Last September our friend Palma was heading to Piemonte to stay with fellow slow traveler Diana - owner of the most amazing B and B in Italy - Baur B and B. Diana is one of those remarkable people you only meet once in awhile - passionate about life . . . talented - brilliant cook, painter, and potter . . . fun . . . witty . . . a smart business person . . . Frankly it is probably good for one's ego that folks like Diana are few and far between! *smile*
Anyway, we had the pleasure of staying with her for our anniversary exactly one year ago from today. The room that we stayed in had these four remarkable ceramic tiles hanging on the wall leading to the door and the stairs outside. We really liked them and Paul often spoke about how much he would like one. In fact, I had to check to ensure that all four were still there before we headed out to Lucca.
Diana takes commissions and creates these lovely pieces for others to enjoy at home. We asked Palma to check prices etc with herwhen she was in Acqui Terme. Palma came back and was silent about this request. . . which was unusual for Palma (not the silent piece - bad blog readers, bad! Rather, the failing to follow through bit was unusual! tsk, tsk, tsk).
Later I found out why. It turned out that Palma had commissioned a piece for us and purchased it as our Christmas, Birthday gifts for a few years to come. Few are as generous and thoughtful as Palma!
Later we were able to follow the creation of our piece on Diana's blog . . .
last December she wrote a piece on glazing and our tile sits awaitingcolour and firing. . .
here it sits awaiting the kiln . . .
out of the fire . . .
the good, the bad, and the cracked (notice how stunning our tile turned out!).
E-mails went back and forth re framing. Finally Diana decided to mount it on canvas that she had lightly painted and then place the whole piece in a simple, deep, black frame.
Diana e-mailed me a few weeks ago to say that she planned on mailing our gift to us when she was in the US visiting with friends and family. Last Friday, after a hell of a day at work, I was asleep on the couch when Paul came running in from the mailbox with a package from Diana!
We ripped it open and look what we unveiled . . .
What a stunning piece of art!
We thought that we knew where we were going to hang it but kept changing our minds. Finally we hung it in the master bedroom on the wall opposite the bed - it was the perfect spot for such a special piece - now when I go to bed at night or wake up in the morning one of the first things I will see is this lovely artwork. It seemed to be 'the' spot for such a treasure - created by a wonderful friend and given to us by another amazing friend. . .
Jerry, that is absolutely beautiful - I love it!
Posted by: Donna in SF | May 18, 2009 at 06:38 PM
Such a pretty piece. I love the color. You have great friends!
Posted by: Rebecca | May 18, 2009 at 09:00 PM
Wow! That is so cool, Jerry. You are lucky to have such beauty and such friends around you!
Posted by: Shannon | May 18, 2009 at 11:38 PM
Dear Paul and Jerry, Happy Anniversary! I think you found the perfect place to hang Diana's lovely creation. What a nice way to remember your anniversary, loving friends and Italy. May your love for each other continue to complete your lives.
Posted by: Barb Cabot | May 18, 2009 at 11:42 PM
What a lovely creation! A great anniversary gift, that's for sure!
Posted by: nancyhol | May 19, 2009 at 12:51 AM
It is wonderful isn't it Donna?
Rebecca - onwe of the nicest things is that we have met them all through the slow travel site. Imagine, trip information AND superb friends! One has to LOVE that!
Yes Shannon - you know I'm a big fan of beauty . . . and food . . . and wine! LOL
Thanks Barb. We had a brilliant day celebrating '11'.
It sure was Nancy!
Posted by: Jerry | May 19, 2009 at 07:18 AM
Jerry, that is a beautiful piece. I remember seeing photos of it, and reading about it, on Diana's blog -- but I had no idea it was going to be a gift for you and Paul!
How very thoughtful of Palma! Slow Travelers can be amazing people.
Posted by: sandrac | May 19, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Lucky you to get this beautiful piece and to have a wonderful friend in Palma! I remember watching the progress also on Diana's blog. What a great surprise!
Posted by: girasoli | May 20, 2009 at 12:16 AM
It was fun to follow the creating of this piece on Diana's blog Sandra.
It sure was a great surprise Girasoli - generally I don't like surprises (control issues, you know) but this was one I appreciated!
Posted by: Jerry | May 20, 2009 at 06:34 AM