“Sometimes an event is so deeply impressed upon the mind it takes a while to unpack. Last Sunday I had the pleasure of going to East Fork Pottery to celebrate the start of Alex Matisse’s third decade on earth.The place has presence. It’s enchanting. This parcel of land is a muse, radiating a language familiar to the heart. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.”
— Tara Jensen // Smoke Signals
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'd been on such a roll with my back-to-back Friday blog posts and then I really dropped the ball. The problem is admittedly this: I've been too busy having fun. My mom has always been in the habit of celebrating birthmonths rather than days, and as I grow unwittingly into the Gen-Y version of Terrie Coady I've picked up on this trait as well as a propensity for throwing totally over-the-top parties and not knowing when to stop.
So my Taurean sweetheart turned 30 and we responded accordingly with surprise visits from faraway friends and a total rager out at the pottery. While I'll admit I probably didn't need two piñatas, it turned out that our friends could put away 120 pounds of shrimp, clams, andouille sausage, crawfish, potatoes & corn, 12 chickens, 10 loaves of bread, 10 pounds of salad, 2 cakes, 2 pies, a tray of streusel bars, 2 handles of booze, 6 dozen beers & 2 cases of wine with tremendous aplomb.
It was one hell of a party, made so by the quality and the vibrancy of the company we've been lucky to keep. Farmers, bakers, chefs, bartenders, coffee roasters, photographers, potters, woodworkers, lawyers, social workers, vagrants, designers, activists, veterans, nurses, cranks, kids, sisters, strangers & rock stars: everyone crowded around the picnic table and dove elbows deep into the feast, cracking crawdads open with teeth, pork juice & rosè splashing, laughing and shouting with mouths full and nobody seeming to mind their shoes getting soggy from fish stock.
Our friend Tara Jensen- Marshall's resident baker & astrologist - had some really sweet words to say about the whole thing. See the place through her eyes here.
And thank you Jacob Sessoms & Jeremy Hardcastle for homemade sausage & manning the grill!!!!
Alex's Mama Linda got married to the most wicked awesome guy South Boston has ever produced. Linda & Blase have been living, farming, creating, and loving together for fourteen years and decided to acknowledge their commitment loud and clear for everyone to hear. As Blase's daughter Brigid mentioned in her toast, finding role models for healthy relationships is a near impossible task, but these two are really onto something. Alex and I are inspired by the way they both stoke and tend to each other's fires while allowing the space they each need to burn their brightest and strongest. We love you!
