June 4 - Pete, pipes, and flowers

I almost forgot about this post, that's why it's out of date order.

My buddy Pete called to tell me he was heading through town on business and we made plans to meet for lunch.  Pete and his wife Annie used to live here, but moved to Florida so we don't get to see them very often.  We went to Ru San's for the sushi buffet and weren't disappointed.  I took a two-hour lunch that day and Pete and I caught each other up on our lives.  It was great seeing him.

Later I went to the supermarket to pick up some groceries and was once again frustrated by the construction going on there.  They have torn up the whole middle of the parking lot directly in front of the store to install corrugated pipes that are large enough for me to stand inside.  They are creating a huge cistern-like storm water reclamation area under the parking lot.

That's all well and good, but they have blocked up the whole middle of the parking lot.  To make matters worse, they have closed off the left and middle doors and created a new door on the far right due to construction on the front of the building.  This means that we have to park on the far left in cramped parking spaces and hike to the far side of the store to use the new entrance.  Not the best planning if you ask me (although nobody did...).  I've decided I am going to a different branch until this one is finished.

My mood lightened again when I returned home and saw that our day lily was blooming.  I really like this plant, but it's got such a short time to bloom in the spring you have to work at seeing it.

Pete.

A mess.

A beauty.

.

2010-03-14 Sunday - Raku day!

A bunch of us converged on Clayworks Sunday to raku some pieces.  There was a whole lot more going on there, such as people working on all aspects of their art, and Maggie even had a make-up session for one of her classes scheduled.  The raku had mixed outcomes (as is often the way of raku), but there were some outstanding results in the mix.  Becky had some really great results with her horsehair birds.  She also found out she really likes using feathers as well as horsehair.  Joe's pieces came out wonderfully and I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of them.  It's ok, Joe, I forgot to take one of my own pot.  Kim had mixed feelings about her saggar firings, but I thought some of them came out nice.  Expectations often rule our perception of the final product.

Greg, Joe, and Melissa take a break.

One of Kim's pots that I like.

The sky was a lot more friendly today.

First, the bird goes on a small sawdust "nest"...

Next, the horsehair is applied...

As more horsehair is applied, the patterns form...

Now multiply by twenty-four!

(or Four and Twenty if you prefer...)

Pete was busy making his really tall shape.

I really like it and the decoration works very nicely.

Chuck was working on his tall series.

I like this for completely different reasons.

Read on...

This is the previous one he threw.

I love the fluidity of this form.

It looks like we caught it in mid-wave in moving water.

Greg raku'd this fine looking couple that are joined into one piece.

It took him hours to layer on his glazes and it makes for rich results

that have a a lot of depth and subtle details.

2010-02-28 Sunday

Sunday saw a crew of regulars at Clayworks.  Everyone was being very productive and having a lot of fun in the making of things.  I finished up my glazing from Saturday since the gas kiln was going to be loaded on Wednesday night.

 

Katherine and Pete (with twelve lbs of clay).

  

Ju-Ian and her new little buddy.

  

She makes great faces.

  

John working on decoration.

  

 When I got home I grabbed a photo of this planter on the deck.

This is a testament to how cold this winter has been

since it's lived on the deck for more than five years

with no problem at all.

2010-02-27 Saturday - Muddy Fun

Saturday was Muddy Fun day!  We had one teacher (Maggie), three volunteers (Chuck, Pete, and yours truly), and seven excellent students.  They made a whole bunch of pots and they were very good for their first time.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

2009-08-01 Saturday - Greg's Birthday

We celebrated Greg's birthday on Saturday and I think I can safely say that everyone had an excellent time. It was a warm day, but nobody seemed to mind a bit. Combine good friends, good food, assorted beverages and several hula hoops --how can you go wrong?

Dave modeling his new eyewear.
(It wasn't quite THAT humid...)

Julie and Amy (probably talking clay).

Julie can even drink a beer
while maintaining her hula hoop.

The birthday boy and his sister.

Joe and Pete solving the problems of the universe.

It's a hula hoop convention.

Greg gets his hoop on.

Kit goes for three hoops.

2009-05-02 Saturday Barrel/Raku/Saggar Firing

Saturday was a big firing day at Clayworks. We did a barrel firing, a raku firing and a saggar firing --all in one day! It was an ambitious schedule, but we Clayworkers are a hardy bunch.

The barrel didn't want to start and after several attempts, and Minke buying more lighter fluid it finally went. The results of the barrel were a mixed bag as usual.

The saggar firing was interesting. We brought the kiln up very slowly, but the bottom pan for the saggar broke into several pieces. The pieces that were saggar fired came out nicely, despite the fractured vessel. We had to let the kiln cool down to about 300 degrees so we could sweep out the sawdust before firing the next raku load.

The first raku load needed to ramp up slowly again since the kiln was so cool. Amy had some plaques to fire and I remembered reading that flat raku pieces have less chance of cracking if they are fired on edge. I'm pleased to say it worked like a charm and her plaques came through the fire fine.

We brought the kiln up more quickly for the second load since it was already at 500-600 degrees and the pots started getting juicy just about the time the heavens let loose. We covered the vent holes with kiln shelf pieces on bricks to keep the rain out of the kiln, but we couldn't chance taking the pots out with all that cold water falling on them. We turned the kiln down and waited. Luckily the storm took a break for about 10 minutes while we took out the pots. They came out of the extra ordeal without any ill effects. I say "extra ordeal" since raku firing is normally an ordeal for the materials involved.

After all the firing was done I glazed a ^10 craggy crunch pot and cleaned up my shelf supports from the other night and finally left the studio at 7:30 pm. A long day indeed.

Amy, Cindy, and Becky readying the barrel pieces.

Elaine builds one of her great coiled pots.

Pete was there throwing another of his great forms.

Minke brought a feast of wines and
cheeses to keep us all fortified.

Everyone is enjoying the repast.

The rest of the crew.

Becky was determined to get the
barrel burning and making "tunnels" to the pots.

Quite the spread, eh?

Even more food.

The first raku load.

The second load when the sky opened.

Rain on the kiln shelves.

Red lustre with flaming moondrops
and a pour of clear.

Turqouise on neck and burgundy matte on body.

Birds and frogs and pots, oh my!

Wednesday 2009-04-08

Wednesday night I finally got around to doing something with my "sutured" pot. Following Greg's advice, I sprayed it with iron oxide, copper, rutile, and Alfred Blue (with lots of cobalt in it). I then dotted it with Alfred Blue and some other glazes. I was afraid of covering my sutures if I glazed the whole piece, so I went for the alternative option.

The sutured pot.

Yunomi with an accidental plant shape.

A pot I made at the Neighborhood Theater
at the ASC fundraiser.
One of Angela's friends altered it
by pushing her finger in both sides of it.

Bob and Joe in a glazing frenzy.

Virginia getting some pointers from Greg.

Ralph and Pete with one of Pete's beautiful pots.