All Categories - the Rossmoor Ceramic arts club

PIT FIRE 2022 – our first since 2019 - worth the wait!

9/20/2022

We loaded & fired the pit on Wednesday, September 14. This was after months of preparation, including two classes on Pit Fire Techniques and several teams of CAC members going out to collect seaweed and dried cow pies (among other things). Shown below is the preparation of the pit and subsequent loading of our pieces (many of them wrapped in newspaper) into the pit.

Here are more shots of the Pit Fire Team (led by Patty Taylor and assisted by Anne Shulenberger) preparing the pit: sprinkling all around the carefully placed pieces with a mixture of salt and copper carbonate, putting on cow patties and seaweed, adding crumpled newspaper & kindling wood, then stacking firewood logs on top of everything - plus more paper & kindling!

With everything loaded inside, some long metal pipes were placed over the pit. Then we had our ceremonial blessing of the pit, led by Darryla Green and accompanied by Doc King and Damon Shulenberger (Anne’s son), on native drum and flute. Almost ready for the firing!

Next came the lighting of the pit, using charcoal lighter fluid and long torches of rolled up newspaper. The fire blazed up and eventually subsided into smoldering embers. Very dramatic & beautiful! Everyone left the area and relaxed, as the pit crew shared some pizza. Finally - once the flames had died down - the whole pit was covered with metal sheets that were placed on top of the metal pipes, to concentrate the smoke within. And finally. it was left that way for 2 days.

Below is the pit when it was cold and we uncovered & unloaded it, on September 16. Lots of beautiful pottery and sculpture came out of the fire! We got some beautiful colors & colors this time – a really wide variety.

After unloading, sorting & cleaning the ceramic pieces of ash & debris, we had a wonderful potluck lunch right there in the studio, as we celebrated among our new treasures. It was an amazing Pit Fire, well worth the wait!

Remembering Fred Chen - reception held August 30

9/3/2022

We gathered to remember and honor Fred Chen the evening of August 30. This event was attended by several members of the family of Fred Chen including his widow, two children and two grandchildren. It began in the Patio area of the Totem Poles, which is paved with a field of memorial bricks, and featured the dedication of two bricks in Fred’s memory: one in Chinese and one in English. At the same time, members of CAC and Fred’s family shared memories of this wonderful man who had passed away in January and is so dearly missed by all.

After the dedication of the bricks, light refreshments were served (top right photo) inside of the Ceramic Studio. On two tables inside the studio some of Fred Chen’s beautiful pottery was on display (top left photo), as well as a few of his unfinished pieces (top middle photo), along with his tools, brushes, an apron, etc. His family has recently donated many pieces of Fred’s pottery to the Ceramic Arts Club, to benefit the organization which was such an important part of his life.

As you can tell from the pictures below, all those who attended had a wonderful time at this moving and inspiring event. Fred Chen has left a remarkable legacy, and will be long remembered by the Rossmoor Ceramic Arts Club!

Show and Tell

9/2/2022

Our monthly Show and Tell sessions resumed in June - they hadn't happened since the shutdown of our studio in March 2020. And starting in July, these are now being combined with a celebration of the birthdays of all CAC members born that month who attend the event. Photos below, starting with June's Show and Tell.

In July we had a Show and Tell, but for some inexplicable reason no photos are available, except for the ones below, showing Mary Ann giving Anne S. some flowers for her birthday (in a very cool unique hand-decorated bottle).

August's Show and Tell was quite lively, and included a celebration for the birthdays of three members: Patty T., Betty B., and Amy P. - see photos below

CAC Soiree featuring Carolyn Guerra

9/2/2022

This was held in the Rossmoor Event Center the evening of August 23. As you can see, it was very popular with Carolyn's friends & family! Our own Mel Bricker interviewed Carolyn about her life as an artist. In addition to the many sculptures on display, there was a slideshow of other pieces, including some large public sculptures that Carolyn has created over the years - all of which was quite impressive. We had a nice selection of light refreshments, and a wonderful time was had by all who attended!

Lots happening in May and June: Orientation Class and Patio Party

8/23/2022

Our one-and-only Orientation Class of 2022 started in mid May and ended on the 8th of June, when we welcomed 16 brand new members to the Ceramic Arts Club. As usual, Linda Mariano led the class, assisted by numerous other CAC volunteers. What a great group!

Then on June 29 we had a marvelous Patio Party with a festive Mexican theme.

Sculptural demonstrations at our May & June meetings

6/21/2022

Just last week, on June 14, we had an inspiring demonstration on sculpting hands by Sandy Frank, a visiting Bay Area ceramic artist. It was extremely interesting to see how she formed the piece (of Navajo Wheel, a.k.a. Red Velvet clay) with an interior structure inside of a cylinder that she'd made with a slab. She then added to it with pinched moist clay as it was built upward and spread out into the shape of a larger-than-life hand. The fingers were all hollow, with the help of some wooden chopsticks extending out of each digit.

The 45+ members of our club who attended the meeting were quite receptive and appreciative of her skill. Sandy may be able to return to our studio to teach a workshop on figure sculpting at some point, which would be great! Below are some pictures of her in the process of creating her sculpture of a hand.

Earlier, at the previous meeting in May, our own Carolyn Guerra demonstrated how she makes her wonderful hand-built pots with sculpted faces. Below are some pictures of finished vases she has made, and then some showing the process she uses to create them.

Since then several other CAC members have been inspired to make their own versions of ceramic planters with faces.

Back in our Studio! Plus - Mixed Media Artwork by CAC members

4/13/2022

We have been back at work & play in our beautiful "NEW" Ceramic Studio for just over a month now, and although it has been challenging (finding new places to put things, learning to navigate our remodeled space, etc.) it has also been quite wonderful. The photos below show a few of the wonderful moments of the last few weeks (including a new set of ceramics that were recently put on display in the Rossmoor Event Center - bottom center photo).

The most recent CAC meeting (on April 12, 2022) was held in the Peacock Hall Theater. There we experienced a fascinating program hosted by Linda Mariano titled “Exploring Mixed Media.” Several CAC Members were interviewed by her and asked about their inspirations and processes as they created widely varied mixed-media pieces which included ceramic components.

A display of mixed-media artwork made by CAC members as well as a slide presentation was part of the program - those images are below.

Rossmoor News article about Fred Chen

2/6/2022

The February 2, 2022 issue of The Rossmoor News included an article about Fred Chen, who passed away last month, which is a heart-felt memorial to him - see below. (See the previous post for a link to the video of our tribute to Fred, which was part of our January 2022 online meeting).

January CAC meeting celebrated the life of long-time member Fred Chen - and had a Show and Tell session

1/30/2022

Remembering our beloved Fred Chen (who passed away on January 9, 2022).

The Ceramic Club’s General Meeting on January 11, 2022 (held on Zoom) featured an informal session in honor of Fred Chen, who had passed away on January 9, 2022. Fred was such an important and well-loved member of our club! Included in this session were several of our members’ reminiscences and slideshows of Fred in our Ceramic Studio, as well as some photos of his wonderful pottery. A few photos of Fred are below. Also there's a video recording of the online memorial available for our members to view on YouTube. (Note: it’s about 31 minutes long.)
LINK: https://youtu.be/3JdX3Up-CLo

This meeting also featured a wonderful Show & Tell session of all sorts of things made by our members in recent months – and not all of them are ceramic, since our studio is still closed. In addition to pottery and sculpture, there were handmade books, jewelry, and knitted hats & scarves, among other things! See below for some of the pictures. For a more complete version (and to see exactly who created which pieces), check out the video of this session, which is available for our members to view on YouTube – click on the link below. (Note: it’s about 30 minutes long.)
LINK: https://youtu.be/SsbEbEHn8mo

Sad News about Lenore Zislin

12/6/2021

Sad News: Lenore Zislin, a longtime (former) member of CAC, passed away last month. Lenore had moved from Rossmoor in 2020, relocating to be near her daughter on the Peninsula. However she stayed in touch with many of her CAC friends and even attended one of our Zoom meetings during the COVID shutdown.

Lenore was a lovely lady, a creative force, and was much beloved by those who knew her. She will be missed! To view her obituary, click here.

Below is a photo of Lenore in the Ceramic Studio taken during CAC's Fall Bazaar in 2016.