At Christmas eve, we served
a steak on dinner plates my
grandma painted, and when
we laid the table I could sense
the scent of linseed oil and
turpentine. She was an artist,
artisan, each plate a flower-
bed, each piece of porcelain
unique. I don’t remember how
she held the brush, or mixed
the powdered pigments, but
I can trace a patience of her
hands in every china petal;
spicing every meal I cook.
A plate my grandmother has painted.
Today Kim is hosting at dVerse, and the prompt is to write a poem about craftsmen or artisans. I remembered the porcelain my grandmother have painted. Truly a treasure to eat on.
—
January 17, 2017
Björn Rudbergs writings 
TRuly a gorgeous example of her work. Such a treasure to have.
beautiful artwork! And your poem a lovely tribute to your grandmother!!
I love this. Absolutely gorgeous work.
I think one of your strongest poetic abilities is to use line breaks to control the pacing and stress. Fantastic piece. What a pleasure to read aloud.
What a fine thing to have. You honored your grandmother well, I’m glad I saw this.
What a gorgeous plate and a fine example of an artisan poem. i love the tone of the poem, as if you are having a conversation with the reader, and i adore the idea of each plate being a flowerbed. My favourite lines:
‘I can trace a patience of her
hands in every china petal
spicing every meal I cook.’
How wonderful to have something precious like that.
Thanks, brother, for sharing this treasure with us. Each artifact or piece of art we have, that was created by family is precious beyond measure
Those are beautiful, she had a true gift!
What patience and work on each of that plate Bjorn ~ Love the personal painting and precious photo by your grandmother ~
Each plate is different… different flowers on each…
Such a delicate poem to truly represent a delicate artistic talent. Truly talented.
beautiful – i especially like the reflection linseed oil and turpentine… i keep a couple of mother’s old plates for just the same respect.
that’s a cool art… beautiful and useful
What special memories to treasure of your grandmother!
Wow impressive plates — I’ve never known someone to do that. And fun to read a poem of yours I could understand.
That’s a wonderful legacy she left you. Every time you eat you can see her handiwork. How beautiful!
Gorgeous. Both the plate, and the poem.
“each plate a flower-
bed” says it all.
And your last line. Wonderful.
A nice poetic tribute to lovely porcelain artistry 🙂
“but I can trace a patience of her
hands in every china petal;
spicing every meal I cook.”
~ this is beautiful, Bjorn!
Beautiful artwork and memories beautifully rendered.
Beautiful tribute. I especially liked these lines
“I can trace a patience of her
hands in every china petal;
spicing every meal I cook.”
And the photo tells it all.
We have a tablecloth, used only on Christmas Eve and Day, with painstaking cross-stitched embroidery by our Aunt Flo. She was a Commander in the Navy and worked with Admiral Nimitz. We miss her — and especially when we use this beautiful cloth.
So touching!! Tender indeed 🙂
I really enjoy that poem!
I Invite also for my posts from Christmas time.
For exaple here you can see Madrid in Christmas period:
https://traveltomeetyourheart.wordpress.com/2017/01/11/lightening-kingdom-madrid-with-christmas-decorations/