Frances Palmer Pottery: About Frances Palmer


ABOUT THE ARTIST

Photo by Marion Brenner		Weston, Connecticut based potter Frances Palmer's passion is to create irreverently shaped white tableware and accessories. Frances offers both custom works, which she throws by hand in her studio one at a time for private clients, and the Frances Palmer Pearl Collection™, a line cast from her handmade molds by century-old Buffalo Pottery. The hand-thrown process leaves a good deal of the outcome to fate. Frances revels in this serendipity, and is fond of saying that the clay “has as much to say about itself as I do.” She also loves the randomness of the transformation in the firing process. “As it dries, it moves. And when it is fired two or three times, it definitely changes. The best part is seeing what emerges after the kiln is opened.” This is why she can describe something like a set of twelve cups as each having its own personality, a goal she sets for all her pieces: to be simultaneously functional and artful. To that end, she looks to the turn-of-the-20th century Bloomsbury-based Omega Workshop, an artists’ collective making useful objects in defiance of the Industrial Revolution. Other influences on her design approach include the elegant proportions of ancient Greek and Roman vessels, the simplicity of the 19th century European creamware and Song dynasty ceramics, the stoneware and porcelains of British artist David Leach, and the dramatic sculptures of Diego Giacometti.

CURRENT NEWS


"Paul Kohn, a New Home-Décor Store, Opens in TriBeCa," article featured in The New York Times Home & Garden section, May 8, 2008
		During the first week of February, my interview with Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network's Faith Middleton aired.
My booth at the New York International Gift Fair: Please visit me February 4-6, 2008, at booth #3649. For those attending (invitation here!), you may find me in Tabletop and Housewares.
		Link of the Month: Quirky Vases, Our Dahlias, and Martha Stewart "We're always looking for interesting vases, and sometimes they find us. Last month our good customer Frances Palmer of Weston, Connecticut, emailed us a few photos of our dahlias 'in the garden and in my pots' -- and wow! It turns out Frances is a renowned potter whose classic yet quirky tableware and vases are being featured in the February Martha Stewart Living, on newsstands now. 'Thank you for such incredible flowers,' Frances wrote us. You can see her photos... [click here] and more of our dahlias ...[this page]. Don't miss her "whimsical pots," including two filled with our 'Thomas Edison' and 'Deuil du Roi Albert.' Thanks, Frances! We want one of everything you make!"
Coming up in San Francisco: Frances Palmer Pottery will be a featured designer at the Gump's show "Treasured Vessels: The Art of the Teapot" February 4 - March 28, 2008. Gumps is located at 135 Post Street (phone 415-982-1616). Hours are 10a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday - Friday and Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m.
Photo by Marion Brenner		It has been a busy summer. I have just returned from visiting the beautiful island of North Haven, Maine and am now preparing for the New York International Gift Fair, taking place August 12-16, 2007. For those attending (invitation here!), please come visit at the Loom Company booth #4108.
The Pearl Collection can now be found in the dining hall at the American Academy in Rome. Mona Talbott, working withAlice Waters and Adele Chatfield Taylor, is overseeing the creation of a sustainable kitchen at the Academy. She says, " We are in now in our 11th week and I can proudly say we have achieved a wonderful success. Your dishes have made a HUGE difference. One thing of great notice is how the platters stand up to use — there is not one chip and we use almost all of them twice a day! "
	Alice Waters' birthday party in the Bass Gardens

The Philip Johnson Glass House The Philip Johnson Glass House in now opening to the public for the first time and the property is beautiful. I have been asked, as part of the first group of six artists, to design pots that are influenced by the House and/or Philip Johnson and David Whitney. I decided to make bisque porcelain that was organic, in the spirit of the potter George Ohr and with a nod to the hens and chicks garden near the old farmhouse.
		Photo © Paul Warchol
On Saturday, June 16th Dominique Browning with House and Garden Magazine is hosting an afternoon for me at the store Louis Boston in Boston, Massachusetts. Please come in to say hello, see the Pearl Collection and new hand made work. On July 14th, the store Blue Cashew, in the historic district of High Falls, New York, will host and afternoon tea. More details to follow and I hope to see you there as well.
			In the garden In May, there was an splendid crop of tulips and fritillaria. The peonies are excellent despite the rain and their fragrance is lovely. All of the dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias, calendulas, nasturtiums, scarlet runner beans and poppies have been planted and are well on their way. The lilies are just about to bloom and photos of these will soon appear. In another bed, there are tomatoes, zuccini and lettuce coming along. No need to do too many vegetables are there are such wonderful farmer's markets nearby.