities, linens, water and Solar Electricity. Can provide tents, walks with naturalist, photographer. Spoon-making workshops . Provided: 2-burner cast iron propane stove Linens and towels All kitchenware for cooking, eating and serving Clothes line Shelves for clothing Foot pump for 20-gallon cold water tank Propane heater if needed DVD player plus some movies Ceiling fan Screen door and windows Campfire and firewood Stainless propane grill Outhouse (or indoor sawdust composting toilet if needed) Solar-powered Electricity Fold-out futon couch for 2 Or 2 comfortable cots Or tenting Plenty of reading material Can do whatever you require-- We can be here or go away if you want privacy We will even food shop for you Local swimming Hiking State parks Shopping - No Malls!! Antiques Tag sales Available for Extra fees - TBD: Tent for 4 Tent for 2 Somewhat slow Internet access Walks with naturalist at their cost Walks with photographer at their cost Workshop day—make a spoon (rental fees are reduced) Personal motocross track next door: rental of bikes and equipment  At the homestead, our first finished wall! Painted wood. Ready for charge controller, large inverter and a box for all the house wiring. Then we’ll hook up the refrigerator and running water! The "Gorgon's Head" that I sculpted 40 years ago for the Opera Company of Boston, now presides. We have insulated south "windows", three weeks of firewood stacked in the sun room, and a temporary kitchen with a real draining sink! And happily, a finished ceiling and upstairs floor. Thanks to you who have placed orders with Meb’s Kitchenwares and then waited patiently for your pieces to arrive. The oncologist asked for a six-month commitment, so till mid April, I’m looking at chemo as my first job. This is frustrating, but made easier since my fingers aren’t working up to capacity.
We are looking toward spring, however: Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT will be our first show of 2018. May 19 to 20. We hope you will come and see us there. Hello from Lisa at the Workshop for Meb’s Kitchenwares:
I want to introduce myself to you. I started working with Meb & Tom in October of this year, hand-crafting beautiful New England wooden wares. Under Meb’s guidance, I am learning how to shape blocks of hardwood into finely finished pieces, that invite touch, and seem to nestle into the shape of a hand. I feel privileged to be able to do this creative work, bringing an object of use and beauty out of its raw real material. In today’s throw away world of surface flash with no substance, it is deeply gratifying to produce something of intrinsic and lasting value. If you are reading this newsletter, you have met Meb. Perhaps it was in her booth at a show, surrounded by gleaming wooden creations. Or you may have become part of the “family” of those who have visited the workshop, or who own a special cutting board, or a curly spoon? You will have perceived a person who is enthusiastic, creative, and warm. I have come to know my friend Meb as unfailingly positive in the face of difficulties, unbelievably hardworking, and with a hilarious sense of laughter and quickness to joy. In October, weeks after I started working in the shop, Meb was diagnosed with breast cancer, and started chemotherapy. We did the 3-day show at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York city together, me working the booth while Meb snuck off for a nap in the pews from time to time. Two weeks later I went to the shop and found her shaping spoons at the sander with a wool scarf tucked around her head… her hair had fallen out the night before! She made a joke about it and then said “Just keep calm and carry on, right?”, and we both continued working together to get the custom orders out in time for Christmas. Meb is a trooper, but she is finding her energy and creative thinking are being severely sapped by the chemotherapy. Together, friends have set up a YouCaring fund raising site, to help her get through this tough time, as the business which relies so much on her hard work and know-how is down. Please consider taking a look and helping Meb and Tom if you are able. Many Thanks, Lisa Dealing with Cancer Dear Friends,
Many of you know I received a diagnosis of breast cancer in November 2017. I am undergoing attentive treatment, and the good news is that I have a positive prognosis (the tumor is actually shrinking!) that this will be but a short blip in an otherwise blessedly healthy life. For now though, please know that undergoing treatment means that my energy is not quite at its usual high level. Living off the grid certainly gives a unique twist to treatment! I am working (oh, I absolutely must continue my work and holiday orders will go out this week), but my hours are shorter, and my response time to emails is also. Many have asked what they can do to help. My dear friend Maria has created a fund raising site for me to help wrangle with personal costs and medical bills. If you care to participate in this, the site is: https://www.youcaring.com/mebboden-1034636 Otherwise, please continue your gracious thoughts and prayers for my quick recovery. I can’t tell you how much these mean to me. I so appreciate the support and encouragement that you all have shown me during this time. How fortunate I am to have so many friends and fans who send me love throughout the week. Please continue to keep in touch, and let’s look toward 2018 with an artful, crafty spirit. Happy Holidays to all! Meb  You did what? They said.
I drove 2 hours, met a woman called Meb, spent 4 hours making 2 wooden spoons, then drove home, 2 hours. Right...... And yet. When I explain why I did that, and what fun it was, and show off my beautiful spoons, the mockers more often than not confess to having a favourite wooden spoon of which they are really quite fond. They hold and stroke my new and unique spoons, turn them over in their hands, simulate some stirring of an imaginary soup or stew and are taken by how pleasing they are. And all of a sudden it doesn't seem like such a crazy thing to have done. If they choose to think about it, people are sometimes surprised by the strength of their feelings for a humble wooden spoon.  Hi everyone, Meb here!
I want to let you know about a book out right now on Kindle called Craftspeople: In Their Own Words. It’s a series of stories written by all sorts of amazing craftspeople, and I’ve written a chapter in it called Sailor’s Net! The piece is a comparison of sailors and craftspeople, highlighting the similarities in temperament and skills needed for an off-the-mainstream lifestyle. Tom and I are even on the cover above the letters PLE of Craftspeople! This eBook is a labor of love, by jeweler Valerie Hector and metal-smith David Bacharach, to benefit CERF. This amazing organization has saved so many craftspeople, including us, Meb’s Kitchenwares, during Tom’s bout with colon cancer. (You can read the story about that, titled Topping Out on our website.) If you’re not familiar with Kindle, (it’s new to me, too), the authors are listed alphabetically. You’ll find my story under B for Boden! There are so many fun articles, as well as serious stories—I enjoy just nibbling a few each day. Then, I follow up by going to the craftsperson’s website, listed at the end of the Table of Contents, to see more of their work! Here’s a link to purchase the eBook: Craftspeople: In Their Own Words. If you’re like me, you enjoy leafing through pages, using sticky notes or (eek!) highlighters or (double eek!) dog-earring… so you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a hardcover version in the works. See the Generosity Page to help make that happen. It’s getting so close to becoming a reality—today, they’ve reached 84% of their goal! Visit Craftspeople Book for Craft Emergency Relief Fund to learn more and pitch in! I’m participating in an interesting show this Sunday—a Kosher Barbeque! Thirty BBQ teams and no pork. I’m salivating already. I asked the organizers if it was in poor taste to bring along our curly-tailed pigs, of which some have recently sprouted wings. She gave us the go-ahead, even before hearing the following story.
Three years ago in Tarrytown A woman came into my craft show booth, walked directly to a large pig cutting board, stood for a moment, sighed and walked out. Twice more during the day, she repeated the routine. Near closing time, she came back with her husband and gestured to the pig. The man rolled his eyes. She burst out laughing. She looked at me and giggled. “I love that pig!” she said. “I’m a rabbi and I keep kosher, but I love that pig!” They made a sweet picture winding through the closing booths in the sunset: the husband, the rabbi and the kosher pig.  The Longest Winter Ever is finally drawing to a close here in northeastern Connecticut. We still have a few small mountains of snow deep in our home woods—shoulder-deep pockets of winter holding the promise of spring under packed ice, surrounded by delicate snowdrops and daffodil shoots. Tom and I spent a glorious weekend as many of you did, I’m sure—raking, pruning and clearing out debris left by the deep snow. Finally!! We spent the previous months snowbound in the workshop—creating custom orders (whale tail utensils, monogrammed baby hands and wedding platters), designing great new pieces (trivets, pig-tail spoons), carving many hearts, teaching a fun program for Rectory School and training an apprentice in the woodshop. After a years-long search for an office assistant, Serendipity stepped in and brought Christina to us—see her fun treatment of my whale tail utensils on our home page. Later when I needed a hand in the shop, dear Christina showed off her exceptional eye-hand coordination and artistry by carving anything I threw at her! It’s truly a pleasure to pass along skills to such a talented young person. The stress level has gone down considerably since her arrival. Make it a point to meet her at shows this year—you’ll see why I’m so happy! January and now February are nearly gone and still no blog or updated website. What have we been up to, you might wonder? After the third (or was it the fourth?) storm, we just gave up on going home and moved into the workshop full-time. Which leaves many hours (no need to split firewood) available for carving custom pieces, building up stock for spring shows, breaking in a new office assistant (Mary Jo will soon leave us ): to work full time at the library) AND a spoon sander, ordering supplies, playing with new designs in Tom’s sanding booth and generally catching our breath after our busiest yet holiday season. In between shoveling, plowing, chipping back ice dams and raking roofs, we’ve managed to get some fine work underway in the workshop. We’ve enjoyed snow-shoeing and visiting friends. We’re still building in an apartment at a friend’s house. Soon enough, our shows will start. We’ll hit the road and take pleasure from the routine of old friends and feedback from customers and hotels and setting up the booth and a different form of pressure… But for now, we’re enjoying this “time out” from the rest of the year. Our oasis! |
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