Rick Brady on thu 3 jan 02
Happy New Year,
I entered the holiday season with a full plate of ceramics related
activities planned. Fortunately, the company I work for (yeah I got a
day job) decided for economic reasons to shut down from mid December
through New Years Day. This was going to be a great opportunity to get
some serious pottery work done - I thought. =20
We have a second home in the Sierra Nevada mountains, east of the Bay
Area in Central California. This is where I do all of my pit firing. I
actually have two pits and can do some serious firing when the weather
cooperates. We arrived on Saturday 12/21 to find the cabin (and my two
pits) covered by 4 ft of snow. NO PIT FIREING UNTIL SPRING! Mind you,
it is not uncommon for us to be raking pine needles in January and
February. Frustrated? A little, but I still had a raku firing planned
at my home in Pleasanton for New Years Eve. Well it rained, and rained
and rained. Sigh... What to do. Well, I did take time to throw some
more pots, trim and glaze some pots and even do my most "favorite" of
all things BURNISHING of pots for a future pit firing. By now serious
frustration had set in. =20
My wife came to my rescue. She had given me a video for Christmas and
suggested that we watch it over our New Years Eve Dinner. "Raku
Hawaiian Style" a video produced by Dean & Malone McRaine (sometime
Clayart participant) chronicles a group, four day raku party on Kauai.
What fun. By the time the video was over I was ready to put on my
sandals, shorts and tank top and start firing my raku right then. My
wife reminded me that it was still raining and the temperature was in
the 40's so it would be best to wait just a little longer. Sigh...
It's frustrating when she tempers in my enthusiasm with reality. So for
now, I'll continue to glaze pots and shred up newspaper, wait for the
kiln to dry out and dream of the warm beach's and potters of Kauai.
Now where is that Mai Tai mix.....
Dean and Molone McRaine have advertised Raku Hawaiian Style in CM and I
think it might be available through The Potters Shop. Just what any
potter might need to get through the winter doldrums. Their email
address is: beezer@aloha.net
Happy New Year and regards to all,
Rick Brady=20
Pleasanton. CA=20
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