3/15/2012...An Update. A Disclosure.
I know miniscule about Italy. Dabble in pockets of its mystery. And write to remember. I am pulled to, enticed by, long for it and things Italian...small and large...and breathable. The people, their language, the texture, the jewel tones of the culture, the sumptuous food, the accumulated centuries of tradition, passion, and Life -- they all nurture me, mesmerize me when I am there.

For a short time (and at the time I began this blog), I was drawn into an adventure with imported Italian pottery, but could not persist. However, The Blog continues & exists as a bit of a playground for me. A place to play, to capture my explorations and the riot of colors, the intricacies of Italy, the artistry of Italian design, the sheer joy of Celebrating Life every day. I've neither a planned destination nor a schedule. It's the Journey that draws me. I welcome your company, yet ask you to understand, I do this for me.

Sep 29, 2011

My Italian pottery obsession. How it began.

Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop

Sure, it's because it's pottery beyond mere utility...it's arte!  Sure it's the scrumptious colors.  (Did you ever think of colors as being scrumptious?)  Sure it's the magic of touching the work and imagining the potter and designer that created it.

But what may really explain my ongoing love affair with Italian pottery is -- it's Italian...and so am I.  Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop (that's how I called my Mom's parents), immigrated to the east coast of United States from Italy in 1910.  Homemade wine, garden fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic cooked into vats of pasta sauce, and hand-formed and hand-rolled gnocchi that Mom-Mom and I made in the basement to surprise the family...all that fuels my DNA and the greatest memories...and thus my obsession.

The Italian pottery is just my excuse to stay in close touch with my heritage.  And gives me excuses (I don't need) to visit as often as possible.

Mom-Mom & Me
(Are you still reading the second paragraph and wondering "What is a "gnocchi?"  Well, they're little potato & flour (bullet) pasta.  Bullet?  Yeah, they're like lead when they hit your stomach.  You can't eat many because you fill up really fast...but they were soooo very delicious when Mom-Mom made them.  My earlier reference to the basement was just one particular day when we led the family to believe we were doing wash in the cellar, but we were really making gnocchi for an Easter surprise.  I was probably four years old and Mom-Mom's best co-conspirator!)

Thanks for making me tell you that story.  I'm smiling from ear to ear right now.
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownMar 12, 2014, 9:07:00 AM

    This is a great post about Italian pottery heritage and it’s remind us how beautiful to have this as home décor.

    ReplyDelete

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