My book currently waiting for the proper midwife to breathe published life into it is Coming Through the Fire. It’s about potters in Randolph County, North Carolina–well really the confluence of Moore, Montgomery, and Randolph counties, a spot referred to as the Seagrove area. What makes these potters and this place so special? Here, the tradition of pottery making has been passed from generation to generation since the early 1700s. New blood has joined in, nurtured by the rich community of artists that live and work in this area. My book is loosely based on part of the Jugtown Pottery story, a pottery founded originally by Jacques and Julianna Busbee.

And that brings me to the pot in the banner picture atop this web page. It’s a pitcher made by Vernon Owens, who along with his wife Pam Owens, owns Jugtown Pottery. Vernon, Pam, and their son Travis are the potters at this shop of American craft. If you’ve never been, you owe yourself
the trip.

But back to the picture pitcher, it’s salt-glazed with a tear of melted glass running down beside the handle.

Want a better look?

Inside it’s an amazing blue.

And the flower? The flower I grew myself. (Full disclosure: my sister did repot it for me for Christmas.) Known far and wide as killer of plants, I have kept this hydrangea alive all summer long on my front porch. The colors have cycled through a very light blue and then a lilac shade and now a gorgeous green and pink, each shade amazing in its own way.

So together these two images are a perfect hybrid for my books. Every Good and Perfect Gift has a lovely hydrangea photo on the frontispiece of the book, and the pitcher reminds me of so many wonderful things about the next book: all the amazing pottery I’ve seen, trips to Seagrove and Jugtown, and the characters and friends who’ve shared the journey of this new book with me.

Oh, and that I need to go and water the hydrangea on the
front porch.