2/23/17

Circling Lhasa...by Judith Hertog from Tricycle Magazine

I wonder if today’s Lhasa is the city that Tsering dreamed of so many years ago. I once
told Tsering that when Lhasa was transformed into a modern city with the most up-todate
conveniences, he too would be nostalgic for the past.

“Possibly,” he said, and shrugged.

I saw Lhasa as a place outside time, a place where I could hold on to the past. But
whenever I return, I find a changed city. I remember once more that the true city I am
looking for is actually the one of the fantasy novels and video games. And even that
Lhasa is the ideal of an ideal. There is nothing to hold on to. The scent of my
grandmother’s skin, the shine of chestnuts on an autumn day, a first kiss in a cemetery—
they are but disappearing memories.

The only permanence is the permanence that I cling to in my mind: my ideals of how to
live; how to be happy; how to raise my children; how to furnish my home; how to better
the world; how to fill my time. And these ideals are just as insubstantial as my memory
of Tibet.

I know that the Tibet of my imagination has never existed. I know the past is not a place I
can return to. But in my memory I keep circling Jokhang Temple on a cold winter
morning before sunrise, listening to the hum of monks starting the day with prayer.
A thousand years ago, the Tibetan mystic and poet Milarepa hit upon the paradox that
even the Buddhist ideals he preached were no more than the grasping of his mind. In
one of his songs, “The Understanding of Reality,” Milarepa preaches the Buddhist path
to a group of dakinis, or sky spirits:
. . 

A thousand years ago, the Tibetan mystic and poet Milarepa hit upon the paradox that
even the Buddhist ideals he preached were no more than the grasping of his mind. In
one of his songs, “The Understanding of Reality,” Milarepa preaches the Buddhist path
to a group of dakinis, or sky spirits:

. . .in [the realm] of absolute truth
Buddha himself does not exist;
There are no practices nor practitioners,
No Path, no Realization, and no Stages,
No Buddha Bodies and no Wisdom.

There is no Nirvana,
For these are merely names and thoughts.
Matter and beings in the Universe
Are non-existent from the start;
They have never come to be.

There is no Truth, no Innate-Born Wisdom,
No Karma, and no effect therefrom;
Samsara even has no name,

Such is Absolute Truth.







1/8/17

A most inspiring beautiful article.

LOVE this article, Love this man. Read here.


12/10/16

Holiday Bells- Thank you LA Times!

Thank you! Janet Kinosian for including me in your LA Times holiday bell story, it's a sweet thing to see so many diverse bells...Love it.


12/4/16

Studio Sale Thank You!

A friend sent me this photo of our kids making sand angels on the beach in the dark. I'd like to be transported there for just 20 minutes to squeeze their little bodies and chase them around for a bit and hug Elsie and kiss her little face and touch her hair. I can almost feel the cold sand on my feet and the smooth skin on her face.

When I think back, one thing I wish most often is that I had not been so stressed/worried/busy while I was planning, prepping, getting ready for something, some event...What I'm really tuning into these days is that so much of the event or whatever, IS the actual preparation, the build up...that there is so much to be enjoyed there if I can take a little edge off. And so, when when the 'thing' happens, be it a birthday, a holiday, a studio sale or a bonfire on the beach, then it's the cherry on top of a lot of work and fun and life, rather than the 'ok, well, that's that, or 'is that all?' or 'phew I"m glad that's over.'

I thought about this as we all prepped for my studio sale. Hanging the lights, washing the floor, painting work to sell, buying food and drinks etc. I really dug into all the moments and enjoyed them rather than rushing around, stressed etc.  I had a great time working with my studio assistants & studio mates who make the thing- the thing. I made a video for Instagram of Betsy & Tiana slow dancing to some 70's disco song in the newly opened up dance floor in the studio, only to lose it unsaved forever, only remembered as a passing joyous moment, no cyber witness.

I'm thinking this is what they mean when they say the journey is the destination.

So thank you my studio assistants who make it all possible & to everyone who came, you are the cherry on top. I just wish I had more time to talk and hang and meet people.



11/29/16

Open Studio & Sale!

MQuan Open Studio & Sale: Ceramics, jewelry, new work, old work, seconds, samples, bubbly...

DATE: Dec 3rd 2016

TIME: 12pm - 6pm

ADDRESS: 457 Degraw Street Brooklyn NY 11217


Please come! 
XOM




 

10/29/16

Studio Pics & Interview up on The Shopkeepers!

Thank you Paula for coming by and taking such beautiful pics that capture the spirit of the studio!
Check it all out at The Shopkeepers Blog HERE


10/18/16

The Three Graces by Sally Mann


YUTORI


Accord- ing to the Japanese language dictionary Kojien (Shinmura, 1998), the definition of yutori is “a state with sufficiency and ease.” 

'And a girl, in fact, wrote me a note in Yokohama on the day that I was leaving her school that has come to be the most significant note any student has written me in years. She said, “Well, here in Japan, we have a concept called ‘yutori.’” And it is spaciousness. It’s a kind of living with spaciousness. For example, it’s leaving early enough to get somewhere so that you know you’re going to arrive early, so when you get there, you have time to look around. Or — and then she gave all these different definitions of what yutori was to her.' Naomi Shihab Nye


10/13/16

Lost & Found in LA, CA

Remodelista did a lovely story about Jamie Rosenthal's stores Lost & Found in LA & Santa Monica and included some pics of my work. Thank you Meredith & Jamie!!



Matter of Hand


2 Super sweet and smart girls from Barnard College visited my studio and interviewed me for their blog Matter of Hand. When I read this I can hear myself talking really fast...hopefully I was breathing.




10/1/16

NYC&G Studio Visit

Sweet story about making the bells in NYC by Kelly Veloci! Thank you NYC&G...

InStyle Home & Design!

My Indigo striped dog bowl, which is glazed inside and can really be used for anything...was show in this months Instyle Home & Design story on Lea Michele's LA home! Thank you!


In the Company of Women


Grace Bonney of Design Sponge asked me last year to participate in a book she was creating 'In the Company of Women'. I just got my copy and holy cow! It's amazing. I am so honored to be included in this book with all of these kick-ass women who have started creative businesses. I LOVE how diverse it is, writers, musicians, designers, makers, craftspeople, the river runs WIDE & DEEP. Yet still it's a moment in time, a slice of the pie, the well is much deeper and there are so many more amazing women out there- Cheers to you all!
Ayumi Horie created this video to celebrate the fellow ceramicists, and Remodelista did a story here.
And here's moi...photographed by Sasha Israel



bon appétit!

Thank you bon appetit for featuring my moon phases bell!

9/26/16

Trans-Pecos! Marfa Texas

We all headed to Marfa for the Trans-Pecos Music Festival....big skies, nice peeps, good music, good food...favorite moments: the Mala Workshop, swimming with fishes in the 25 foot deep 1.75 acre Balmorhea Springs pool where more than 15 million gallons of water flow through each day. Here's some pics...











7/4/16

'Lanscape' Installation at Lawson-Fenning

I was honored to have been invited to create an installation in the newly renovated patio at Lawson-Fenning in Los Angeles. The installation is up until the end of July. Here's some pics....










































4/27/16

Housing Works Design on a Dime

Painter & Interior Designer Carl Barnett created a room including the PLT7 in Black & White for the Housing Works Design on Dime event. 

Happy plants at the Standard Hotel in LA

I love the way these beautiful little plants look in my small striped votives at the Standard Hotel in NYC.