Last fall, our new tile mural made by Tessa Morgan of Flying Pig Pottery was installed behind the stove. We had been looking at a piece of greasy plywood in the same location for 20 years, putting off the tile project because I couldn’t decide what I wanted. I was originally going to paint my own tiles, but eventually gave up on that idea. Years ago, I did paint some faux tiles in a different spot in the kitchen. See a post about those here.

We asked Tessa to design a landscape and seascape with animals. I had admired her pottery for years and we gave her the freedom to create her own menagerie.  Before they were installed, we laid out the pieces on our dining room table.

Here’s the mural with spacers, before the grout is applied.

We love living with Tessa’s tiles, which are made with a sgraffito technique, which she describes as “the art of carving through a colored slip to the contrasting clay body underneath”.

Tessa encouraged me to decorate some tiles, too, so I carved the narrow back splash strip under the windows. We spent a few enjoyable afternoons carving together in her Woods Hole studio.

A few years ago, Tessa made tiles for a wonderful mural in the Falmouth Public Library. Donors to the library renovation fund had their names carved into hundreds of tiles that cover the hallway leading to the children’s room.

She also makes beautiful lamps, dishes and mugs, all made with her signature sgraffito style.

Flying Pig Pottery’s studio is open to the public and is located on Woods Hole Rd. , just before you enter the village.

At 8am this morning, the water was calm under sunny skies, the humidity was low and the temperature was perfect for a bike ride into Woods Hole.

There was hardly anyone about on Water St. and Eel Pond was still. I enjoy this time of year, especially on a sleepy Sunday morning, when the weather is superb and the summer people haven’t come yet. In a matter of weeks, the crowds will descend, bringing an exciting, but wearing energy. Having been a year ’rounder since childhood, the change seems natural to me, like a built-in part of the seasonal shift. For more recent “winter folks” it can be an annoying adjustment. 

Skiffs will be jammed up around the pond’s edge. This morning, pollen floated and swirled on top of the water.

Decks and porches will be full of people.

And dinghies will fill every spot along the Yacht Club piers. Here we come summer of ’12!

As we were heading in from our mooring in Great Harbor we couldn’t help but notice  some house boats had rafted together in a clump, with people all over. They were celebrating a friend named Kenny’s 60th birthday, Woods Hole style.

Guests either rowed, sailed or motored to the party, tying up their boats to one of the rafts.

We were hailed aboard by Alison, the birthday boy’s wife.

There were fiddlers on the roof!

We visited with friends for a bit and motored back to shore in our skiff, thinking how we love living in this place!