the glow of autumn

Autumn doesn't seem to last too long here in the Pacific NW but it is truly spectacular. I start thinking about translating the colors to my glazes. Let me know what glazes come to your mind.

Naked Raku Workshop at Mt. Hood Community College

Have you ever wanted to get Naked?....Naked Raku that is. Come to this one day workshop and learn about this exciting technique. Held at Mt. Hood Community College on Saturday, 11/14/09 starting at 10am. I'll start the morning off with a lecture and demo and then after lunch, we'll fire up the raku kiln and fire some pieces to really give you all the information that you will need to start exploring this technique. The workshop cost is $25.00 ($15.00 for OPA members) - bring an open mind, a creative soul, don't forget your lunch and come join me for a great day at MHCC.

Meet an OPA Member: Stephen Mickey

3 things about Stephen that have nothing to do with clay.

1. Stephen once lived on a commune and is still best friends with 2 of his commune buddies of 50 years ago---as Victoria Shaw would say -"you are old as dirt"

2. He loves to garden and feels he is more in touch with the creative spirit there than any place else he walks

3. He is so in love with his family that it almost makes him cry to say the word---family

Mahonia Hall

For the next year 8 OPA members have the honor of displaying pieces of their work in the dinning room of the Oregon Governor's mansion, Mahonia Hall. Mary Lou, from the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem, coordinated the exchange and display in the showcases of the dinning room.




First Photo: Mark Heimann, Kenneth Standhardt, Leslie Green and Bev Curtis
Second Photo: Linda Heisserman, Brenda Scott and Dawn Panttaja. Brian Jones could not join us.
Group Photo: This photo includes the outgoing displayed artists Mindy Chaffin and Mel Perrigo

NCECA demo-Korean Potter & a kimchi pot

So, after learning that one of our members is very interested in the fermentation process, I went back into my picture files to locate the photos that I took during NCECA 2009. This demo was done each day of the conference, each time, the potter making several of these large kimchi pots, some with lids, other without. It was truly amazing and inspiring to watch this potter take a bag of clay, get down on his knees and literally starting tossing the clay from side to side, each time stretching the clay into what would become a very long coil. Then he would take lengths of this coil, throw it over his shoulder, sit down at a very crude wheel and start forming a pot or lid. At the end of the last day, a kimchi pot was placed back on the wheel for all who had attended to sign. Enjoy!

Meet an OPA Member: Justin "Skye" Walker

3 things about Skye that have nothing to do with clay.

1. Born in Oklahoma. But has spent most of his life in Oregon
2. Writes poetry and likes to perform it in front of crowds. I've seen this and it's remarkable.
3. Interested in fermentation, such as Kombucha, Kimchi and Beet Kvass.

slip test success

Finally, after months of experimenting with different formulations on this Cassius Basalt slip - SUCCESS! No bloating, no bumps, no lumps. I was throwing this clay body, bisque firing really slow and everything looked good out of the bisque but once it came out of the glaze firing, a bad case of the mumps is and understatment. At the New member gathering at the Nelson's we all discussed this and talked about the possibilities of using a slip over my porcelain thrown piece. And voila, success. Now it is time to produce more, as this piece sold at the Corvallis Fall Festival.