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.

Champoeg State Park

It's that time of year again for the OPA annual picnic. This years location is Champoeg State Park, Oregon's birth place. Everyone is invited to join us at Noon on September 26 for a pot luck and great conversation in the Day Use are. We hope to see you there.

Pictured here are some beautiful views of Champoeg and James DeRosso visiting the park last year.

food, food, glorious food

What a feast! Last night the Showcase Steering Committee meeting took place at my house and everyone brought delicious dishes to enjoy. With this much talent in the kitchen - the Showcase cookbook will be a major success! hmmmm...."the dishes we make" - I think Brenda was onto something when she mentioned it last night - could be a great play on words for the title of the cookbook - a dish we cook in a dish we make. I forgot to take more pictures of the food but here is what I made - hummus with fresh chickpeas from the farm! And the bowls were made by my good friend, Tim McMullen, owner of Silica Studios in Palm Springs, California.

Potters Stoked about Wedding

On Sunday September 13, 2009 Sarah Chenoweth, OPA Board Secretary and Visa Sales Chair, was wed to Brian Davis on Fairacres Farm in Damascus. Brenda Scott, Ceramic Showcase Chair and last years board secretary, was her Maid of Honor. Sarah made beautiful tumblers for all her guests to take home along with bottles of Wedding Bliss Ale homebrew made by the groom. It was a beautiful day and Sarah was gorgeous. Congratulations Sarah and best of luck.

Here are a couple pictures of Sarah and Brenda fooling around in Brenda's kiln barn.

Linkin Up - 2009

After a stormy Saturday & Sunday, the skies cleared and the children showed up to help create more links for the OPA's Linkin' Up with the OPA project. I lost count of just how many children came to the booth to play in clay but for most of the day we had kids waiting for an empty seat at the table. And at the end of the day - 297 links were made! They are all in my studio drying and will be fired mid-October. Thanks to all the children and parents and to the OPA members that came out and helped make the day so successful. Dawn Panttaja worked all day, for the 2nd year, Jamie Anderson & Mark Chapman worked the morning shift, Jeff Gunn drove up from Corvallis to help out for a few hours, James DeRosso helped for several hours and taught the kids all about making monsters! And Jenny Lakeman worked the afternoon shift. What a team. A huge thank you to Art in the Pearl and the Contemporary Craft Museum and KINK FM for sponsoring our day. More updates as the links get closer to being fired.

An August Afternoon

After meeting with the various artists guilds in the Portland area and having a lovely lunch Kris Paul and I stopped by Start Street Studios. We found Michael Grubar glazing pots and Carol Lebreton unloading a kiln. It looked like she had a successful firing. Charlie Piatt was also moving around the studio and took a minute to chat with us. So many wonderful works of art being made there and the gallery is always full of wonderful things.
-Brenda Scott

“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” ~Julia Cameron