On site at the Salem fairgrounds there is a Willamette art center. The rally event coordinators worked with the art center to provide the air streamers with some art classes during the week. There was acrylic pours, hand building a mug, water color and raku pottery painting.
The raku sounding intriguing and fit my schedule so off I went. The three gentleman who took us through the process were potters themselves of course and provided a wealth of information. First off we picked whichever greenware we wanted and then after a review of available glazes we began painting.
One off my smaller round pots I wanted to do something more decorative then just paint it. Fortunately I had brought my knitting and had a pencil and more importantly a tape measure. I was able to measure the circumference which was approximately 11 inches. I made a mark every inch and then freeform the undulating bands I wanted to paint. I had the foresight to mark the first one because as you paint the glaze dries and it's hard to see on the second and third coat where you began.
I finished my more tedious one and then did two more pots just covering the surfaces. This is where the fun begins. They preheat the greenware on top of the kiln and then open it and put the glazed pieces inside. They take the kiln up to a temperature of about 1800 degrees in about an hour and then it's time for the next step. (This is turning into a long story.) On day one ( day two is another story) I didn't realize the dramatic moment of the kiln opening would provide glowing orange greenware with flowing glaze. It was fleeting and by the time I dug my phone out to capture the picture the moment was gone.
The next part of the process was to pick up the glowing greenware with tongs and deposit them in a small trash barrel which was lined with newspaper. This caused the paper to flame and once flaming the lid was put on. The lack of oxygen creates the chemical reaction that makes the various colors of the glaze come alive.
I had no idea I would be so totally enamored with the process. I think what I liked is that you are forced to surrender control. The variations in the glaze colors cannot be planned. The fire does what it does.
Here are my three pots from Day One
So.....I loved this technique and asked if they were going to offer it again. The gentleman in charge said if I had 6 or 7 people they'd do it again. My neighbor was all in, but that made two of us, so the next morning we carried my pots and solicited anyone and everyone until we had enough for a class! (The husbands would have had to step up to be five and six were relieved we made our quota) I had been dreaming of polka dots so I brought my tape measure, a quarter, a nickel, a penny and a dime.
This was slightly more of a challenge because I decided to paint the dots randomly different colors. Well it turns out many of the glazes though wildly different in the finished product, look very similar when painting them. So to identify the dots for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th coats I had to start coding them. There were x dots, and ( dots, and o dots and - dots.
I was going to leave the clay between dots black but it was recommended to me that it might be dark and to consider a white crackle. That turned out to be a great suggestion, thank you Kelly.
Kelly was aware of my excitement about seeing my polka dots come out of the raku fire so he had a bit of fun with me, remembering which pot he put it in out of the 5 and left it until last. After the 4th he said 'that's it, all done' chuckling all the way. Finally the unveiling happened and I was completely enamored with my newest pot! Oh it's not perfect by any means, but unlike bead, fabric or yarn, when it's done it's done (except for a bit of scrubbing), and I think that's a good thing. I could embrace imperfection a bit more.
Here's a photo of the glowing orange kiln reveal. I was poised and ready this time.
So if you're following my travel blog, this one turned into a bit more of a maker blog (maddesignsbeads.blogspot.com). But it's still a good topic.
Moving on......The second to last night we had a disco night with music and dancing. I don't dance often and I don't dance well but when the opportunity presents itself, I enjoy it. The band was led by singer and sax player Patrick Lamb. I love saxophone so I loved this shot of the player in shadow.
Friday was our last day and we chose to visit the Oregon garden. What a stunning place it was. There were ten or so different types of gardens including this conifer garden with whimsical trees referred to as Dr. Suess trees. There were over 600 varieties all labeled. We took a tram around the entire property and learned all about the cooling of the water before it was returned to the watershed through the Pudding river. It was a beautiful outing.
We followed that up with a trip to close by Historic Silverton where we had beautiful crepes sitting on a charming outdoor patio overlooking a creek bed.
We finished up our last night with a happy hour inviting all of the nearby neighbors we'd traveled with.
Next up, the Oregon Coast and a kink in the plans!
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