Neighbor News
Creative Inspiration at the Essex Library
Author Talk: Frances Palmer with "Life In The Studio"
What makes a creative life? For an artist like Frances Palmer, it’s knitting all of one’s passions—all of one’s creativity—into the whole of life. And what an inspiration it is. Find out how Frances Palmer uses flowers from her garden to enhance her exquisite ceramic designs on May 5 at 10:30 a.m. with the Essex Library on Zoom. Registration is required. This event is free and open to the public.
A renowned potter, an entrepreneur, a gardener, a photographer, a cook, a beekeeper, Palmer has over the course of three decades caught the attention not only of the countless people who collect and use her ceramics but also of designers and design lovers, writers, and fellow artists who marvel at her example. Now, in her first book, she finally tells her story, in her own words and images, distilling from her experiences lessons that will inspire a new generation of makers and
entrepreneurs.
Life in the Studio is as beautiful and unexpected as Palmer’s pottery, as breathtakingly colorful as her celebrated dahlias, as intimate as the dinners she hosts in her studio for friends and family.
There are insights into making pots—the importance of centering, the discovery that clay has a memory. Strategies for how to turn a passion into a business—the value to be found in collaboration, what it means to persevere, how to develop and stick to a routine that will sustain both enthusiasm and productivity. There are also step-by-step instructions (for throwing her beloved Sabine pot, growing dahlias, building an opulent flower arrangement). Even some of her most tried-and-true recipes.
Frances Palmer is a potter known for her handmade functional ceramics. Her pieces have been carried by Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Neue Galerie, Takashimaya, and the Philip Johnson Glass House, and featured in T: The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Elle Decor,
Martha Stewart Living, The World of Interiors, House & Garden, British House & Garden, and Veranda, among other publications. She lives and works in Weston, Connecticut. Follow her on Instagram @francespalmer.