Batter Bowl: A Thrift Shop Treasure

I love thrift stores and antiques and, okay, just good old junk shops! And, yes, I do believe that one person's trash can be another person's treasure. Case in point. This weekend I found a real treasure. It is to me, anyway.

I have always loved the folk art pottery of Jerry Brown who creates traditional hand-turned pottery. A southern stoneware potter, he makes utilitarian pieces used for food preparation and preservation. He, also, creates whimsical jugs and mugs.

The piece that I found is called a Batter Bowl. It probably isn't the most expensive pottery one can own but I could care less about that. The fact that it was made by his hands and has his signature and a date of 1992 etched on the bottom of it makes my heart leap with pure joy! 1992 is the year he was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. And, he is Alabama's Folk Artist of the Year for 2001. My Batter Bowl is perfectly crafted. No chips, no cracks. In fact, it feels like glass when you run your fingers over it. I'll have to find a special place for it in my studio. Use it in my kitchen? Never! Also, I found the old quilt (in the pic) that I have the bowl sitting on. Beautiful, isn't it?

This weekend I devoted quite a bit of time completing art festival applications and getting them in the mail. I'll keep you posted on the venues that I'm invited to participate in. My first show of the season will open in two weeks. It is the Academy of Fine Arts SOUTHERN ROOTS (sm) Exhibition. "SOUTHERN ROOTS (sm) CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN THE VISUAL ARTS" is an annual juried art event of the Academy of Fine Arts, Inc. (AFA) designed to promote the artistic endeavors of adult artists with family, academic or other ties to Alabama.

The exhibition will be presented at the Birmingham Public Library Gallery, 2100 Park Place North, Birmingham 35203 and a reception will be held on Monday, March 31st from 6pm until 8pm.