Key West Pottery (Honest Works Pottery) and food Food FOOD!

Paint-a-pot; eat a lot.   That is the sum total of my day off.

When I woke up on my official day off, it was about 15 minutes later than I usually get out of bed.  Already I could strike one thing off the list: sleep late.

The other happy vegan wondered aloud why was I awake so early, but I wasn't about to explain that technically I already had slept in.  I shuffled around the house, stumbled out the back door and took in the view.  Sun, glorious sun.  Palm trees everywhere, and morning sun blinding me off the ocean.

After feeding the cats I had some coffee and read the paper.  I decided to skip breakfast, there was too much anticipation within me for the day.  That happy vegan called and set up a paint a pot session for us early afternoon at Key West Pottery in, no surprise, Key West. I had met Adam & Kelly at a street fair in Key West just a few short months after they had moved to Key West from Ohio.  They had a combined energy which I  would say bordered on exuberance for life and their work.  Fantastic, right?  I became an immediate fan of their clay, and have since admired the beautiful creations coming forth from their studio. (They do have a web site if you're interested at www.KeyWestPottery.com)

By late morning, we were on the road heading down the Keys.  We made a couple of pit stops along the way, and before too long we found ourselves at Sugar Apple for lunch.  Skipping breakfast was so worth it. My day off tempeh Reuben tasted better than almost anything I've ever had.  Was it the perfect sunshine, the perfect ride down with no idiots on the road (always a big plus), the great smells coming out of the Sugar Apple's kitchen, the smiling faces when I walked in, or just the fact that they serve damn good food in there, no matter the day, no matter the occasion, I'll never know.  But, my day off tempeh Reuben rocked my Universe and prepared me for my afternoon of painting.

We arrived at Key West Pottery where Adam, Kelly and their youngest boy Nyah greeted us and gave us the drill.  Both of us happy vegans selected the same size bowls and got to work.  The other happy vegan actually used to paint and draw, sure it was airbrushing on cars years ago, but he's got a knack for artistic vision. Me?  After weeks of mentally planning my piece, when I sat before the empty bowl my mind went blank.  I had to study the colors, and sit for a while.  By the time I began, the other happy vegan was already brushes up and going to town.  He finished his entire piece at least 1.5 hours before I did.  He accused me of being a perfectionist, I accused him of ruining my painting mojo.  It was good natured back and forth of course, but truth be told I was the furthest thing from perfection, at least for the painting.  I kept looking around the studio, watching clay being thrown, admiring the work in the showroom, and then coming back to my sad little bowl.  What actually became my finished product was nothing like I had envisioned beforehand, and what will be the real final product will be a total surprise as it has to be fired, and who knows what will come out of that kiln.

While we painted, we talked with each other, the artists, and customers who came and went through the showroom.  Reggae music filled the air as my mind wandered to everything, then nothing at all.  I've waited a long time to paint a pot, and I am not disappointed.  In fact, I'm already planning my next trip down, won't be for a few months thanks to my work schedule, but it will be on "the list" for another day off.

Here's a photo of the owner/artist and another artist taking a short break in the studio that day:

Here's a shot of the boys taking a break from their clay!

After we finished, we drove back up the Keys, made a few pit stops here and there for no reason really, and finally ended up back on our own beach, frosty beverages in hand and snacks at the ready.

I think I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the night before all this eating and painting we went back to Kaya Island Eats yet again. While part of me is sad it's a 25 minute drive from my house, the other part of me is grateful it's not on my island, because I'd have an easy excuse to eat out every single night. Again we were treated to beautiful, flavorful and creative food.  The chef made us everything from salads, appetizers, entrees AND dessert, which trust me I savored every morsel. I wish I had my camera for both Kaya and Sugar Apple that day; food like we had makes me so happy to be vegan, so happy to be in the Keys, and so happy to be surrounded by people who "get it" about being vegan, about being a foodie, and simply about having passion inside for your work.

I think I had a really great day off.  In fact, I wasn't dreading waking up for work the next day.  I didn't run the extra mile I hoped for, but I managed to make really good use of my respite, it recharged my batteries, and I've been back at the helm since whipping up the good stuff for the Universe.

Let's see how the clay was fired, hopefully I'll have a really cool photo to post of our paint-a-pot afternoon in Key West.  I've been craving another of those tempeh Reubens... I'm definitely looking forward to the phone call that says our creations are ready for pick up!