Thursday, February 21, 2013

Tea anyone?

 I'm working on props for the musical, Walt, about Walt Whitman, and there is a scene where the director is thinking the ladies will be having a little gossip (singing of course) while stage business will be sipping from tea cups. This has got me thinking about making cups and saucers. My pal Susan Wells makes what I think is the prettiest tea cup ever. I bought this one from her several years ago when we first met. It is an old friend. I remember when I first got it, I would sit on the porch in my grandmother's swing every afternoon and have tea in this cup. Newer cups came along and I got crushes on them, and this cup, though well loved, went to the back of the cupboard for awhile. I got it back out now that I have these amazing new teas, and I am enjoying it once again. The handle is rough and stained with iron oxide. At first I wasn't sure that I liked that, but after awhile, I started to really enjoy the tactile nature of the handle, it reminded me that it was not a factory made cup, but made by the hands of a good friend, and now it is a comforting feeling that I look forward to when I use this cup.
For some reason, I like coffee in a mug, tea in a cup. It just feels right.
 This is another old friend. I made it a few years back when I had semi access to the ^10 reduction firings at Claymakers. It is probably the best mug I ever made. Brandon Phillips made a couple of tutorials for me when I was struggling with making handles and mugs and this is what came from those tutorials. Ahh the good old days before facebook..... sigh.....
 This is my new coconut chai tea, pretty with my old mug isn't it? I think I will go have a cup right now! Bloggers seem to have tea on the brain today, after I wrote this I saw several blog posts about tea pots and tea. I think it's that time of year. I'm tired of the seasonal ciders and hot chocolates but I still need a warm beverage that tastes like winter. It's a good time to be selling teapots,  but I won't be making them!
peace ya'll
xo


15 comments:

Sandy Miller said...

I LOVE my mug and teacup collection!! Ha! Yours too!
Tracey, your images just blow me away"...... Love them, drink them in and look forward to seeing them when I check in :)

ShellHawk said...

Boy, you ain't kidding about bloggers having tea on the brain. I just did a post on my blog about the Zisha tea pot: http://shellhawksnest.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-zisha-teapot-as-philosophy.html

I love the idea of the mug you got from your friend having the iron oxide-stained handle. It adds another dimension of feeling I bet is just wonderful.

And I, too, am a sucker for your photography!

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Sandy, love your blog as well, your humor is a welcome thing some days!
Hey Shell, I know, its weird how bloggers can get on a thing, when they might not even know about other posts. I just wrote about tea today, been thinking about it and then read several blogs after my post with tea related items. Funny how connected we all are. Thanks for checking in!!

Sherry said...

Me too -- tea in a cup and coffee in a mug. It's a must. And when I was pregnant with my firstborn I had this "thing" that I would have very weak or herbal tea in a china cup and saucer...no idea why -- it was just what I needed to day every day. Pregnancy makes us do some "funny" things!

Love your cup and saucer and the mug...the mug looks great with the coconut chai.

And now, I need a cup of tea!!

Tracey Broome said...

Sherry I went through one of those china cup and saucer things too, but I had to have a tangerine with it every day..... pregnancy = weirdness :)

andrea gardiner freeman said...

Love the tea cup and the mug! And I miss reading your blog! I am hoping to make it a regular thing again! Hope you are well! I think of you as I am working in my studio and how, in a quiet, word kind of way, you inspired me to get my business going... thanks.

~andrea

Anonymous said...

It is a tea kind of a day. Beautiful pieces! I'm in the market for another favorite mug, for fear of this one breaking someday & being without. So, feel free to make a few more-hint, hint!

Lori Buff said...

That tea cup is beautiful. I can see why you love it.
Yup, tea pots and tea on the mind today. I think it's the warm peace a cup of tea brings to us.

cookingwithgas said...

1-2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt-------I used 1 cup

2-12 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened-------I used 8 ounces

3-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract----I used teaspoon plus one teaspoon of elderberry juice.

4-1/8 teaspoon table salt
5--2 large eggs

I am counting and I think you could make this...unless you count the eggs as 2...
I am with you tea and coffee go in different mugs.

cookingwithgas said...

Oh, wait, it is 6 never mind....

Tracey Broome said...

Andrea, so good to hear from you! I love the work you are making, very much "you"!
Cindy, testing glazes, if I get a good one, you can get a cup :)
Lori, definitely tea on the mind, but that's a good thing!
Meredith! It looked like way more ingredients on your blog, or maybe it just looked complicated, too many words, haha! I'm not a baking kind of girl, but maybe I'll give it a try sometime... I do bake those cowboy cookies you posted from time to time and they are soooo good!

cookingwithgas said...

Those cowboy cookies are too good and only allowed in this house once a year. Good Lord they are good. Good thing I am feeling lazy tonight.

Susan Wells said...

Oooooo! Your tea looks so yummy. And how 'bout those fancy cups:) More about Friends. Tea should be a popular subject any day. Helps to keep us in the moment. Yay! Thanks:)

Tracey Broome said...

Your cups rock, Susan! Yes, the tea is yummy!

Avalanche Looms / Susan Johnson said...

These are a nice collection of cups. I recently broke two in just 2 days. And, I don't usually break my stuff.
I took it as a sign to quit running around like a chicken.
Even so, the favorite cup is a goner. A couple posts back you said you sat on your blog idea because it was sounding like a rant. I just wanted to vote that I like rants. I mean, we're living in some peculiar times. It's ok by me to talk about what we really think about it.
Just please, if you remodel the bathroom, a few words suffice.