Blog Posts

WINTER PARTY 2023 - LOTS OF FUN

12/19/2023

Our annual Winter Party (formerly known as the CAC Holiday Party) was held on Saturday, December 16, in the Fireside Room, just across from our Ceramic Studio.

Below are some pictures of the lovely set-up beforehand, and the even lovelier volunteers who made it all happen! Also the lady who provided music for the party, both accordion and piano.

A wonderful time was had by all. We shared our memories of 2023 and hopes for 2024, and then we played "Ceramic BINGO," with ceramic related terms instead of the usual letters and numbers.

The food was delicious and the company was warm and friendly. More pictures of the festivities below - all photos courtesy of Judy Russell and Linda Mariano.

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Empty Bowls Fundraiser, 2023 - a Great Success!

4/25/2023

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Our Empty Bowls Fundraiser on April 21st was an amazing event. We sold about 240 bowls, and in the process gave away all of the soup and other goodies. Everything was made by CAC’s own dedicated volunteers, of course. Kudos and many thanks to all of them – it was a wonderful community effort!

Our treasurer Amy has just revealed that the final sales total (drum beat) is $6804.73 (gasp!!). This will all be donated to the Contra Costa Food Bank, of course, And although we worked hard, we had a lot of fun in the process – as did our many supporters in Rossmoor (and guests from outside as well). Below are some of the beautiful bowls that were created for this event:

NOTE: Click on this link to see dozens of photos of this year’s Empty Bowls event, on Dropbox (thanks to Fred Suhr - photos were taken by Fred Suhr & Vicky Richardson):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/opdhqcot3psk89i6lysq1/h?dl=0&rlkey=7txrzp1u5eumdcycuyo23p7uw

(FYI, below are just a few of them.)

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Chinese Dumpling Party - a wonderful event!

3/1/2023

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We had the most wonderful Chinese Dumpling Party on Monday, February 27 in the Vista Room (at the Hillside Clubhouse) from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. This was spearheaded by our own Theresa Kuo, who formed the CAC Dumpling (Jiaozi) Team - Lucia, Lily, Lisa, Josephine, Beverly, Pamela, Diane. These 8 fabulous ladies brought all the fillings and dumpling wrappers, then they proceeded to teach dozens of enthusiastic CAC members how to wrap the dumplings - there were over 700 dumplings for about 55 people!! These delicious tidbits were carefully cooked by the Team, then served to all participants., accompanied by various dipping sauces - YUM! And afterwards there was also a selection of desserts available (courtesy of several other CAC volunteers).
The main focus was to have fun and socialize (especially with the new members from the recent Orientation Class) over a non-clay medium. In the process we all learned that if you can work with clay, you can wrap Chinese dumplings with your own (clean) hands. It was lots of fun - a resounding success!

A shout out to all of the volunteers who agreed to set up/clean up, register people as they arrived, collect the $5 donations, bring desserts, etc. And especially to the CAC Dumpling (Jiaozi) Team: Lucia, Lily, Lisa, Josephine, Beverly, Pamela, Diane and Theresa. (FYI, a generic dumpling recipe will be made available at a later date. )

See photos of this event, taken by Lynne Terril, below, and you can also view a slideshow of pictures and short videos taken by Fred Surh, on YouTube, by clicking on this link:

https://youtu.be/v_H7MrAyeQc

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CAC's Holiday Party - 2022

12/22/2022

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On December 17, 2022, we had a wonderful party in the Fireside Room, just across from our Ceramic Studio. (Thanks to both Judy Russell and Fred Surh for the photos below!)

To start things off, we were given a glass of champagne (or soda) and mingled for a while as we ate appetizers and sipped. Very pleasant.

Then we were all seated at tables and chatted with our neighbors happily while we waited our turn to serve ourselves from the buffet. We played some games, including one in which we placed paper plates on our heads and drew "snowmen" on them with crayons (no looking allowed). The best one from each table came up front to show them off - lots of laughter ensued!

All throughout the festivities we were serenaded by a pianist playing holiday and wintry tunes. After having dinner we played BINGO for prizes, as well. Kudos to Judy Russell, Mary Ann Stanley, Linda Mariano and Kathy Jepson for planning and executing the Holiday Party so well. We had lots of fun - HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all!

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

9/20/2022

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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!

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Remembering Fred Chen - reception held August 30

9/3/2022

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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!

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Show and Tell

9/2/2022

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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

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CAC Soiree featuring Carolyn Guerra

9/2/2022

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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!

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

8/23/2022

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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.

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Sculptural demonstrations at our May & June meetings

6/21/2022

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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.