A GOOD-BYE to MIY EAST SIDE

In this last chapter of the first book of MIY. We closed with an amazing party full of love, laughter, tears, and yummy food. Our volume of 16 years was full of people, stories, creativity and food, and it started with and it ended with food.

Potter's at heart are creatives down to their souls, and if they aren't making stuff with clay, they are just making stuff. A great many of our potters are amazing cooks, and they showed up to celebrate their time with us and made just the most delicious. Francis made her signature Baklava which is the perfect not too sweet and just right level of flakiness. Jude made a noodle casserole (koogle? sorry I don't know the spelling) with gooseberries! I never had one before in my life, it was sweet and sour but also tomato-like! Emma made a beautiful flan and some really odd chicken salad break wrap that was as lovely as it was delicious. I can't remember the name of the dish that Jackie made because it has a name that isn't native to me, but it was also tasty and beefy. Cakes, cookies, all sorts of food, is the best way to say hello and goodbye with family and friends. We were visited by friends Jane and Alvin Blake, Bev Lev, my mom Mirtha Mendez, and Barbara (whose last name is eluding me), so many people that we hadn't seen in years! And a most special blessing to me was that of Alan Jedla. Pushing almost 90 years, Alan was pretty much a father to MIY ceramics, he made a special visit thanks to his family and was able to come and share a moment with me and with us to bid adieu to the space that brought us joy for over a decade. Personally my belly and my heart were so full that day, I am grateful for sharing the space with amazing potters and artists that were present and those that were with us in spirit. The new pages of the next volume are getting written and I look forward to sharing with you as its new story unfolds. -- Denise Mendez