I spent a lot of time at the Willamette Art Center. I want to thank Karin (class instructor), Ken, Lee, Kate, Jim, Pat, Sue, Nikki (who fired the gas kiln), Jan, Jeanette, and all the other potters who generously shared their tips—and lots of laughs--with me. It was pure heaven being able to “talk clay” with so many talented and creative potters! I learned so much—a bit here and there from everyone at the W.A.C. The Salem community is very lucky to have such a wonderful resource in their midst!!
I have carefully packed away 8 bowls that are coming home with me—here are two:
The blue bowls are a new concept and the Ohata Red/White bowl is a glaze I used in Hawaii in the 1980s. Many of the glazes did not work out—so they aren’t coming with us, ha ha.
We did a raku firing on the last class day:
That metal pipe at the bottom shoots a gas fired flame into the kiln—after the fiberglass shield is dropped down over the base.
Yikes! The fiberglass is lifted when the correct temperature is reached. Those pots are about 1700 degrees! I stood back to take photos—too hot for me!!
Kate applied her horse’s hair to her “HOT” vase to create a horse-hair glaze effect. Yes, it smells—but the effect is beautiful.
The hot glazed pots are placed in a container filled with shredded newspaper or leaves, etc. to create a fire—which blackens the unglazed areas. This is my bowl. Raku fired bowls are always a surprise!
As we planned on being here for 3 months, I wanted to get involved and do some volunteer work, so I joined Salem Elks’ Club # 336. (Larry is a 20-yr. member of Los Banos, CA Elks.) To keep in shape, I started weeding the flower beds around the building, as well as helped at a few functions. As I told Brenda Holm, the Exalted Ruler, “My hands are available to be of use, but brain not included.” I wanted to help, but not take charge of anything, smile.
Imagine my surprise at being given this honor on August 22, 2013:
Wow, I was blown away with the announcement! I felt like I had been paid already with the satisfaction of lending a helping hand—so this was just frosting on the cake.
Some other things we did were:
We made a few visits to Willamette Valley Fruit Company for a treat as well as numerous market stands to buy fresh tomatoes—for yummy bacon and tomato sandwiches.
We splurged and had prime-rib dinner at the lodge! Yes, it was yummy too!
Larry wants a trailer instead of the camper, so a neighbor walked me through hooking up a pull-trailer to show I could do it. He even offered to let me hook up his trailer for him--for practice; what a great friend, ha ha. Thanks, Mike! Still not sure I can do it, but did see it wasn’t as difficult as I expected. Stay tuned to see what happens this winter!
And we rode around the country side. And day after day slid by while we were enjoying ourselves! About a week ago, we realized it summer was almost over—and time to do some “packing up” work! And just about then—I came down with the flu or a nasty cold! Sore throat, chills and fever, sinus pain, chest congestion, and plugged ears—GREAT! I lost the last two weeks—and Larry held out for 10 days before he got sick! The couple that lives together—in a shoebox—cough together!
This has been one of the best summers in many years! We were surrounded with friendly neighbors and new friends here at the lodge, we contributed to good works, and my creative needs were fed by the welcoming, creative potters of WAC. It just doesn’t get any better than this summer in Salem!
We expect to be healthy enough to drive out of the wonderful Salem Elks’ Club on Monday, September 9th. We are headed to Antioch for doctor appointments and then hope to head for Texas for a few months. The Livingston house feels lonely and probably needs a ton of work—costing two tons of gold—just normal stuff! Stay tuned as we explore old roads—again!
So glad you were able to re-publish this blog post. Love the blue bowls! It's great that you were named Elk of the Month, too! What an interesting time you've had in Salem.
ReplyDeleteYes, I could definitely see you having a trailer or 5th wheel. A lot more living space, and much easier to get in and out than the camper. In fact, you could even tow a pull-trailer back to Texas with the truck, and drive the car separately. The only possible down side is you would probably not travel with the car afterward, so the truck would have to be your only transportation. But it's a possible option.
I could not have republished without YOUR help in using Live Writer! Thank you for all your help getting me up and running, smile.
DeleteYeah, we are looking at options. Hard decision on what to do--so many trade-offs with each choice. I feel like I have the best of everything set up this way--and Larry disagrees, ha ha.