Category: Children And Clay - the Rossmoor Ceramic arts club

Fun in the New Year

2/8/2018

The old year is gone and the new one's well begun - time flies! The gallery of photos below illustrate some of our activities from late December (2017) through early February, including a Show and Tell session, a visit to the studio by grandchildren, a demonstration (by ceramic artist Daniel Oliver), a class on painting with underglaze and a presentation about raku and sagger fire techniques.

Now we are about to welcome a new crop of members, with an Orientation Class that will be starting in two days. Never a dull moment!

Grandkids Days, 2016

8/7/2016

The Ceramic Club's Grandkids Days were held on July 18 & August 1 - and a very good time was had by both grandparents and the kids, as you can see from the pictures below, taken on August 1. Kudos to Sandy Walker and Shirley Weigand for organizing and facilitating it this year - they did a great job!

December at the Studio - including a pugging session!

12/31/2015

To ring out the old year, we had a pugging session this morning. The team of volunteers worked hard for several hours, ultimately adding over 100 packages of recycled clay to our supply (they are 4 lbs each, $1 cost) - see the first 3 photos below. Their efforts are greatly appreciated by the Ceramic Arts Club!

And of course the remainder of the pictures feature various CAC members doing things in the studio, having fun in the process. Happy New Year - see you in 2016!

Important dates before & after the Bazaar - photos of CAC folks having a good time in the Studio

11/1/2015

Here is a list of activities leading up to the Bazaar (happening Saturday November 7 this year), since the Studio is closed the week before, as we prepare for to turn it into a stunning Ceramic Art Gallery. Note the date and time that it re-opens for our members to do their work, a couple of days after the Bazaar - Monday November 9, at noon, to be exact!

Please scroll down for photos of recent activities...

And below are some recent photos for happenings in and around our studio - lots of fun.

Work on the air-conditioning - making pitchers - Grandkids' Days - Event Center display - etc.

8/20/2015

Well, the HVAC work is in full swing - see the photos below! This is why the studio has to be closed through tomorrow (the 21st). But we expect to be back in business by Saturday August 22nd. In fact the 22nd is the first day of an Orientation Class, so it will be busy in there from 10 to 2, in case you're rarin' to go. Best to wait until after 2:30 if possible (unless you just want to use the glazing table in the back room). WARNING: it may not be cool in our studio until around August 28, so be prepared. But it sure will be great when they're done!

For the record, below is a photo of Lynn Wood helping one of our members make a pitcher, and some photos of things we made in the "Pots That Pour" class she taught. Teapots were made, as well as simple pitchers - those were a real challenge! We may show a lot of those pieces in the studio's window display that will be installed on Monday Sept 14.. stay tuned.

Next we have snapshots from Grandkids' Days in July, and one of Judy with a new mask she's been sculpting. There's also a photo of the new display which went into the Event Center a couple of weeks ago (the top 6 niches) .. looks much better in person,so check it out when you have a chance! That display will be up for 4 months - until early December.

Brownies in our studio

1/23/2015

We had a wonderful visit this week from a troop of Brownies from Pleasant Hill who came to learn about Ceramics. The whole thing was beautifully organized by our studio manager, Judy, who assembled a team consisting of Patty, Betty, Anne, Linda M., and Helen to help out both with the planning and during the visit from the girls and their leaders. (You can read more about the visit below the photos.)

Judy' Report:

Our guests arrived around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. The Brownie leaders and the Brownies themselves had a great time. They never seemed bored or confused - they were engaged all the time with us. A photographer from the Rossmoor News showed up to take pictures of the Brownies and their leaders and a few of us. Also Mel took notes for a write-up for the paper - look for this in future issues of the Rossmoor News.

First we showed the Brownies a variety of different types of items that could be made with clay. A whole assortment of things were displayed: a turtle, a horse, a frog, a marble stand, a raku sculpture with piano keys, some little cars, some plaques with horses and riders, as well as a variety of cups, vases, bowls, candle holders, and this and that. They asked questions and got good answers.

Talk about neat kids. They loved the whole thing. It is amazing how much they did and how much we did with them. We had a demonstration of making slabs with the slab-roller vs. using a rolling pin. Then we gave each girl a 6" square of clay (rolled flat and cut out by Judy beforehand) so they each got to make a small "push plate" with texture, which was a great start!

After that they got to watch Ana, Margaret, Bella and Lisa throw on the wheel. Ana made a large bowl, Lisa made a wonderful vase, Bella trimmed and carved a beautiful leather-hard vase, and Margaret made a very cute mouse-shaped cheese holder. The Brownies were very curious, asked lots of questions, and were very impressed by our wonderful ladies who threw pots.

The Brownies saw Anne cut a sculpture in half and take out the extra clay inside to make it hollow, then put it back together so that no seam showed. It was too cool - the leaders about had a fit when she cut the sculpture in half. It was really funny!

We had a short talk on how long it takes to make a ceramic bowl (or anything else), from beginning to end. We showed them a detailed timeline chart that Judy & Patty had made about the whole process (note: we will be hanging the chart on the wall for all to see and use as a short guide when just out of Orientation and beyond).

Then off to the Raku Kiln and the Pit fire Pit. There Patty showed them the Raku kiln and told them about how we open it up while it's very hot (1,800 degrees!) so that we can take out our pieces, wearing gloves and using tongs. Then we put them in a can with shredded newspapers and the hot pieces catch it on fire and flames fly up several feet, before we cover it and let it smoke. OOOOO'S and AHHHHHHH'S were loud and clear.

Right on time at 5:00 pm we gave them ice cream and Helen answered all their questions about sculpting a frog and a turtle and all kinds of other stuff as well. She was really fun for them while they ate their ice cream and so did she.

We all felt really happy when it was done and knew we had done a good thing and taught 14 girls and their leaders a lot about a Ceramic Studio. The Brownies will earn a Ceramics badge to go with all the others they have sewn on their uniforms. We agreed to fire and glaze their push plates for them and let them know when they were ready.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HELPED MAKE THIS A REALLY FUN EVENT FOR THEM AND ALL OF US! - JUDY

Fun in the Studio

11/30/2014

Plenty of fun going on in our studio - people making fountains, sculpting, making gifts. Never a dull moment!

Judy and one of her masks

Darryla with a colorful menorah

Elaine making cute little dishes with teddy bears

Judy watches as Betty works on a tall vessel

Linda with her fountain

Darryla's granddaughter found a new friend at our studio - Betty!

Darryla with her daughter and granddaughter

Anne sculpted a rearing horse

Creative happenings in our studio

9/5/2014

Due to the popularity of our last Hand-Building workshop, there are going to be 3 mini workshops on the same line in the first half of October. These will be limited to 8 participants per session, with even more hands-on help from experienced members for those who need it - we'll have a lot of fun making holiday-related items! For more info, including dates & times, click on the Classes & Workshops tab under Events, above.

Meanwhile, here are some of the recent things happening (including a raku-firing and our last Show & Tell) at the CAC studio:

Hand Building Workshop (pt 1) & the 2nd Grandkids' Day

8/22/2014

We had a Hand-building Workshop on August 9, with an emphasis on making dishes to celebrate the upcoming Rossmoor 50th Anniversary, which will be on sale at the studio the weekend of September 20 & 21. That was the first session; the second and final one is coming up - tomorrow, to be exact! Watch this space for more pictures, including some of our creations.

The second Grandkids' Day was on August 15th, with the children finishing their pieces with underglazes and/or glazes. Once again, balloons and ice cream were supplied. Lucia, Nancy & Lenore did a wonderful job of making it fun for the little folks and the grown-ups.

Lots of activity in the studio!

Grandkids' Days - part one

8/9/2014

Last Monday (August 4,2014) we had the first of this year's Grandkids' Days, organized and run by CAC members Lucia Tsang, Nancy Pinkosh and Lenore Zizlin. Fourteen children of varying ages came in with with their grandparents. All of them made things with clay, were given ice cream and balloons, and had a good time, as you can see from the snapshots below. Next week, on Friday August 15, the participants will return to finish their ceramic creations, adding glaze in preparation for the final firing.

Diane with her granddaughter

Lenore with Mai and her grandson

Deanna with her grandchildren

Nancy, Lucia, Lenore, and Deanna with a young ceramic artist!