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

Remembering Tom Rohr

Oregon potter, teacher, and friend of Studio Potter died suddenly on July 8 at his home outside Eugene. Tom was a vivid, generous, life-embracing potter and friend, and his loss will be deeply felt by the students, wood-firing crews, and fellow-potters whose lives he touched – as well as by his family. His wife, potter Kathryn Finnerty, has asked that people who want to remember Tom’s life in clay do so with a donation to Studio Potter. We are more touched than we can say by the generosity of this gesture, and by being included in the ceramic community honoring Tom. Our heartfelt thanks and condolences to Kathryn and to Tom’s friends and family.http://www.studiopotter.org/tomrohr/

Meetings, meetings, meetings

The July General Meeting is tonight at the Multnomah Arts Center. Potluck starts at 6pm and the meeting will get under way at 6:30pm. Brian will be coordinating the Group Buy effort for the members and rumor has it, our President Elect, Margaret, will be running the meeting tonight.

And then there's the "Visions" meeting for Showcase tomorrow afternoon at our Showcase Chair's home/farm. Potluck lunch starts at noon and the meeting will get underway at 1pm. This should be a terrifc meeting with a lot of ideas being exchanged for Showcase 2010.

Hope to see you all at either or both of these meetings.

Empty Bowls @ Blues Festival

Grab $10.00 and 2 canned goods and head to the Waterfront Blues Festival this weekend at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The OPA's Empty Bowls booth is at the entry across from the Marriott Hotel off Naito Parkway. This year's chair Bill Sanchez and his Co-Chair Raybun Thompson and a group of volunteers set up the booth on Wednesday. The donated work is amazing and you'll be helping a terrific cause. All proceeds from the donated work go to the Oregon Food Bank - a much needed donation in these trying times. Hope to see you there!

TexMex Mac & Cheese

Not your granny's mac & cheese. And oh so easy.

4-6 poblano chiles-blackened under the broiler, cooled, skin, seeds & mebranes removed

6 sm white corn tortillas

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup 1/2 & 1/2

1 cup milk

3 lg eggs

elbow macaroni-cooked al dente

shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, sharp Cheddar, Spicy Jack-whatever you've got on hand and plenty of it to make the mac & cheese gooey

Rough cut the chiles and tortillas. Put in a blender with the cilantro & finely chop.

In a lg bowl, whisk together 1/2 & 1/2, milk, eggs, salt & pepper. Add in the chile/tortilla mixture. Mix. Add in the elbow macaroni & most of the cheese. Stir. Pour into a baking dish rubbed down with butter. Don't be stingy-you don't want it to stick. cover with remaining cheese. Bake in a 350 oven until it is bubbling, 40 minutes or so. If you can resist, let it sit for a few minutes when it is done, otherwise, dig in!

Gathering at the Nelson's Chehalem Mountain Pottery

Larry & Debi opened the doors to their beautiful home and studio for May's newer member gathering. It was a perfect late spring evening. Perched amongst the trees, we enjoyed dining al fresco and a critique and troubleshooting session during dessert. Many thanks to our guest art critic for the evening, Carole Murphy, who lead a very helpful and meaningful critique session. I'll have photos posted shortly of both the work and the food, accompanied by a few recipes. Thanks to all that participated - it was a great Saturday evening.