Pangas Pirates

I bought two skull and cross bones cups from Nicole Pangas as gifts for a couple of my favorite weekend pirates. To my surprise Nicole sent a third cup and a note explaining there was an extra cup in her studio and room in my shipping box. I was delighted. Who doesn't love a little extra treasure? Yo-ho, a pirates life for me!


I delivered the first cup to my friend and co-worker Shawn. I always like it when a gift is well received. Shawn couldn't wait to take it out on its maiden voyage. Up to this point all of his experience with cups has been purely functional: Get the liquid from bottle to mouth without spilling too much on the floor.

This was Shawn's first chance to experience a cup as a piece of functional art. I explained to him why I like functional art and he understood once he tried using the cup. He said he hadn't realized what a difference it made to drink out of a special cup, that a person could appreciate the drink better by appreciating the cup while drinking. It helped him slow down and savor the moment.


I gave the second cup to my daughter Lydia. She is not a potter (sigh), but she is an awesome photographer and an amusing writer.

Her thoughts on this cup come from way down, deep inside, where her weekend pirate lives. She put on her best pirate glare and described this cup as:


"The perfect seafarer flagon. Every sailor (and land-lubber) worth their salt needs a good drinking vessel. This be that vessel! A swig from this cup sets the pirate in me free. I enjoy the raw, nubby matte texture. It provides a valuable grip on a surface made slippery by storm tossed waves.


Drinks go better on the rocks than ships and this glass is the ideal size for anything from a taste test to a cold gulp of my favorite grog. This is a cup I will use for years, with a squint in my eye and a swagger in my step. Drink up me hearties, Yo Ho!"


I've kept Nicole's bonus cup to share with my other two daughters. Jolly Roger grins at us from where it makes berth on the TV stand near our stack of pirate movies.

I know some people think "good" cups are "too good to use" In my opinion, a cup rises in value every time you use it. As much as I enjoy using handmade cups myself, gifting others with pottery really puts the wind in my sails.