friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

vermont.

2008

knock on wood.

there is a free give-away of my knock on wood plate right here.

hurry, you have until july 6th.

HOLD, please.

i am generally not one to gripe, but come ON . . .  hair elastics these days are NOT what they used to be. they s t r e t c h out SO much after just one use. i remember being able to wear the same one for weeks . . . months even. but the ones today completely SUCK. they stretch out and loose their elasticity within minutes. my theory is that in this disposable world, things are made to break down quickly, forcing you into frequent  replacments. but i live in pony tails, so this really affects me. am i simply buying the wrong brands ? if anyone has any tips on hair elastics that really do hold the hair, please share.

p.s. . . don't get me started on bobby pins, that is a WHOLE other topic.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

the crown study

paris, france

2003

tea for two.

today i had the most delightful afternoon tea with my new friend pouké. she has a charming house in berkeley with a secret garden backyard and birds that visit and revisit her (she feeds them such delicacies !). what a tranquil hideaway and the perfect setting for an afternoon tea.

pouké is an exquisite french renaissance woman who can do just about anything. she is an accomplished food stylist (yes, she made the scones and the apricot tarts . . . delicious. oh, and she also made the tea from scratch and grew the herbs for the tea ! . . . see what i mean ?) . . . 

but she is also an amazing painter and photographer.  i utterly adore her paintings. they are beautifully simple and they draw you in until you can't stop looking at them. we met through our husbands and we were instantly drawn to each other.  i think we share a lot of the same sensibilities and aesthetics, which makes for a very easy and lovely friendship.

visit her incredible food blog, life blog, and website.

lets face it.

i'm working on  a new series of shot glass/espresso cups with these funny little faces on them. i have an army of them waiting in line to dry and then to be fired, glazed, and fired again. i'm gearing up for the big  palo alto clay + glass festival  and will have a LOT of new work to show for myself. if you live in the bay area, it is a really fun outdoors event to attend, with over 100 artists and food and fun and sun. 

mark your calender and come visit me!

july 11 + 12

1313 newell road

palo alto, california

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

driving down highway 99, california

july 2001

BESHERET.

besheret is a very beautiful hebrew word meaning "meant to be, destiny, soulmate, . . . " it is such a sweet and magical word. someone ordered this ring dish from me with her wedding date and "besheret" imprinted into the clay.  what a perfect little bed side dish to hold her rings in.

i first heard the word "besheret" on sex and the city in one of the funniest episodes when charlotte was trying to get harry to marry her. HILARIOUS.

if you'd like a BESHERET dish, you can get one right here.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

san luis obispo, california

november 2006

GENTLEMEN . . .

 . . . take your shoes off !

i've had many requests for a "remove shoes" plaque with a man's shoe and here it is, hot out of the kiln. there are so many "no shoes allowed" households these days.  i used to think it was kind of weird . . . the choice between someone bringing in dirt or their stinky bare feet was such a toss up ! BUT believe it or not, i've become one of those "no shoes" households, not because of the dirt, but because we have bamboo floors that dent if you even look at them the wrong way.

i sell a lot of "remove shoes" plaques here. and now you men can get yours HERE !

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

los angeles, california

may 2009

RAE DUNN vs. RAE DUNN BY MAGENTA.

i have 2  lines of ceramic wares on the market. this has been somewhat confusing to many people.  one line is handmade by me, the other is manufactured. here is how it all came to be. i began selling my wares 13 years ago, making every single item by hand. this meant no molds, no castings, no interns, no employees, no accountants, no help.  just ME. making, glazing, firing, packing, shipping, promoting, accounting, etc . . . soon i was selling to 100 stores and working day and night, 7 days a week. i couldn't keep up.  there was a dreaded never ending to-do list at all times.  

serendipitously in 2003, magenta came into my life (with the help of whitney smith and the factory owner finding me at the palo alto clay + glass festival). this changed and saved my life completely . . . . and so was born RAE DUNN BY MAGENTA. this is a line that i design and make prototypes for. magenta then has it manufactured in china, markets, promotes, and sells it all across the globe. i barely have to lift a finger compared to what i WAS doing.

this has allowed me the time to focus on just a small exclusive line of handmade wares that i sell here and to a select group of stores.

if the piece is marked  "RAE DUNN," it was handmade by me. if  it is marked "RAE DUNN BY MAGENTA," it was manufactured by my pals at MAGENTA.

here are some of my manufactured items:

you can see more of this line here.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

plymouth, vermont

september 2008

WHAT the . . .

hell IS this ???  it looks like soft serve ice cream sand.

there were hundreds of them scattered on the beach. i'm quite sure they were NOT man made. are they from an animal?  are they from a certain wave pattern? is it el nino? el nina? ufo's?

wilma and i were completely baffled and sort of creeped out by these mysterious frosting piles on the beach.  if you know what they are, please do tell !

(click on the photos for closer observation)

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

 nova scotia

september 2008

mud fire.

i had the worlds WORST firing in the history of clay.  it was so disappointing, as i am trying to put together a collection of work for our show at mud fire gallery.  i fired an entire kiln load of new work with such high hopes, and now most of it is going into the seconds sale box (and some in the garbage). but these are a few of the pieces that were somehow saved from the doom.  i did end up managing to put together a fine group of work, it just wasn't the work that i had envisioned. just another life lesson taught by a lump of clay.

saturday morning . . .

breakfast in bed. thanks to my sweet JW.

good morning.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

ascona, italy

september 2000

driving through the central valley last weekend.

i love the way these trees looked.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

(click on image for a close up)

september 2000

portofino, italy

win BEAUTY.

you can win one of my faux bois beauty plates by going to this very lovely blog HERE.  kind over matter is strictly dedicated to kind acts, inspirational art, and kind projects.  this world could certainly use more kind over matter, because kindness is really all that matters, no?  visit this blog and feel just a little bit better.

(you have until may 13th to enter the contest.)

just say "I DO". . . .

here.

here.

and here.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

vermont.

september 2008

speaking of sweet peas....

. . . . there is a hot new etsy shop in town !  the lovely josie jurczenia just opened her beautiful shop and is filling it up with lots of ceramic treasures. how cute are these clay pea pods ?!  i'm giving them to all of my pregnant friends.

shop HERE.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

new york to vermont.

2007

SPRING CLEANING.

it's that time of year to really clean out the studio and unload tons of perfectly good wares at super low prices.

6 of us are having a HUGE seconds sale THIS weekend at fourth & clay.

sat + sun

10 to 5

2390 4th street (@ channing)

berkeley, ca

(510) 848-2390

san francisco kitchens.

it's OUT ! the japanese publication of san francisco kitchens. it's the cutest book ever, featuring 21 local artist/designer/shop owners. don't you just love sneak peeking into houses?  i know i do. and you will surely be familiar with many of the people featured.  i highly recommend it.

you can get it in japan town at kinokuniya bookstore.

san francisco kitchens

editions PAUMES

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

dude ranch in montana.

2004

happy easter to all from miss wilma.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

i found an amazing town in girona, spain called ullastret. and IN this town was the MOST amazing restaurant called el fort.  it was super quaint and the food was phenomenal. and IN this great restaurant was an amazing waitress. i leave my word stones all over the world in hopes that people will find find them in the most obscure places. but, occasionally, i will leave one in an obvious place.  this place was on top of our waitress's tip.

FIVE years later, this waitress found me on facebook and still has the rock that i left her !  her name is nuria gil and she now lives in England. she said that she carries that rock with her everywhere she moves to.

  the word was "hope."

girona, spain

2004

win FREE stuff !

people.  you have until the END OF THE DAY to enter to win free stuff from my shop.  if you want to enter the contest, go HERE.  this is a great blog where you can enter to win free stuff ALL THE TIME.  it's called give away today and you should defininately check it out. come on, who doesn't love free stuff ?

heads up.

yesterday i went to the big alameda flea market.  what a beautiful day it was and the market was just swarming with hunters and gatherers.  there was a trail of cars that started from the bay bridge and ended at the flea market.  it was like a line of ants marching towards a sugar cube.  and though it was a fun day, i wasn't finding many treasures.  to me, most of the junk seemed like bad junk, not good junk.

but i did manage to score these little babies with their appendages still intact.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

malaga, spain

april 1993

love is everywhere.

the other day while walking to the ferry building for lunch, i spotted this smashed chewed gum on the sidewalk.  a perfectly shaped heart. i know that "people" say that you should walk with your head held high, but i am usually walking with my head DOWN, looking for hidden treasures on the ground that often go unnoticed.  i attribute this to being on the shorter side (5' 2").  my vantage point is more the ground rather than the sky, and i am constantly picking things up off the ground. at the end of the day, my pockets are filled like a 12 year old boy's.....i unload rusty washers, bottle caps, sea glass, rocks, money, doll parts, etc.... though most see it as junk, to me, they are treasures that i draw inspiration from.  i love old, worn, rusty things.

and though i am not a gum chewer myself, i find such inspiration from other people's gum chewing, after the fact.  for there is nothing more annoying to me then the sound of snapping gum.  ick. i'd much rather hear finger nails dragged down a chalkboard.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

the coffee in spain is really really delicious.

spain

july 2005

total disarray.

our beautiful studio is in complete and utter disarray.  the good news is that vik's bought our building and are opening their restaurant/retail space next door (which we are EXCITED about), but they had to do a little construction in our studio first. behind this plastic curtain, they are building us a new kitchen and mezzanine.  it'll be great to make use of our 25 foot high ceiling and to have our permanent photo booth upstairs along with tons of storage and perhaps an employee lounge ?!

but for now, we are in sheer hell.  yes, that is our microwave on a kiln and our refrigerator in the middle of the room.  and yes, that is multiple layers of dust covering every inch of the room.....and what is that i hear?  oh yes, the jackhammer.  and the smell?  oh, just the construction men using our bathroom AND smoking their cigarettes. they will be finished with our studio in 2 weeks, and then they will start on their restaurant. it will be just a few months of hell, as they expect to open in july.  but damn,  i should have planned my month-long-holiday early this year !

today i am working on a big sewing project.

happy second day of spring.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

the study of swedish eyeballs.

(click on images for eye to eye view)

sweden

june 2004

let them eat cake.

(click on image for a close up)

i have been super busy in the studio with loads of custom orders, shows, and wholesale accounts to italy and australia.  but i DID manage to pull a few things out of the kiln for my shop.  many more new items to come . . . 

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

malaga, spain

1993

on pins and needles.

today i went to my acupuncture guru.  she had (lucky) 13 needles in me. ouch. the one that always gets me is the one in the leg.  apparently, i have some sort of door that isn't as open as it should be, and i need to calm down. i've always been wired like a chiwawa, but she sees it as too much stress.  so . . . . i'm trying to s l o w down and not do 100 things in a day and i'm trying to breathe.  we'll see how long this lasts.  i mean, who has the time to stop and breathe?

don't forget, our gallery is open this saturday. put your shoes on and come on DOWN.  there will be dogs to pet, cookies to eat, and pots to buy!

fourth & clay

2390 fourth street @ channing

berkeley, ca

510.848.2390

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

stokholm, sweden

july 2004

coffee break.

four years ago, i gave up my severe addiction to coffee. it was just making me nervous and sweaty anyway, not a good combination.  plus it never really did taste as good as it smelled. but the other day i was at farley's and the penetrating aroma of coffee so entranced me, that i ordered a latte. i thought i was in heaven.  it was the creamiest, smoothest, and most satisfying liquid i could have ever imagined, and it even tasted as good as it smelled, maybe even better. though i'm still not converting back, i think i may indulge every now and again. because still for me, tea is the new coffee.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

stuttgart, germany

2000

some spring.

though it is raining cats + dogs outside . . . it is spring inside. i don't mind this nasty weather, but  i'm getting ready for spring with  birds + words on bud vases, fresh out of the kiln.  soon to be found here.

friday field trip (from the sketchbook).

baja, mexico

1994

friday field trip (from the sketch book).

paris, france

may 2003

scoop + pour.

i am doing some early spring cleaning in the studio, and i have a few of these sugar/creamers that i need OFF of my shelves.  these are from my manufactured line and i am selling them at a super low price . . . $20 a set.

if you'd like a set, email me here.

friday field trip (from the sketch book).

greece

september 2007