Another Adventure is in the Memory Bank....

We are home from another adventure........

He had a "bucket list" adventure checked off the list and I am not sure who had more fun him or her!!!

We drove out to Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island in search of a mighty Chinook Salmon and we found them!  




We had a leisurely drive to get to Vancouver with frequent stops to treasure hunt along the way.  We saw mountains, rivers, lakes, streams, orchards, vineyards and a whole lot of very dry landscape along the way. 

We had a short visit with some friends in the Okanogan and a quick visit with a special auntie and uncle before heading to the ferry.  We had a visit with another friend on the island did a little treasure hunting and then we followed the windy road to Ucluelet to find the treasure at the end of the trail.
















The real treasure hunt on this road trip was found in the time spent together in the deep blue sea on a big boat with some sharp hooks and the gentle sway of the ocean.

 There will be another blog with photos of some of treasures we came home with but for now the long fast drive home has us sitting and relaxing for a few days before returning to real life.




The search continues......

It was a long day....

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We had the opportunity to pick up some Hycroft pieces recently, now we usually pass up on almost every Hycroft piece we see just because they are quite plentiful and we had to decide what we really wanted to collect.  But in this case there were several very unique pieces that we had never seen before and a couple we had seen photos of but never seen for sale. 

So I went for a drive, picked my Dad up along the way and went for a road trip.  Some of the pieces we brought home are one of a kind made by an employee of the factory and are marked with a family name.  What was really quite interesting was to get the history of the pieces from the son explaining what they were, about when they were made and the personal significance behind the piece.  They stated that they "broke lots of plates" on Saturdays going to the factory.

 

We have not finished researching and determining which company made some of the pieces but it is very interesting trying to track down where they were made.

And a couple new teapots.......I love the teapots!!

And the Search Continues.....

One Vase....Two Vase....Same Vase

The fun we have had so far this summer!!!!  In May we had a friend stop for a quick visit and drop off a couple of pieces of Medalta that he had for us and what beauties they are!

Then in June more friends stopped in for iced tea and a visit and had a couple more boxes of Medalta for us.  The people we have met along way have become friends and it is so enjoyable to sit and share stories and the history behind the pieces.  We did find a few very special pieces that we will share on another blog sometime in the future.          

In today's blog we have vase #61, Egypto according to "Know Your Medalta Vases" it was made around 1935-?.  There are 2 glazed vases in different colors and one that is cold painted.  Don't they look different?? The black painted Egypto is so dramatic and is a pleasure to look at.

The second vase is a #71 and again there are different finishes and in this vase there are a couple different sizes.  This vase, according to "Know Your Medalta Vases" was made about 1936-? and was made in 4, 6 and 8 inch sizes.  We have some with handles on and some without handles, some glazed and one cold painted.  Once again the black cold painted one is beautiful in every way.

When you have finished reading this blog, please leave us a little comment just so we have some idea who if anyone is reading the blog.  If there is something you have seen and would like more photos of in a blog post just let us know and we can certainly do that.

Once again the joy is in the people we meet along the way and the things we learn.  So many people have been so willing to share the wealth of information they have collected and for someone like us that have not been collecting for very many years it has been invaluable!

 











And the Search Continues....

Paint by Number...

                     

As a child I used to love doing paint by number pictures.  There were all kinds of pictures from animals, to nature scenes, to buildings and so many more.  Each one came with a pre-printed painting board and little pots of paints that were numbered.  The painting had a numbers in the spots that were to be painted the color in the corresponding paint pot.  Of course you didn't have to follow the instructions and could paint it any color you wanted. 

Medalta made vases that were embossed with different things, there are Storks, Dutch people, Indian Chief and Maiden and a dragon to name a few.  Some of the vases are just glazed but others are hand painted and each raised piece on the vase is painted.  On a quick look the painting on them looks to be the same but on closed inspection there are a variety of colors on some of the pieces.

The same theme or pattern can be found on several different vases, some painted and some just glazed.

When I look at the vases it reminds of the paint by number art I did as a child.  I wonder how the people painting the vases decided what colors to use......did they have a guide?  Did they choose what ever color they wanted? How many would be painted in a day at work?

Imagine sitting at a work station with a paint brush in hand and putting the finishing touches on a vase.  Not only is it a vase but it is now a piece of art.

Another amazing thing about the hand painted vases is that they are cold painted and not glazed after they are painted.  Over time the paint rubs off, wears off or can be damaged by use as a vase from the water for the flowers.

  

I love the colorful addition these vases make to our collection!

And the search continues.....

Saskatchewan ........... Hard to Spell, Easy to Draw

Saskatchewan is the place that just over a million people call home, it is a province of vast diversity....there are several urban centres other than Regina and Saskatoon with vast prairie landscape in between.  So many people never leave the TransCanada Highway so all they see is the straight flat land of the province and not the beautiful landscape on either side of that southern highway. 

In the Southwest we have https://greatsouthwest.ca/great-sandhills/ and everyone should go out there on a nice summer day with a crazy carpet!  Some of the communities close are Sceptre and Prelate and south of the TransCanada is Simmie, go for a drive and see the sand dunes along with antelope, elk, moose, mule deer and many other 4 legged creatures.

 Lemsford, Saskatchewan is home to a ferry that crosses the South Saskatchewan River, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemsford_Ferry.

 Maple Creek is south of the TransCanada and is the entryway to the Cypress Hills.  Eastend, Saskatchewan is where Medalta got the clay to use in the plant in Medicine Hat to make the pottery and is located at the east end of the Cypress Hills.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Hills_(Canada), from the top of the hills it feels as if you can touch the stars and moon, what an amazing place to do some star gazing.

 

If you head north of the TransCanada Highway you will eventually meet the forest with thousands of lakes and dense forest areas.  Prince Albert is called the gateway to the north and leads into some of the best sport fishing lakes in the country where you share the lakes with the loons and the beavers.

Saskatchewan does not seem to have as many advertising pieces as Alberta and British Columbia, perhaps because the province was sparsely populated for many years, perhaps because it was mostly farming communities and there wasn't much money for fancy things, who knows for sure.  That makes it even more fun to find pieces that have that hard to spell province towns on them.

Two places from Saskatchewan one is world famous and the other is a little town in Southwest Saskatchewan where some very important clay was found.  The writing is hard to read on the Polar Bear but you make our Souvenir of Eastend

Saskatchewan ....... Hard to Spell, Easy to Draw and a Great Place to Explore.

And the Search Continues .........

Sometimes its just for fun...

Have you ever seen something that is just fun and added it to your collection for that reason? 

Well that was the case for us recently, we saw something that was just fun and fit with our collection so we added it.  We were excited to open the parcel when it got here and sure enough the pieces inside were just as fun as the name of the store we bought them from "Silly Sisters Antiques".

We don't usually buy Hycroft pottery, it is fairly plentiful and easier to find but the characters on these are just eye catching and cheery.  I believe the pattern may be The Little Red Hen and they were made in the late 1950s.  If anyone can help with more information please leave us a note in the comments.

This is a small excerpt from information published and is found in the following link https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17156/22857.

"Hycroft China, Medicine Hat, 1956 to present (70 pieces).  In 1956 the Medicine Hat Potteries' plant was acquired by Marwell Construction of Vancouver who, in the next year, sold it to Harry Veiner.  He still operates the plant.  The items produced were marketed under the name Hycroft, even though the company retained many of the original styles and moulds of the Medicine Hat Potteries."

    
                                   

Here is a link to some information on Hycroft: 

https://albertaonrecord.ca/hycroft-china
http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11505

Until next time....

And the Search Continues.....