Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Anna Brown Pottery




A few years ago, when we were still quite new to Morgantown, we spent our anniversary milling around town, going to places we'd never seen, places that were supposed to be tourist-y spots. The winery was terrible. They claimed they offered picnics. When we showed up and wanted to go on a winery picnic, they offered us a wooden board and recommended we buy some salami and cheese from their gift shop cooler. The 'tasting' was more of a 'you pick a random name off our list and I'll let you try it' - like going to the ice cream counter to try-before-you-buy. It was such a disappointment but on the way out the door, we stopped at the brochure rack and found a flyer advertising Anna Brown. Both having an affinity for nice pottery and fearing the day couldn't get more disappointing, we ventured off to parts unknown.

Down a one-and-a-half-maybe lane dirt road on the other side of town, we found Anna Brown at her home, in her garden, working on clay. We were the only visitors and she talked to us until our arms were limp and faces pale. She showed us how she makes each piece, from the slab roller to pressing the herbs, rubbing the pigments in and putting on the glaze. We wandered in her garden for a bit, seeing each of the plants an appreciating their textures anew. The visit transformed our day. 

We have visited her once or twice since then. She never remembers who we are so we get the whole song and dance all over again and that suits me just fine. I have been thinking it was about time to acquire a new piece or two but I decided that today was the day when I saw a fellow blogger's nature study on the Queen Anne's Lace. The pieces are expensive for "dishes" but cheap for "art" and a steal for "heirlooms." Its nice to have something special from this season of our lives.

6 comments:

  1. Such beautiful pottery! And what a cool place to discover. Glad you decided to pick up something new. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are really really beautiful. What a special treasure to have in part because of the memories that go with them!

    Oh my goodness, your story brought back memories of our first anniversary. We had made room in our TINY budget to get (an admittedly low-end) room at a really expensive, large, and well-reputed resort, which we combined with a trip to see my in-laws several hours away from here. Upon arrival late in the evening, we discovered that the room was horrific. Worse than a standard family-style hotel, we discovered hair left in the tub and on the shower walls, sheets that had apparently not been washed, the room had clearly not been vacuumed for some time, etc etc. SHUDDER SHUDDER SHUDDER. Housekeeping for the night consisted of one old maintenance man who showed up hours late. Needless to say, our two-night stay morphed into a one night stay with a full refund, which we used to get a beautiful room for one more night at an AMAZING hotel. But that disappointment 5 1/2 years ago still stings just a little in the midst of the laughter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great story! Thanks for sharing! When we were on our honeymoon, we stayed in B&Bs up and down the coast of Maine. One with a "ocean view" really was just an old house set back far enough that you could see the ocean if you squinted. The doorjamb in the bathroom was skewed and when I closed the door to shower, the humidity made the jamb swell and locked me in! Julian had to bust through to rescue me. :)

      Delete
  3. Fun story! I would love to see your faces each time you go back!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Julianne & Amanda, I realize this post is from 2013 but am wondering if you know where I can purchase Anna L Brown's pottery?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unfortunately Anna Brown has passed away. I’m not sure whether or not her husband is still alive and living in the same spot. I used to take my grandkids to her “silly garden” as I called it, since she had everything under the sun displayed there.

    ReplyDelete