Clay Day

A few weeks back, I was talking about Fiber Day in Asheville sponsored by the Southern Highland Craft Guild. I was doing fabric marbling with the kids. The guild sponsors several different craft weekends held during the year to acquaint the community with the art and crafts of the Appalachian mountain region of years ago. I had never been to Clay Day and heard it was great fun....soooo....I decided to give it a try.

 It's held in the auditorium and outside on the grounds of the Folk Art Center in Asheville. The first person I ran into is my dear friend - Judy Brater. I met Judy at the first fair I did; you are assigned a mentor - someone who is situated next to your booth and can "show you the ropes" as the saying goes. Judy was mine and we became good friends during those long 4 days we were together. She is a clay person who makes the most beautiful decorative pottery. She was demonstrating "building a pot/bowl" which is fascinating to watch.

 And another gal was "throwing" a pot on a wheel that's also quite fun to watch as the pot should be kept an even thickness as well as being symmetrical - harder than they make it look.

 One of the best parts of all these special days is the many kids stations they have. Here a little girl is learning to make a pot using a wheel...

 and this little guy (I remember from fiber day and marbling) who was building a pot - 2 very different processes.

Sandra Rowland always works with the kids table. She's adorable and a bundle of energy - kind of a big kid herself so of course, the kids love her.

 The kids table is all set up and ready to receive the next batch of little ones. Rolling pins, clay and other various child friendly tools await them.

 People usually mill around inside before venturing outside in the back.

 There are several story boards explaining many of the processes.

 This was my favorite and I hope to take part in it next year. There is a table of pottery in need of glazing. You can buy a pot for $10, choose your glaze and voila. It is all types of Raku and it takes around an hour; I found out too late but next year, I'll hit this table first...

 and head on over to the Horsehair Raku which is one of my favorites. The pottery is heated to very high temperatures, removed and before cooling, strands of horsehair are carefully placed on the surface. The strands immediately melt into the surface giving the most beautiful spidery like lines. I've always wanted a piece of this type of Raku and to make it myself would be the icing on the cake.

 Outside on top of the hill were lots of vendors something new for Clay Day this year.

It was a beautiful day with lots to see and do and I'll definitely be doing this again next year.