Yesterday Mimi took Eli, Diane and I to her pottery studio in the neighboring town of Aubagne. It's been in her family for quite a while but she only recently cleaned it out and transformed it into a functional space, so yesterday was sort of the grand opening. As Diane has quite a bit of experience with pottery, she gave us an introductory lesson for learning several simple methods for starting out a piece.
Entrance to the studio
Waiting to be painted
Mixing clay with water and vinegar
Squish Squish
Can you believe this masterpiece was once just a ball with a little hole in the middle?
The Colombian Method (she thinks)
The Diane Saint-Loup "Patchwork" Method
Eli constructing a clay fortress
Mimi's Pizza Method (we didn't learn any of the legit names for these techniques)
Laurie, Mimi's 13-year-old daughter
Mid-Morning Coffee Break
Marie (Mimi)
Jean-Luc, Mimi's Husband
Back to work
It was tidy
Lunch - camping style
Ready for the oven
What we learned
Sophie and the rest of the family are back from their trip to the states and all is essentially back to normal here. Of Philly, DC and NYC, they all seemed to prefer DC. I haven't been to Philadelphia or New York, but I have a feeling I'd agree with them. They did lots of shopping at stores that I can't afford because "everything is cheaper in the US." For them, probably!
They caught the tail end of the snow storms in the Northeast, so that put a little damper on their last days but all in all they had a blast. Now they're looking forward to their next trip - Christmas in Russia. Wild!
This week we have a three day weekend so I might go explore a different area in France. Normandy? Brittany? Suggestions?
I love all the updates! Looks amazing Aimers. I know you don't want to think about leaving, but I can't wait to see you when you return! How do you feel about coming down to Napa with my parents and joining us and Uncle Greg on the 23 and 24? Email me asap and lmk your plans!!
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