Another Sweet Pottery Day

It was a wonderful day at the 2nd hand store for finding pottery. In fact there was so much of this first potters wares I have to think he was dumping his flawed pieces or ones he couldn't sell, which is a boon for me. I found these pieces a delight in their quirkiness, and thought them a wonderful addition to my decor. The other pottery pieces were a delight as well.

 

These first pottery pieces were made by Icy Road Pottery of Hood River, Oregon. They are wonderfully whimsical and fun and as this potter is still very much in business I am happy to say you can still purchase pieces very similar to this on his website. https://www.icyroadpottery.com/shop

The potter, Tom Bottman, has a wide selection of pieces and his pieces are fun and imaginative. I was so happy to pick up these vases for $3.99 each, he sells similar ones with lids for $55. Maybe mine had lids too at one time, but I am just as happy with them being lidless.

This fun little side spouted, fat handled teapot was just too cute to leave on the shelf. After much searching on Foogle, I was able to find pictures identical to these, identifying just exactly what this funny little teapot is. It is a Japanese Tokoname blue, side spouted teapot. This teapot style is still being made for the use of Japanese green tea. One's just like this can be found online for about $20, complete with their very fine built in brass sieves, and you can also find many more expensive ones on Amazon. This one was priced at $4.99, but had a matching purple tag, so I paid just $2.49. I do love those matching sticker prices.
If you are wondering about Japanese Tokoname, the name comes from an ancient Japanese kiln that is still in use today. In Japan, there are 7 ancient kilns that exist throughout the country; Tokoname, Seto, Echizen, Shigaraki, Tanba and Bizen. Of these, Tokoname is the oldest dating back to around 1,100 A.D. Now I feel I am holding an ancient piece of history whenever I hold this pot. To think of it being fired in that ancient kiln is just simply awesome!

Here, I think, is a nice little pottery honeypot. It is just the right size for something like that, being a bit large for an ink pot. I like that it is clearly signed by the artist on the bottom, "Stewart". However, there are many of that name on Foogle, and it was much like trying to research Smith or Jones. The closest I could guess was to a potter by the name of Jay Stewart, who sadly passed away in 2011 of cancer. His son in-law, Chris Johnson, who also served as his apprentice at his studio, known as, "Otter Woods Studio", in Hamlet, Oregon, is carrying on in his stead. I could find no pictures with this signature, or one known to be from Jay Stewart, so if at a later date I find a piece to match, I will update this post. This was priced at $2.99 but since it had a matching purple tag too, I got it for just $1.49. YAY!

I thought this funky little handled vase or pot, simply adorable. It was made by the creative husband and wife duo, Art & Barbara Linnemeyer, owners of Affinity Pottery in Cave Junction, Oregon. Affinity Pottery is an outgrowth of their shared passion for pottery and their love of the arts. Their forms of pottery range from the ethereal, to whimsical, to simple and practical. You can find many images of their fine work on Foogle, and learn more about their wonderful pottery through their Facebook page. I paid $2.99 for this lovely little gem and was happy to get it.

As  I was preparing to leave the store, my hubby came in, just as I was cruising through the final book aisle. This book caught my eye and I showed it to him, thinking he might like to read it. He agreed so into the cart it went. This book is chock full of images and tales about the bad Bush Rangers of Australian history. I have yet to have had more than a cursory glance at it, as my hubby has indeed been reading it, but it looks like an interesting book. It was only $3.99 so money well spent on a book that will be good to settle down with on a rainy day.