I painted this plate at a DIY pottery place in Bellingham, Washington in 2013. In real life it looks more…lively? Really, it’s not so pea soup and dried flowers. It’s brighter! Those flowers are violet and dancing, dammit! Ha!
But the best thing about the plate is that I painted it alongside Chelsea Cain, who was working on her own DIY ceramic thing, and now it holds the memory of that late afternoon in Bellingham, Washington.
It was a great day. We each bought a pair of shoes, because we’d been traveling. The shoes we’d packed had grown inadequate, uncomfortable, wrong for our clothes. We stood in the shoe store and turned our ankles one way, then another, looking at the fit, until we made our choices. We had a great event, reading, celebrating, clapping, sharing some laughs. And on a wayward afternoon we sat side-by-side painting pottery. It was Chelsea’s idea, both random and awesome.
The object holds the memory, and the memory holds my spirit. The plate is older now and has a few chips, but who isn’t? Who doesn’t?
Cheers, Chelsea Cain! You’re one of a kind! Happy birthday!
In all love and literature,
XO