P&G Art: Ceramics I Adore

About 12 years ago, I found out that one of the owners of P&G Art, a little shop across from the library in Sebastopol, Calif., gave $10 haircuts. Actually it was $10 for the first cut, then $20 thereafter, unless you brought in a friend, in which case you both got cuts for $10.
Never one to pass up a deal, I got my first $10 cut, then took my husband in with me for my second $10 cut, then rounded up some friends, and on and on. I got to know the owners and found out that Peter cut hair on Thursdays and Sundays to get a little interaction with people. The rest of the week he was alone, immersed in clay creating his wares.
These beautiful creations sabotaged my frugal ways — Peter Lu’s amazing ceramics were sirens calling my name (and they’re a deal as well, actually!). First, I bought a set of his rose bowls, then a gargoyle plant holder. Then a brightly colored birdseed holder decorated with a smiling sun. Then a few wall plaques, first as gifts, and then for my own kitchen. Friends bought me wall plaques and cherubs and vases. I bought an awesomely chubby triangle-shaped blue bowl that immediately became the salsa bowl in our house. And still, those clay pieces called out to me.

Finally, I struck on the perfect project. Our front yard is surrounded by tall fencing to keep the deer out and our then-toddler-aged kids in. This tall fence is held up by twelve 4×4 posts spaced out around the perimeter. P&G Art makes these amazing, whimsical finials (our favorite is a pterodactyl) that can be placed on top of 4×4 posts. So, huzzah, I could be buying finials for a long time to come!
The purchase of 12 finials was a bit more than I could spend at one time, so I added one finial a month to our budget. It took more than a year, but in the end we’d decorated all of the posts around our yard. And recently, we had to cut down 2 nearby trees that had died. We cut them off at post height to help support the fencing, so we’ve just bought 2 more finials to decorate the tree stumps as well (these will take a bit of modding, but we’re excited for this to be our summer crafty project for the yard).

Happily for you readers, you can now see P&G Art online, take a virtual tour of their studio, and get insider info and special deals. And just so you know, my list of purchases isn’t even a complete inventory of their creations — I’ve left off baby faces, garden fountains, silk hats (Geri, the other owner, is a seamstress), note cards, freshly dried lavender, tripod bowls, dinner plates, mugs, and more! Or sign up for their email newsletter by sending a message to peegeeart_at_gmail.com.