Two works in progress-November, 2011

With the holidays fast approaching, it can only mean one thing...the end of the semester is near!  I've been working through some issues with some of my molds, but for the most part they are working well.  I thought I would show you some of the pieces I've made so far, for a wall piece consisting of gears and other parts to reference a machine.  The pieces on the left of the shelf are slip cast porcelain and fired to cone 6.  The other piece pictured is a small sculpture that I will be implementing some mixed media into.   It was hand built using terra cotta, with additions of some press molded items.  I'm still working on the color choices, but I thought I would show a picture of the piece up to this point.  I will keep updating the progress of both pieces along the way.

Raku workshop at Edinboro University-presented by Kevin Rohde and Derek Decker, for Fairview High School, Fall 2011

Kevin Rohde and myself filling the container with combustibles while the kiln is firing the wares

Raku Kilns at Edinboro University

Opening the red hot kiln

Placing wares from the kiln into the container containing the combustibles

Kevin Rohde placing red hot wares from the kiln into the container

Wares placed in the container igniting the organic materials to help create the carbon needed for the glazes

Reduction process of Raku

One of the benefits of being a graduate student is having opportunities to pass on the knowledge one possesses.  Recently Kevin Rohde and myself had an opportunity to present a Raku workshop at Edinboro for Fairview High School near Erie.  The students were brought by their teacher Barb Wegner and were given Clear Raku and Copper Sand glazes to use on their wares.  Kevin and I used two different Raku kilns to fire all the work and demonstrated the whole process to the class.  I recently received some thank you cards from the students and was glad to know they enjoyed seeing the process first hand.  I can say that Kevin and I enjoyed presenting the process to the students as well.  It's kind of hard not to enjoy the process of Raku.  When else can you;  with the help of tongs and protective gloves, reach right into the red hot kiln and pull out the wares, only to place them immediately into a container filled with organic combustibles? Posted are some pictures of the event thanks to Mrs. Wegner and Mrs. Daley, who are both teachers at Fairview High School.