Spring Craft Fair at Temescal Brewing, May 20, 12-6PM

I intended to participate in a craft fair supporting Friends of the Oakland Public School Libraries back in December, but a car accident kept me in Los Angeles that week.

Luckily, Stephanie of Monarch kindly invited me again to participate in a craft fair fundraiser, this time at Temescal Brewing!

I have a great love for libraries, which have been a home for me from childhood to my present days wandering in different towns and cities. I'm looking forward to supporting the organization, meeting other makers, and inviting folks to #touchmypottery. 

My desire to have folks handle my pots before taking them home is not scalable in this online-shopping-loving world, but it feels right to me to work this way. And, as I've said before, even when not "making a living," I somehow continue to be alive.

All the practical matters somehow fall into place. And as I get older, those practical matters pull more and more at my consciousness, making me wonder whether I'm doing it all wrong, whether this path is hopeless. Yet I also know that the only way to find out whether something can work, whether something can exist, is to try and make it so.

So, here goes.

Craft Fair
fundraiser for Oakland Public School Libraries
May 20, 12-6pm
Temescal Brewing
4115 Telegraph (look for the pink side door)

Vendors:

April May Jewelry
The Contradiction
Euclid + Jayne
Huglife by Niva Flor
Illuminati Waxworks
Juniper Ridge
Made by Rheal
Monarch 

The Nomad Collection

Oak & Ash Soap
Phoebe Sherman
Sophie Tivona Illustration
Stephanie Hatch

Super Sixy Soda Firing

Please excuse the hasty post. I'll be traveling in less than 8 hours and I wanted to get a quick post in-- I'm trying to post at least once a month here this year. It shouldn't be as challenging as it is. I was so prolific at the beginning of my bloggery.

I'll share more details about this firing eventually-- a cone 6 soda firing, where I attempted to salvage an IMC clay body called Sculpture Freckle by firing it to a lower temperature. Alas, the high ilmenite content means that this clay has a hard time getting along with the high reduction firings I like to do. I think I'll use the big I have left as a slip, though. The surface it created (which you can sort of see in the images) are kind of wild and resemble cast iron or cooled lava.

In reality, this firing may have gotten as hot as cone 8; it's hard to tell, as once soda ash is introduced to the kiln, the pyrometric cones diminish in accuracy.

      

My DIY Pottery Trimming Tools

When I began studying ceramics in 2014, I became enamored with the precision techniques and guidance provided by Hsin-Chuen Lin on his YouTube channel. At the time of this writing, he has 250+ videos showing and sharing his techniques, his tools, and demonstrating his extensive pottery skill.

One of the most harrowing parts of making wheel-thrown pottery is the trimming process, which entails getting to the clay when it's dried enough but not too much, centering the piece once again on the wheel, and holding the tools correctly. Mr. Lin's videos helped me learn how to tap-center (practice) and how to have contact between my hands and the pot at all times when possible.

Because I love DIY-everything, I particularly enjoyed his video on how to make tools out of hacksaw blades:

I contacted Mr. Lin and he allowed me to visit him in his studio and watch him work. My friend Ash took some gorgeous photos that day.

I was inspired by the video and the presence of a blowtorch in my house to make my own tools from some old knives.

Blowtorch, a bastard-cut file, two pairs of pliers, a bowl of water, an old knife.

Got rid of the pointy bit.

Dulled the part of the blade that I wouldn't be using, and sharpened the square edges. In hindsight, I should have sharpened a bit farther down the blade, to have a better corner for trimming. 

The plastic handle melted a bit because I kept the knife in the flame too long. Oops.

This tool has treated me relatively well, but it has to be sharpened quite frequently if I want to avoid unintentional chattering. Perhaps it's so hard to avoid because the tool is so thick? 

Of course, I couldn't stop with that one. More bent metal things:

My favorite and most effective one is the one in the center-- perhaps because it's thinner, it holds the edge better? The one on the left is very sharp, but it is a bit too pointy for most of my trimming needs. 

A video of me trimming a bottle using that favorite tool:

A video posted by narinda heng (@narindaism) on Oct 8, 2016 at 7:52am PDT

10 Days at Indian Creek // The scabbiest climbing trip

I had my first visit to Indian Creek, splitter crack climbing paradise, back in April. During those 10 days, I scraped myself up more than during any other climbing trip. I sustained a giant scab on my ankle that took about two months to heal and fall off.

I loved it.

The struggle, the athleticism, the 100+ foot pitches, the campground that felt like a neighborhood by the time I left. I can't wait to get back. I don't know if Creeksgiving is in my future, but next April, perhaps? 

When I got my windows tinted, the "Justice for Oscar Grant" sticker was removed-- accidentally? Somehow my Black & Pink and NOLS Wilderness Medicine stickers remained intact. Odd.  I replaced it with this intersectional Black Lives Matter sticker (designed by Matice Moore) I got at Queer Magic Makers last year. 

Gorgeous crags, gorgeous high desert skies.

 

I questioned the wisdom of having my manual typewriter with me while living out of my car for the summer, but it was worth it to sit and tap with this view. I finished this page right as rain began falling. I'm grateful that afternoon thunderstorms forced me to take rest days, otherwise I would probably have wrecked my body even worse.

Hammocks are wonderful. 

The 10a warm up pitch was not too bad at all. I led it after this couple climbed. 

These two gearing up for Pente (5.11) on Reservoir Wall. I toproped this in an incredibly ugly and painful fashion. I'd like to think that next time it will go better now that I sort of know how to jam. Note to self: probably not a good first-day-at-the-creek climb. 

Gloomy skies, bloomy cacti.

I brought my poetry and pottery with me, and left some copies of my chapbook on the message board with a note looking for climbing partners. I wasn't sure it would work, if anyone would read it, and then one morning Emmanuelle (far left) came up to my campsite and invited me to join her, Cylvie (far right) and Peter (the photo-taker) in their climbing. They were a wonderful crew to hang out with. To my right in the photo is Anh from Denmark, another solo traveler we met at the campground. In their hands are pieces of my pottery that they bought/bartered from me.

I was nervous about sharing my poetry, but I'm so glad I did. And I can't wait 'til the next time I get out to Indian Creek.

Location: Creek Pasture Campground, Indian Creek, Utah
Cost: At the time it was free, but as of September 2016, it's $5/night
Amenities: Pit toilets, fire rings.
Note: Must bring in all water and firewood. No wood collecting!!

New Ceramic Art Gallery on 1st Street!

While wandering around Little Tokyo waiting for the Hope & Memory Service at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center, I found a bright green wall and open door under the old boarded-up game shop sign (you know, the one that says "Outer Heaven"). 

Meet Lilia:

Meet lovely ceramic art:

I kept coming back to those faces. I'm trying to think of what I can give up for a few weeks in order to save the dough to buy one of her lovely pieces. Good to set artful goals. In addition to her own work, she also has pieces from friends in South Africa available. 

I loitered there watching her work and chatting for about an hour. Only one couple came in during that whole time. Come on, people! She's getting her sign this weekend and her opening will be in a few weeks. I love new discoveries, especially when they resonate with ideas I've been toying with for a while. I've been thinking about taking a ceramics class for over a year now. Material art is sort of foreign to me since I'm so used to the work-anywhere medium of writing. Hmm, there's always papier-mâché...

More on Venier Gallery soon, like the address and opening date. For now, wander down First Street and look for the bright green wall. You can't miss it.