They turned out pretty well, for the most part.  The first pic shows about 80% of the kiln load.

Three of the bowls below were newly glazed, one was re-fired.  Can you tell which is which?

If we didn’t already know, we couldn’t have figured it out, either.  Thumbs up for the results!

Re-firing, if you haven’t guessed, is when we put another layer of glaze over the existing fired clay piece and fire it at a slightly higher temperature than it was originally fired.  There is a risk of glazes running or an explosion, so you have to know whether the glaze stays put or tends to run as a rule.

Fairly new glaze that turned out very nicely on these white sconces.

Newly glazed, in case you are wondering.

This little sconce, on the other hand, had first been fired in the raku kiln.  It was a sort-of metalic silver color which Dauna didn’t like a’tal.  Since she prefers sconces to be somewhat pretty….  she thought this might look nice re-glazed (or at least be no less wasted than the rather ugly self it had been).

That’s Dauna’s philosophy, by the way:  If it doesn’t turn out the first time, try again.  If it turns out, great!  If not, it becomes a pot for potted plants, catch-all dish, or yard art.

Another beautiful piece first raku fired then re-fired.

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Once in a while, the result isn’t quite what we’d like….

This piece went in with a glaze that was pitted as if it hadn’t reached temperature (at cone 5).  At cone 6, it came out just as pitted, but with new, large bubbles in the clay body itself.  It looked as though it should have exploded, but it didn’t, nor did the glaze smooth out the way we thought it would have.

This is a six week class, with two sessions per week:  Saturday and Sunday, 2-4pm.  This allows you to complete a project each week.

During the class you will:

• Learn basic hand-building techniques, or (continuing students) learn advanced techniques.
• Work with different glazes and learn about different types of firing.
• Participate in the culmination of the class — a Raku firing (ancient Japanese technique).

Registration is now open — please register by June 10.   Contact us here or on Facebook.

Since the summer class is not sponsored by WLAAC, we’ll need at least 4  students minimum — 8 is the maximum

The cost is $60 — only $5.00 per session, and that includes the lessons, clay, glazes, and firing!

Sessions are held on Saturdays and Sundays, 2-4pm.

Class begins June 19, 2010

As in the first class, students will have the opportunity to create a beautiful Ugly Mug to sell during the Farmers Market and WLAAC’s Summer Music in the Park.  Proceeds benefit WLAAC.

The class consisted of building clay using various methods of hand building.

The class culminated in an outdoor Raku firing.  Raku is a centuries-old dramatic method of firing the clay body using rapid heating and cooling of the clay.  In between the heating and cooling is a period of time in a reduction chamber with organic material.

I’ve also long been a computer and 3D world enthusiast. I guess you could say I’m almost a (whisper) techie geek. But not geek enough because I don’t know very much code. I do know that I see a lot of potential in the type of technology that is coming into use these days for play, PC gaming, and Massive Multiplayer Online environments (MMO’s)

We’ve had a website up for the Studios for quite a number of years. I’ve tried to keep the software updated and keep the look fresher than it actually did. I could even use to update this skin, but it will have to do for now since the Dissertation has to come first. But….. since I’ve joined the Croquet Consortium and the Immersive Education Initiative, I’ve suddenly seen a wedding between Marty’s art and Dauna’s academics. Now there is something for me to talk about. Whoot!

I’ve begun building the 3D Gallery in an MMO called Kaneva. It isn’t the highest quality, and it isn’t a place I would suggest to my colleagues, but it does provide building materials (shapes, objects) and most importantly, it allows me to place them and position them wherever I need to place them. People can actually go in there and look at Marty’s paintings and drawings on the walls. The sculptures are a bit more challenging, since I can only wrap the digital image around objects of a specific shape and size. But hey, that’s what all those creative gray cells are for, right?

It is still in the rough stages, but you can see a little of my progress in these pics:

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This is the ground floor, where the pub is. It is a great place to gather, get a bit to eat, or listen to music, poetry, or a talk on art.

You can see some of Marty’s work along the wall.

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Click on the pictures to see them full size.

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The Drawing and Painting Gallery above the Pub.

Behind the camera is the balcony where visitors can sit and look out over the street

To the right is a flat-screen TV, where I have music going.

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This is the 3D Gallery, where the Raku and Stoneware pieces are shown.

The masks and ensembles you see are being added. There’s not much on the shelves yet, but at least I did manage to get shelves in there…

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Now I know the post title is about education. I’m getting to that. Probably in the next post, since this one is getting so long. Be patient — it has been a while in the making, just like our marriage, Marty’s success as an artist, or my PhD Degree. So, like them, it is worth waiting for.

It’s ironic that the Federal Aid had to be attached to the bill to send more money to Iraq… You’d think it would be more important to save lives and property at home than to support a, um, WAR.

…and you can bet who got the bulk of the money….

….it wasn’t the people with homes under water.

What a mess….

Some pics that the national news might not show:

I’ve also put together a video with more pics, and explanations of their location that are of better quality than on youtube. Right click on the link and download the video file, then double click and let your media player play it. Iowa Flood around the Kisers

For more information on the situation at the University of Iowa, they have a link to information– lots of photos.

When I have time, I’ll add a video here that will play automatically.

Next, we’ll add some new pottery to the shopping cart. The functional stoneware, votive holders, and bowls. Dauna does love making those beautiful bowls…

That glaze is wild — and works out every single time. Gotta get those bowls on up here!

Time for another Raku, too. Marty has sold nearly all of it. Problem is, it has been so darned cold…

One more month, then we’ll start cranking it out again.

But, people can actually see some new work, and even buy something. Wow.

The aromatic art will take more time to add, as that requires getting back into creating and distributing the aromas. But no worries, that will happen when it is time.