Hand-made pottery and lessons. Wolfville, Nova Scotia: 2015

Maybe you have noticed my large ceramic sign at the market and wondered what the hell it means. You would be in good company. The term "alewife" has certainly dropped out of our lexicon and those who still use it are almost certainly referring to the fish, more commonly known around here as gaspereau.

Alewife

I've been living here in the Gapsereau Valley for a while now and I have my connections to the fish, but the alewife I'm referring to is not a fish.

Alewife was the term for working women with expert knowledge in ways of using herbs and fermentation to create beverages that are nourishing and medicinal. Much of their knowledge has been lost to us over the centuries, but some remains. In the 16^th century “beer purity laws” were enacted in England and Germany that limited the ingredients allowed in beer and ales. This first step in commercial control of food production led to the consolidation and large scale commercialisation of beer brewing and, for the most part, eliminated the small domestic, artisan beer producers, many of whom were women or alewives.

These hand-sculpted, hand-carved and hand-painted ale cups are a tribute to these professional women, their knowledge and the importance of traditional knowledge.

Four years ago I made seven of these. I haven't made any since until now. This year there are 6 cups on offer. Each one is unique. $45

The Alewife's Cup

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Yarrow Ale

(brewed for 700 years as commonly as hopped beer is today )

5 lbs malted barley

3 oz recently dried yarrow tops or 6 oz fresh yarrow tops (plant & flower)

6 gallons water

yeast

Mash malt with water at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes. Boil the remaining water and sparge (run the heated water through the mash). Boil all with half the yarrow. Let cool to blood warm (70^oF) and place in fermenter. Place remaining yarrow in a muslin bag and hang in fermenter; add yeast. Allow to ferment until complete. Prime bottles, fill and cap.

Ready to drink in 2 weeks.

from Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers,

by Stephen Harrod Buhner

Every two years, the International Ceramics Festival is held in Aberystwyth, Wales. It was on my bucket list to go at least once and this year I made it happen.

Getting to Wales is definitely something that should be approached with patience. From here, it was two planes, three trains and a bus ride over the course of two days just to get to Cardigan. From there I started the 100 kilometre walk along the Wales Coastal Path to Aberystwyth. It was a great way to get over the jet-lag, take in the stunning landscapes and meet many kind and interesting Welsh people along the way.

Admittedly there are probably faster ways to get to Aberystwyth, but only slightly.

Wales Coastal Path - near Llangrannog

The walk felt a lot like a pilgrimage. Walking is a really lovely way to travel across a landscape. You don't have that feeling that things are passing by too quickly and it's easy to stop whenever the mood hits you, take photographs, even stumble into a pub or cafe for a little liquid replenishment without the hassles that come with other forms of transportation. The UK has an amazing trust of public land and walking paths that make it possible to spend years walking around without ever repeating your route. In Wales alone the entire coastal path is 1400 km.

I confess that it was a bittersweet moment as we crested the last hill and looked down over Aberystwyth. Although with the rain threatening a proper downpour and after a long day of walking I was happy to be headed indoors to a bed and a shower. As we walked the long, last mile along the promenade below with the wind howling and the rain beating sideways a van pulled up along side the road and a group of kids poured out. Seconds later they emerged from an alleyway between two building with surfboards. They scurried quickly across the road and into the water for their surfing lesson. Another testament to the saying "There's no bad weather in Wales, only poor clothing choices." Ironically though, we were pretty well prepared for rainy weather on this trip. We were less prepared for the scorching summer sun and heat wave that was happening during our walk.

Aberystwyth as the sun is setting.

The International Ceramics Festival is a relatively young event, started in 1987. It's held every two years at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, University of Aberystwyth.

The Old College - Aberystwyth University

The festival has developed quite a reputation for itself since its conception both for the caliber of presenters from around the globe it attracts (this year was no exception) but also for the unusual kiln firings that happen during the festival.

The "Eco-Kiln": a small wood fire kiln.

A pizza kiln/oven.

The Lual Kiln by Rita Gudino

Unloading the Lual Kiln

Sergi Pahissa's kiln from local reclaimed material

Not shown here is the medieval Japanese anagama kiln by Gas Kimishima. And that's just a highlight of the kiln firings... The workshops and presentations were a LOT to take in.

I probably would have benefited from doing a second 100 kilometre walk just to let my mind digest some of the wisdom and creative spirit from the festival. Here are a few more photos of some of the gorgeous coastal path from the Ceredigion Region of Wales.

In my next post I'll talk about how the festival and the landscape is making me rethink how I work with clay.