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. 

​Judy Hirsh's delightful Kurinuki piece is shown in 2 views below. She said "Thank you and others so much for helping make Sept 8 a pivotal day for me. This was the first time since the SIP order that I felt compelled to produce art. Here it is. My ongoing obsession with personality types. My son, Jared, who has his own private 'speakeasy' in Oakland, wanted me to make him (my version of) a Tiki cup. "

​Angela Lusk shared her marvelous seven-sided Kurinuki bowl (shown both right side up and upside down below): "I’m so accustomed to the additive process - the subtractive process turned my brain inside out! Wonderful exercise for increasing neuroplasticity right?"

Pat Hanscom has made a second Kurinuki piece, below left: "Here’s my little Covid planter, textured with wildfire ash from the September apocalypse."

Betty Baker was really inspired by our demo - she made three Kurinuki vessels shown below on the right!​

Theresa Kuo's charming wall quilt is below on the left: "I recently finished another Christmas gift for the next-next generation of kids.  The horse quilt is for a grandnephew or grandniece. Am really enjoying the challenge. Next project will be a chihuahua (my grandpup) quilt for my daughter-in-law. "

Hetta Malone  reports: "I’m still a trainee  but have been able to develop some new skills with iPhone images during SIP. Most images taken in Rossmoor or immediate vicinity."

​NOTE:  Hetta is a member of CAC's February/March Orientation class that was interrupted by the lockdown on March 10; three of her wonderful pictures are shown below.

Mary Ann Stanley started making "Splotch Art" during an online art course - she  reports "These two (on the top row) were my first.  I didn’t have any ink or acrylics but found some 'Stroke and Coat' glaze and used it.  I have had so much fun with this media, at a 90th family birthday we did this (ages 14 to 90) and all had a great time - lots of laughs and prizes."

Anne Shulenberger - having been shown the technique by Mary Ann - also had fun making the two little pictures on the second row.

Carla Winter-Evans took the photo below of "a buck that I had rescued a few years ago.  He’s happily munching on weeds.   Currently, he’s the only buck I’ve seen around here but there are quite a few does and fawns…  I think maybe he’s the Dad!  He’s got quite a survival story." 

--- The rest of the story is below the photo ---

The rest of Carla's story about Deer #162:

It was about 3 years ago.  This poor creature had put his foot into a drainage pipe and pulled out the pipe and could not dislodge it from his foot.  It was tortuous and after many months he was very lame, but still feisty.   I called every rescue organization from Mendocino to Big Sur and no one rescued deer…   I finally contacted fish and game and they came out, set up camp and in about two days were able to sedate him, on my front yard. 

They sent a pic of the injury to a vet to decide if they thought he would survive or they should put him down.  They opted to remove the drain from the entrapped hoof and trim the horribly over grown hoof and let him be.   They tagged his right ear #162 , thus his name.   Also, that first year, he also had a broken antler on the left side, so the ear tag counter balanced the broken antler in a way that gave him “style”…  he kinda looked like a hippy deer. Eventually, he got up and wobbly limped off.   The leg got better, one barely notices a limp now, and he appears to have a harem.

End of story… except the herd of deer in the yard.

Here are some pieces by the CAC artists who are demonstrating the Kurinuki technique at the September 8 online meeting of our club. They are Darryla Green (hers are on the top row) and Patty Taylor (see the lower row), who learned about this method of working with clay last summer from ceramicists in Japan when they were on a wonderful art-themed tour of that country .

We had a "dress rehearsal" of the Kurinuki demo with a few of our members last week, and below are some of the results. There are sure to be plenty more after the full-scale demonstration on September 8.. so stay tuned!

Pat Hanscom's little "Covid cup" is below, on the top left. She said "I ended up using my zester to make this organic pattern on the outside. Even during the pandemic, one can find a zest for life!" And on the top right is Mary Ann Stanley's Kurinuki vase.

Jim Anderson also participated (above, left) and he reported that "I just couldn’t help myself: I was having so much fun… It was so nourishing to have my hands in clay… (I’ll call it Spectacular Buff from now on.) AND, seeing all my Favorite peeps at the same time… (just like old times, the before times). THEN my clay began to look like a “BOX” with all those sweet 90 degree angles and I just couldn’t help myself. Kurinuki FAIL." 
[No, we cannot agree on that, Jim - it's very nice, and far from a failure! So you like boxes - what's wrong with that?]

Amy Pitt made the small box with a lid on the right (2 views of it are shown) during the demo rehearsal. She said "For the first time in months, I had FUN. In fact this is the first time I've used that word since the shutdown!"

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.

People have been making things and having fun here, as always. And we have a new wedging table! It was donated by a lovely lady named Lani who lives in Walnut Creek and is currently downsizing (she has a friend in Rossmoor, which is why she contacted us). There are now two wedging tables for white clay (B-Mix or Porcelain) in the main studio, as well as one for Stoneware and one for red and dark clay (Navajo Wheel, recycled clay, etc). What a luxury!

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: