Studio Visit: Rae Dunn

We visited with Berkeley-based ceramist Rae Dunn for the February issue ofLiving. We had so much fun talking with Rae (and had more great photos of her work than we had room for in the magazine), that we thought wed share a little more with you here:

How did you get involved in ceramics?

I never touched clay before my mid-30s. I was in Golden Gate Park and spotted a beautiful cobblestone building that was offering community art classes. I randomly signed up for ceramics.

What got you hooked?

Im all about working with my hands. So as the graphic design industry, which I used to work in, slowly turned to computers, I lost interest. The moment I touched clay it took over my life.

How did you make a business out of it?

In the olden days, I had no website. I would just put plates in an old suitcase and pound the pavement selling to individual stores. Im supershy, so it wasnt easy!

Whats a typical day in the studio?

I dont use an electric wheel. Im elbow deep in clay, handbuilding and glazing. I usually fire each piece in the kiln 3 or 4 times. So it takes weeks to make one thing. I usually make 2 to 3 pieces for each order to make sure that one works out. There are so many variables in ceramics productionthats the beauty and the beast of it.

Youre a one-woman show, right?

Since I have a line thats manufactured elsewhere, I thought that for my handmade line, no one should touch the pieces but me. So I have no assistants, no shipping, no handling.

And now youre a shop owner too.

Ive always wanted to have own store. I sell products I love. My sister makes amazing jewelry; Im also selling a womens bike clothes line, some flea market itemsanything I love and believe in.

What are your other passions?

Ive played piano since age 4. I think we all need to do something that makes time stand still and nothing else matter. Piano does that for me. Also, my dog WilmaI cant imagine my life without her. And I love taking pictures of her, so she has her own blog.

What inspires you creatively?

I believe in wabi sabiseeing beauty in imperfection. And a lot of ideas come from daily livingthings I see in flea markets, old rusty tools. Im just so in my own world, I dont look at what is that thing? Pinterest?

To learn more about Raes work, go to:http://www.raedunn.comand visit her at 927 Parker Street, Berkeley CA.

(photos: Laura Flippen)

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Kelly Lynn Daniels This is what I am currently up to. At this precise moment exactly, except for typing. This is my tiny computer table studio, where I can bury myself up to my eyeballs ... Karmin - Hello (Official Studio Version) - YouTube Look for "Hello" in stores on May 8th! Please follow me on twitter! @rgshawn vitrifiedstudio:inspire Bespoke Pots by Rob Stark. Los Angeles, California USA. Stark discovered Pottery in 2011 by way of classes that his then 5 year old daughter was taking. Patricia Griffin Studio Patricia Griffin Studio Contemporary Stoneware Ceramics 880 Main Street Cambria, CA Rae Gun Ramblings Like many of you when I finished The Hunger Games trilogy I just wanted more. I wanted more adventure, kids overcoming the odds, and more great stories. Vivid Kim Kardashian Sex Tape Porn Parodies Home of the Kim Kardashian Sex Tape, Porn Parodies, and over 30,000 XXX Movies from The World Leader In Adult Entertainment clay mouse studio I have a new blog address. Please visit me at my new place and see what's new in the studio! PatriciaGriffinStudio.com Thanks so much! Music News - Breaking Music Articles & Videos - Page 1 Billboard The online extension of Billboard magazine, Billboard.biz is the essential online destination for the music business. Learn more

Mensday Wednesday: Congee Village

There is something about the dark recesses of deep February that inspires people to get together and party. Every locale in the world with any significant Christian population enjoys the benefits of some sort of Shrove Tuesday or Carnival celebrationthe million strong blocos in Rio, bead throwing and beer drinking in The Big Easy, masked balls in Venice. Falling sometime between February 3rd and March 9th, and also known as Fat Tuesday, it is a day to party and get piggyto eat up all those rich foods in the larder before you begin the forty day fast for Lent.

Like Carnival in the Christian world, Chinese New Year is also a mid-winter moveable feastlanding on varying dates between late January and February. This year, we are celebrating the year of the snake. At first blush, perhaps not the animal youd want your birth year associated with, but, upon closer examination, a creature exemplifying a host of worthy attributes: intelligent, thoughtful, scrupulous, rational, logical, insightful, and intuitive.The mensday crew, to celebrate the year of the snake, hit up probably our all time favorite Wednesday dinner spot: Congee Village in the Lower East Side/Chinatown (we always go to the Allen Street location). Specializing in Cantonese cuisine, Congee Village has become our automatic fallback for a variety of reasonscentrality, a generously minimal corkage fee, and a fun festive atmospherebut, the most important reason, the consistent deliciousness of the food on offer. And this night was no exception.

While Congee Village does a great job with American-Chinese food favorites like beef and broccoli and general tsos chicken, that is not what attracts us to this place. It is the less familiar dishes that keep us coming back. Like the eponymous congee, a thin rice gruel that is a million times more complex than the underwhelming thin rice gruel description suggests: a steaming, soul-satisfying bowl of rice porridge that, like french crepes, serves as the ultimate flavor canvass whether you are heading down the sweet or savory path. Upon sitting down, we immediately ordered, as we always do here, the three meat congeestudded with shredded pieces of roast pork, chicken, and duck, lightly seasoned with soya and sprinkled with minced ginger and sliced scallionover which we say our toasts and discuss the rest of the order. A word to the wise: if you want fried dumplings order them right awaythey are as good as they get, but take twenty minutes to arrive.

We normally have a very strict five or six dish rotation that we stick to, but seeing that it was a special occasion (the new year), we decided to celebrate by venturing ever so slightly out of our comfort zone. One dish, however, that would be impossible to go without is the house special chickena heaping platter of cleaver-chopped roast chicken with impossibly dry, crackling skin and succulent meat. Its flavor profile portended by the incredibly generous amount of roast garlic cloves adorning the plate.

The menu is vast and, despite the fact that we have dined there on numerous occasions, there are whole portions that we havent even delved into. Using that as a jumping off point, we decided to elucidate ourselves on the mysteries of the sizzling hot plate section. The representatives chosen were sauteed beef short ribs with black pepper sauce and Chinese broccoli with ground pork. Both came on stand alone cast iron platters that, to our immense delight, were, in fact, sizzling. The beef was unctuous and tender and the Chinese broccoli achieved that rare vegetable feat of being ordered a second time at the same meal.

Our meal was rounded out with tai peng style chow mei funa thin egg noodle stir fried with a plethora of seafood and vegetables; pan fried minced pork pattiesa dish reminiscent of diner-style pork sausage patties subtly flavored with salted fish and scallions, probably the standout dish of the eveningand, lastly, a not-for-animal-rights-activists titled live shrimp with shell. We learned the provenance of this preparation from a member of the mensday crew who has spent a lot of time in China. The shrimp are placed in a sauce pot and steamed with a little bit of liquor (e.g. baiju), as the shrimp cook, they inhale the booze, a reason this dish is also called drunken shrimp. Perhaps not for the squeamish, but sweet, succulent and devoured with gusto nonetheless.

The night ended at Lolita, right around the corner from the restaurant, where I hazily recollect chatting with some Brits and where I much more clearly remember leaving my brand new scarf. We enjoyed a night cap before dispersing to sleep off another Wednesday evening of decadent excess. As a final note, in reading up on the Chinese zodiac, I learned that the snakes lucky day is Monday. This year our lucky day is Wednesday.

100 Allen Street, New York, NY (212) 941-1818

(About Mensday Wednesday: Being located in New York City gives us the opportunity to sample a wide array of food. After all, there are over 20,000 restaurants here and in a huge city, built on the contributions of immigrants, which continues to draw people from every corner of the world, it is statistically probable that there exists a commercial enterprise operating to meet everyones taste, as disparate as those tastes may be. There are no set requirements as to where we dine, but a sort of tacit set of rules have emerged: price is importantthe final bill should never cause us to wince, international cuisine is preferred, and in the event of a debate, byob is the trump card.)

Calder Quinn is afearlessgastronome exploring New York City one restaurant at a time andthe eldest son of Lucinda Scala Quinn, Livings Executive Editorial Director of Food.

Follow Mensday Wednesdays on Twitter@mensdae.

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Instagram Love: Food

Theres something so joyously simple about snapping a photo and having it broadcast out to the world. Its part of why we love Instagram (follow us!); we can share little snippets of all the beautiful things we cook, make, and create in our offices. Although photographing food in restaurants has been the cause of some controversy recently, I love getting a peek into the delicious meals that bloggers and photographers are indulging in, or learning about the unusual ingredients that have caught a chefs eye. Below are a few of the foodies that I love following on Instagram.

Food and lifestyle photographer Nicole Frazens feed is full of beautifully lit food shots on rough hewn cheeseboards or linen tablecloths; the backdrops are stunning. Follow @nicole_franzen

Jenny Park, from my favorite food blog Spoon, Fork, Bacon, gives followers a sneak peek of her culinary creations, like this Kitchen Sink chili with Mexican chocolate. Follow @FoodLoveJenny

When I see Chef April Bloomfields photos on my feed, I feel like Im in the kitchen on the line with her. She shares behind-the-scene shots of menu specials and great food process photos, like the making of this chili salt. Follow @AprilBloomfield

Food stylist, photographer, and cookbook author Aran Goyoagas Instagram is full of beauties like this shrimp and herb scramble. Follow @cannellevanille

Blogger Alice Gaos images have a richness and depth that I love. Follow @alice_gao

Who did I miss? Leave a comment below.

Follow us @MS_Living

Taylor Combs is an Assistant Digital Editor at Martha Stewart. Shes obsessed with neon and polka dots and loves cooking Mexican food at home.

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Instagram Love: Sweets

Our count down to Valentines Day continues with sweets. If you missed what flowers are turning our heads this holiday, check out yesterdayspost.
Follow us on Instagram@ms_living.

@laduree_paris-bh

@marriette

@mimithor

@tonistpastry

@utopiano

@mamiaoyagi

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For the Love of Food

I discovered the independent food journal Remedy Quarterly at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. With profiles of interesting food personalities and a focus on the memories and people that inspired the recipes within, it appealed to my curiousity (Im a bit of a sociology nerd). I love getting into the psyches of chefs and makers, but when I saw Remedys sweet cardstock prints, I realized they tapped a bit into my psyche too.This George Bernard Shaw quote adorns my desk and reminds me of the passion for food and food culture that brought me to Martha Stewart in the first place. Remedy has a little collection of prints in their online shop for the equally food obsessed.

Seriously, how did they know my exact feelings on cheese?

Taylor Combs is an Assistant Digital Editor at Martha Stewart. Shes obsessed with neon and polka dots and loves cooking Mexican food at home.

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Instagram Love: Feeling the Love

Expressions of love from some of our favorite Instagrammers. Still not in the Valentines Day mood? Check out our flower and sweets round-ups.
Follow us on Instagram @ms_living.

@lesliewilliamson

@aprilhughes1

@dielamaharanie

@sophiethestylist

@electriclovenyc

@helsy

@electriclovenyc

@rick_poon

@leighlubarrow

@sousstyle

mommabird_3

@bazaarshops

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The Photographers Eye: Holger Thoss Family Panoramas

I met the photographer Holger Thoss years ago when we were both working at the documentary agency, Magnum. I still have a great love of reportage photography and looking at Holgers incredible family panoramas, I see that he does too.

The photographs are beautifully constructed from different shots of one family as they participate in an activity. The people are mostly not conscious of the camera and thus totally immersed in the moment. Holgers brilliance is to repeat the people throughout the panorama, in various states of an activity. As the photographer puts it, My family panoramas are blurring time and reality to pull out the narrative of family life. It is the added layers of time and narrative that create these brilliantly real family portraits.

You can see more of Holgers images here.

Jennifer Miller is the Photo Director atMartha Stewart Living. Her perfect Sunday includes going to Chao Thai Too in Queens for an early dinner with her husband and her twin boys.

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