October 29 - Big Day part 1

Saturday was a huge day with lots of activities, all involving good friends.  The first thing was the Wells Fargo Community Cultural Celebration.  Clayworks presented a booth downtown at the event.  Our dog was kind enough to wake me up at 5 am and I couldn't get back to sleep so my day started even earlier than I had planned.  I was going to get up at 6:30 because I had to be at Clayworks at 8:30 to load up the equipment we would need for the booth. 

Thanks to Binkley, I got there with time to spare.

I achieved an item on my bucket list that day thanks to Adrienne.  I always wanted to do a raku firing downtown representing Clayworks and she got us approved for one at the festival. 

The firing went well and we also had throwing and hand building demonstrations.  We were right next to a stage that had various musical groups playing so it was quite festive.  We were there from 10 am to 4 pm and we laughed and danced all day.

We had to fire on plywood so we didn't damage the granite patio.

Adrienne, me, Becky, and Rich.

Jaime and Becky.

Rich gets ready to throw a 25 lb. bag of clay.

Centering.

My friend Divakar's daughter Taige was dancing in the atrium, so I took a few minutes to go see her dance.  It was amazing.

Divakar and Sonya.

I only had time to watch one dance since I had to get back to check the kiln and see what Rich was up to.  I dashed back to the booth.

Opening...

A bowl!
Bravo!

This was on the beginning of my twenty-two hour day.  Stay tuned for Part 2.

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2010-06-09 Wednesday - Vietnam Grille and Clayworks

I met my friend Divakar for lunch at the Vietnam Grille.  If you get a chance, check out the Vietnam Grille on South Boulevard.  I really enjoyed my crispy tofu with dipping sauce.

Divakar is something of a local music legend here and you can hear why on his shows, "The New Music & Indie Label Show" 7:00 - 8:30 and "90 Minutes" 8:30 - 10:00 on 106.5 fm on Sunday evenings.  If there was any doubt about his local music status, check out what Creative Loafing has to say about him.  He also runs Shukla Entertainment and Saathee Magazine, and hosts Nazar Television in his spare time.

Later in the evening it was off to Clayworks for a raku firing.  While there we celebrated Elaine's birthday with a cake that Stephanie baked.  Thanks Stephanie, it was great!

The raku firing went well and results were good.  I had a porcelain piece that I left on the wheel for a bit and while I was gone Ju-Ian placed a small frog on the top of it.  I left the frog on it and fired it with clear crackle on the whole pot and turquoise luster on the frog.  I was very pleased with the result and need to get a picture of the finished pot.  Stay tuned for that.

The Vietnam Grille

Lunch with Divakar.

My crispy tofu.

(I forgot to photograph it before starting to eat.)

People jammed in the kitchen at Clayworks.

Party!

Elaine's cake after slicing.

Hot raku pots after opening the kiln.

One of Becky's birds on it's sawdust nest.

Adding dog hair to the bird.

(Normally she uses horsehair, but this is hair from her sister's dog, Mott.)

Next load coming out of the kiln.

(My frog pot is on the right.)

Another view of the frog pot.

(It's starting to cool, but the inside is still glowing.)

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