Icheon Pottery Village

The last day of Gary and Karen's visit we decided to take a trip to the pottery village in Icheon. What ended up being a long bus ride, turned out to be a nice day! I needed to get to Icheon to buy my friend Katy a wedding present. I had decided to get her a traditional Korean tea set, but had yet to find one. I was also hoping to get my mom a present for the upcoming Mother's day. Pottery in any country is beautiful. I just love how local it is, and artistic.

We first stopped in a small park in Icheon for lunch before grabbing a taxi to the pottery village. All the cherry blossoms were blooming and it was a lovely place to relax and breathe in the fresh air.

The village itself was a cluster of shops where in the back the artists have a kiln and a wheel and create their masterpieces. Some shops you can see are more commercial, more about mass production. And others are studios, where the potter creates unique, one of a kind pieces that are more art, less utility.

 Gifts for Katy!

Vase for Mom!

Life in Vermont

Jennika and I started the day off with a pottery class. It was our first time and I think we did a good job. We still need a good deal of practice centering the clay on the wheel. As the wheel spins you are supposed to force the clay to the center by a series of karate chop-palm smoothing motion and a coning action. When the clay is centered you can then start shaping it into a bowl, plate or vase. Jennika made a beautiful vase to place flowers in for our place in Korea.  

This was done at the Wilder Farm Inn which is a great B&B in Waitsfield, Vermont run by Luke and Linda. After our class Luke, also the pottery teacher, told us of a nice hike and river to bathe in. The hike’s peak allowed for a view of lake Champlain and Canada after a steep ascent. The river was spectacular. It had lots of little water falls and secluded pools. We profited from one of these pools to cool down after our long hike. I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold water but Jennika was happier than a clam.  

Tired from our adventures we went to American Flatbread in Warren, VT. Before eating in a barn like structure, we observed three piglets feeding in their pen. Their little noses pushing in the ground looking for grubs and eating some grass when the mood struck them. They are a very cute animal and Jennika coaxed a few oinks out of them. The pizza was made from local produce and cooked in a wood fired oven to perfection. Half of the pizza was made from a ragu and the other from maple-fennel sausage. We both preferred the caramelized onions and mushrooms on the sausage side. 

Tomorrow we are hoping to go into Richmond, Vermont to meet up with my university friend Graham. He is getting married in a few days and many of my university friends will be there to celebrate. Tomorrow, however, the reason to be in Richmond is their fourth of July celebration. It will be the first time I celebrate America’s Independence day. I have in the past watched the movie Independence Day with Will Smith but that doesn’t count.

JM