Limited Edition GBCB Earthenware Plates coming soon!

The Good Beer Country Boys and Miyuki have a ceramic artist friend in Japan. His name is Osamu. We know him through a long story involving Miyuki's grandma thinking he was a homeless person stumbling into a "well-to-do" restaurant, my brother (also a ceramicist) visiting Japan around that same time, and plain ol' goodwill toward fellow humans.

For my birthday this past December at Udagawa (the BEST food in Japan), Osamu gave me a plate. He said this plate was the first in a new, super premium, artist series he was developing. From the looks of the plate, I had my doubts. It was very curiously shaped. There were two large, almost oval, indentions, with two smaller indentions positioned close to the bottom, between the larger ones. The surface had many small inverted bumps, like braille, but spaced evenly, especially in the indentions. Close inspection showed many extremely fine lines in random curving and twisting patterns. These were all over the plate, but thicker where the two large ovals met and around the smaller indentions. The plate itself was made of unglazed clay that looked as if it had been put through a kiln a few times. If you haven't figured it out from my description, the plate was Osamu's ass. The 4 indentions are what you think they would be, the inverted braille is goose bumps, and the fine lines are... well, you know. Osamu presented this in front of the whole restaurant and made a big show talking about how cold the clay was on his backside. He went on to explain how his doctor friend, who is a proctologist, had visited his studio and one thing led to another...proctology, butts, plates, etc.

The Good Beer Country Boys, Miyuki and her mom visited Osamu this past weekend to wish him a happy new year. We also brought him some Kentucky Ale from the homeland to drink or display...upside down. That is his new thing this year --to view everything from a different view, specifically upside down. In his studio, this includes gift beers, posters, records, clocks, ceramic making tools, actual ceramics, and more. He would probably mount his potter's wheel to the ceiling if it wouldn't cave in the whole building. Anyway, I noticed 4 more ass plates like my birthday present around the shop. I thought he had been joking about the "ultra-premium artist series" but he said it was no joke. The conversation eventually got around to whether not DH and myself would like to make our own ass plates. Now, the Good Beer Country Boys are not always into it, but are not ones to pass it up. "It" being 'having our own ass plates' in this situation. Osamu prepared the clay and DH went first and then it was my turn. I am not going to really describe sitting my bare ass (and other parts) in clay, because I feel the pictures say it all. It feels about what you think it would feel like, but colder. Much colder.

Osamu told us that the plates would be done in about a month. When that happens, we'll post on here for the world to see. I can't speak for DH, but I am proud of mine. It's gonna make alot of you jealous.