Steven Rolf

FAVORITE BEVERAGE RECIPE

Elderflower Syrup 

  • 20 to 25 elderflower umbels 

  • 4 lemons, juiced and zested (alternatively, citric acid can be used) 

  • 1 quart (1 liter) water 

  • 2 1/4 pounds (1 kilogram) sugar  

  • You can use fresh or dried elderflowers for this recipe, but the flavor is best if you use freshly picked flowers. Harvest the whole flower heads when the creamy white florets have just recently opened. Be sure to leave some flowers on the shrubs so that you (and the birds) can enjoy elderberries in late summer. 

    If you are foraging your elderflowers from wild plants, be 100 percent certain of your identification! You want to use Sambucus canadensis or Sambucus nigra. 

    1. Rinse flower umbels and give them a good shake to remove any insects or debris. 

    2. Remove small florets from stems using scissors or clean fingers, dropping them into a large bowl or non-reactive container. Compost or discard stems. The only edible parts of Sambucus are the flowers and berries—all other parts are toxic. A few stray stem bits in with the flowers in this recipe won't hurt you, but you want to get rid of most of them.

    3. Add lemon juice and zest to flowers.

    4. In a separate pot, bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.

    5. Once sugar has completely dissolved, pour hot syrup over elderflowers and lemon. Stir well. 

    6. Cover bowl or container and leave mixture at room temperature for 3 to 5 days. During this time, the flavor of the elderflowers will infuse syrup. 

    7. Strain elderflower syrup through a sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth or butter muslin. 

    8. Boil the liquid! (this will decompose the toxic stem components, if any are left)  

    9. Transfer syrup to clean canning jars or bottles.

  • A tablespoon or two of elderflower syrup in seltzer or club soda makes a refreshing beverage or add to vodka for an aromatic aperitif. 

BIOGRAPHY

Steven Rolf is a studio potter in River Falls, Wisconsin, focusing on functional pots. He received a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from Alfred University. Rolf teaches workshops at universities and craft schools throughout the US. His work has been exhibited in Japan; Korea; Denmark, and the US, and included in Museum collections at the Minneapolis Institute of Art; American Museum of Ceramic Art; Ulsan Museum, Korea; Museum of Contemporary Craft; and International Museum of Dinnerware Design. His work has also been featured in Ceramics Monthly and Studio Potter.

ARTIST STATEMENT

As a potter, I make one of a kind functional objects that are meant to be used daily. The daily routine of life is often filled with beauty that is missed or passed over.  I have made a study of making objects that fit ones hand and hopefully engage the users eye, head, and heart as well.  My work celebrates the daily routine of eating, drinking, storing and pouring. 

 Beautiful objects have the power to trigger thoughts and emotions.  Interesting and beautiful clay pots do this for me because they are made of mud, and mud leaves a trail and a record of the makers touch capturing his or her ideas at the moment of making.  Pots additionally deal with containment.  This containment relates to use, the body, volume, space and even containment of ideas as metaphor. 

My work employs the physical process of layering which describes a sense of growth of the pot, both inward and outward.  The addition and subtraction of the material leave a record of time in the work.  Layering of wet clay over leather-hard clay is similar to the transformation of a landscape, such as an eroding riverbed.   As a maker of one-of-a-kind functional objects, I use the premise that I transmit feeling through the subtle touch in working.  I feel that in order for the user to “get it” they must also touch the work.  My hope is that my pots will be used frequently in the daily routine by those who bring them into their homes. 

Website: scrolfpotter.com 
Instagram: @steven_rolf