Saturday, June 10
Jun. 10th, 2023 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
Raku day!
My husband was able to get the afternoon off from "working from home" (which is a bit of a token gesture, since he can do almost nothing productive here, I mean, his job is tracking construction) so that he could come with me.
Raku is a very fun way to fire pottery, though the results are not considered food safe because it is a relatively low temperature and doesn't vitrify the clay well enough for food.
It is a different kiln from what we use at the studio; it uses propane and pretty much has to be done outside. The clay body and glazes are different too.
The end result usually has a specific rustic charm that is very appealing.
It was a pretty hot and windy day for it, and we were very lucky that the hosts have a huge gravel area to work in away from grass and trees. They also had a garden hose there to put out anything that got away, and a fire extinguisher.
There was a good turnout, and I was very happy to see people from the "first year" class. Often they just don't seem to come, either they don't feel welcome or maybe the person leading that class doesn't encourage them? I don't know, but they had a great time so hopefully the new trend will be the newer folks participating more.
It was a fairly long day, but SO MUCH FUN! I know quite a few people there now, and there's lots of banter and catching up with each other.
I was very happy with my pieces this year. I made some more difficult things (larger pieces are much more prone to cracking), and they survived.
This picture doesn't do this fishy justice. It is quite a good size, over a foot, and to not have it crack or have bits of it fall off is a pretty big deal. In person, the glaze has a lot of metallic color and subtlety that doesn't show in the picture. This is true of trying to photograph most Raku, it's hard to capture the colors.
I made the vase and the box, but not the other items in the picture. The box was a challenge, as it it built with slabs of clay, and again it is a good size, and a bit miraculous that it survived firing.
I made a few smaller items, but I didn't have good pictures. Maybe tomorrow.
Doing Raku together has a real feeling of community, with everyone working together and being very excited over each other's work. It is so much fun to see what everyone has made, and how it turns out.
Raku is sort of instantly gratifying as most pottery, you apply the glaze and you have to wait for a few weeks until it gets fired by the people who run the kilns. With Raku, you apply the glaze and an hour or so later it is finished and you get to see the results.
We came home, and I let everyone out into their pastures for a while, and watered the garden again.
I've been watering it a LOT in the evening, and the next day it is bone dry again.
The town where my husband's job site is located is surrounded by fire. The town where his apartment is, has lost several houses and everyone has been evacuated.
He is likely going to end up working out of the office in the city (thus a commute) until further notice.
It's pretty grim.
I learned about Ratatoskr a squirrel in Old Norse mythology who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages (mostly insults) between the eagles perched atop Yggdrasil, and the serpent Níðhöggr.
It is possible that the creature represents people who help keep feuds alive, or who speak words of malice of others, by continuing to ferry messages of ill will between people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatoskr
Raku day!
My husband was able to get the afternoon off from "working from home" (which is a bit of a token gesture, since he can do almost nothing productive here, I mean, his job is tracking construction) so that he could come with me.
Raku is a very fun way to fire pottery, though the results are not considered food safe because it is a relatively low temperature and doesn't vitrify the clay well enough for food.
It is a different kiln from what we use at the studio; it uses propane and pretty much has to be done outside. The clay body and glazes are different too.
The end result usually has a specific rustic charm that is very appealing.
It was a pretty hot and windy day for it, and we were very lucky that the hosts have a huge gravel area to work in away from grass and trees. They also had a garden hose there to put out anything that got away, and a fire extinguisher.
There was a good turnout, and I was very happy to see people from the "first year" class. Often they just don't seem to come, either they don't feel welcome or maybe the person leading that class doesn't encourage them? I don't know, but they had a great time so hopefully the new trend will be the newer folks participating more.
It was a fairly long day, but SO MUCH FUN! I know quite a few people there now, and there's lots of banter and catching up with each other.
I was very happy with my pieces this year. I made some more difficult things (larger pieces are much more prone to cracking), and they survived.
This picture doesn't do this fishy justice. It is quite a good size, over a foot, and to not have it crack or have bits of it fall off is a pretty big deal. In person, the glaze has a lot of metallic color and subtlety that doesn't show in the picture. This is true of trying to photograph most Raku, it's hard to capture the colors.
I made the vase and the box, but not the other items in the picture. The box was a challenge, as it it built with slabs of clay, and again it is a good size, and a bit miraculous that it survived firing.
I made a few smaller items, but I didn't have good pictures. Maybe tomorrow.
Doing Raku together has a real feeling of community, with everyone working together and being very excited over each other's work. It is so much fun to see what everyone has made, and how it turns out.
Raku is sort of instantly gratifying as most pottery, you apply the glaze and you have to wait for a few weeks until it gets fired by the people who run the kilns. With Raku, you apply the glaze and an hour or so later it is finished and you get to see the results.
We came home, and I let everyone out into their pastures for a while, and watered the garden again.
I've been watering it a LOT in the evening, and the next day it is bone dry again.
The town where my husband's job site is located is surrounded by fire. The town where his apartment is, has lost several houses and everyone has been evacuated.
He is likely going to end up working out of the office in the city (thus a commute) until further notice.
It's pretty grim.
I learned about Ratatoskr a squirrel in Old Norse mythology who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages (mostly insults) between the eagles perched atop Yggdrasil, and the serpent Níðhöggr.
It is possible that the creature represents people who help keep feuds alive, or who speak words of malice of others, by continuing to ferry messages of ill will between people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatoskr
no subject
Date: 2023-06-11 04:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-12 03:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-12 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-12 08:19 pm (UTC)We talked a long time ago about me sending you a piece of pottery, and I would love to do that. I would be very pleased to send it to you as a gift.
What do you like, bowls, mugs, or vases? I can start sending you some images of what might work.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-12 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-13 05:46 am (UTC)