SLINGING MUD ON MONMOUTH
Spanish mudslinger extraordinaire Juan Pablo ‘Tito’ Martinez will bring a load of Andalucian clay and a borrowed potter’s wheel to downtown Red Bank this weekend.
Martinez, like his father and grandfather both also called ‘Tito’ before him, is a well-known potter in Ubeda, Spain. He’ll be setting up a mini-atelier at Carter & Cavero, the olive oil and vinegar boutique on Monmouth Street that is the exclusive U.S. retailer of his work.
Martinez is scheduled to give three days of demonstrations in how he makes his bowls, pitchers and other objects, which range from shallow, delicate dipping plates to vessels that look as though they could withstand a nuclear blast. They’re also quite colorful, often glazed in a rich green that’s a hallmark of Ubeda.
We’ve seen video of him at work, perfectly shaping a spinning mound of clay even as his head is turned away to speak to someone. Should be an interesting little show.
Matinez’ appearance schedule is:
Friday, 5:30 to 8:30p
Saturday, 11a to 2p and 5:30 to 8:30p
Sunday, 11a to 2p
You can see some of Tito’s work here, if you can get the site to work (we couldn’t; if anybody knows why, we’d appreciate hearing from you).
Carter & Cavero’s website is here. And in case you missed it, the store got a positive writeup in the food pages of the Star-Ledger last week.