April and May have been busy
months for Clayfolk members with the Oregon Pottery Association Show in
Portland, a pit fire and a workshop on mold making. Many of our potters have, also, begun
exhibiting their pottery at festivals and fairs.
Our new Clayfolk President,
Penelope Dews, won Best of Show and the Poster Award at the Oregon Pottery
Association Show with an exquisite wood fire piece. Penelope created her winning piece using
hand built techniques and has been pushing the envelope with her innovative
wood fired pottery.
In May, over thirty Clayfolk
members attended the May General Meeting and potluck held at the Huft’s
home. Many of the members participated
in a pitfire, which took place on the Huft’s property. The outside temperature was in the mid 90’s,
although it was a lot hotter in the pit! The kiln god was very generous this year and the flames painted the
pottery with exceptional color. Participants are still trying to figure out what caused the bright
oranges and greens. Perhaps it was the
dried horse manure the Huft’s donated!
Frederick Bartolovic
presented a dynamic workshop on mold making. Frederick teaches full time at the New York State University in Oswego,
New York, while creating in his studio and living in Toronto, Canada. He describes his work as “figurative
fragmentation assemblages,” and you can view his ceramics at www.geocorpus.com. Workshop participants had great fun making
sprig molds of small objects, using slump techniques and making larger molds
using metal flashing and or coddles. Figuring how to avoid undercuts was a challenge everyone
experienced. Clayfolk member, Chris
Usher, volunteered to have Frederick use her hand from which he made a mold
using plaster wrap. Creativity was
encouraged. Even those experienced in
mold making learned about the intricacies and technicalities of working with
Plaster of Paris as well as the safety precautions for using the medium in the
studio.
Clayfolk members are gearing
up for the 34th Annual Clayfolk show and Sale, which will be held on November
19th, 20th and 21st at the Medford Armory. Applications have already been accepted for
this year’s show with about 70 clay artists from Oregon and Northern California
showing and selling both functional and sculptural pottery. This show is one of the largest all pottery
shows on the West Coast, providing an excellent opportunity to buy unique gifts
for the upcoming holidays. When you support your local potter, everything is
made in America by Americans.
LOOKING AHEAD
November 20, 21, and 22
General Meetings
July 22nd 6:30 PM – Kathy
Harvey’s home
Program
Marydee Bombick illustrating making whimsical pottery
using balloons as an
armature.
October 18th 2:30 PM – place TBA
Booth selection
Board Meetings
July 7th at Jenny Harkin's - 6PM
October 5th at 6 PM - place TBA
Glaze Group Dates
Glaze Study meets the
second Tuesday of the month
6:30 PM at Jenny Harkins
studio
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