01/08/2010

In Memoriam

I sold some mugs last week, YEAH!
The selling of those mugs is great but more than that the reason is very, very special to me.

My best friend told me a few weeks ago, her mother was dying of cancer.
She chose to spend her last, what turned out to be weeks in hospital. That was for her the most comfortable. I have known my best friend and her mother ever since I was 15 or 16 years old, I now am 42.
In the weeks that followed my friend visited her mother very regularly and I asked her what they would talk about. She told me her conversations with her mother were usually about daily life and things you would also talk about when you didn't know one of you was waiting for her final departure.
This friend also visited my open studio in the beginning of June and brought her new camera with her to experiment with taking pictures.
She was on her hands and knees in my livingroom, putting cups, mugs and bowls everywhere to see how the pictures would turn out. We had a blast! It was so much fun chasing after her with my pieces and putting them on stools and blankets, filling them with food etc.

Later she brought her camera with her when she visited her mother in the hospital and showed her the pictures she had taken.
At one point while looking at the photographs her mother said something like:" Those mugs are beautiful, there are just 'my colors'!
These colors were tan and turquoise/blue and she loved those colors. These are colors she used in the  decoration of her house.

Not long after that her mother past away. Later my friend told me she wanted to buy the mugs.

Last Thursday I visited her because we wanted to watch a DVD together and I brought the mugs.
The following day she tweeted: My coffee tastes much better out of these mugs!

I can just imagine her drinking her morning coffee, smiling and thinking of her mother. I would never, ever had imagined my mugs could be of so much meaning to someone.

As I'm writing this I'm thinking of Miep (her mothers name) and hoping she is sitting on a cloud, looking down at her family and is at peace with the world...... I'm choking a little bit now, but in a good way......


Goodbye Miep

7 comments:

Teresa Evangeline said...

How very beautiful, these cups you made from the earth carry with them Love itself. And, the colors are wonderful.

DirtKicker Pottery said...

When we make pottery we put so much of ourselves into our work. We always hope that the piece will go on and bring joy and good use to it's owner.
These cups will not only hold coffee, but emotions, good memories and love. As a potter, we couldn't ask for than that.
Just awesome.
~Cindy

Linda Starr said...

Lovely cups and a beautiful story and memory of Miep.

Acácia Azevedo Studio Pottery said...

Cups with the real meaning of making pottery.

ang design said...

wow you're a real clay therapist.. we use that term here all the time and i put some clay in a friends hands the other day while she was talking away and she made some sweet pots...therapy all round.. you have a great way with glaze and your mugs are great very inspiring.. i'm glad your friend and her mum got to share them too :))

Monique said...

Hi Ang! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
That stuff called clay is quite amazing isn't it? :-D
At my job as an art therapist (I work with chronically psychologically ill and/or drug addicted people) i always try to motivate patients to work with clay. And if they do they almost always benefit from it.
even if it is only the real relaxation that they can experience because of the focus that is needed which will sort of 'turn of' their compulsive thought pattern for an hour.
We really are blessed to be able to work with this material aren't we?
Have a good sunday!

Grtz,
Monique

Unknown said...

..Back from vacation and checking your site....tears are running
down my face while reading your 'In memoriam' blog....
Thank you, my dearest friend, for making so many beautifull things. It's true...the coffee taste so much better (maybe because I'm thinking of mum while drinking it?)
Love you!!