Student work out of the kiln, and Venue for the student show!

Well, the students' work survived the firing a lot better than I thought it would.

I did have a couple of boxes that lost side designs because they didn't scratch and slip well enough, causing the designs to pop off in the kiln.

I'm glad this one with the dolphin survived, it turned out rather nice!

The main disappointment was the 5 Christmas ornaments that we made at the workshops I teach.  They had been sitting on the shelf, in the open, for a week and a half, and were the last items put in the kiln.  When I opened it this morning, they were all gone - crumbled, blown apart, pieces in many of the boxes throughout the kiln.  Oh well, only 5 small pieces out of a kiln load? - Not bad!  I guess it was because of the humidity in that house... it's only a block from the ocean.

It was finally sunny - off and on - today, so I took some pictures of the gallery space where we will set up the student show, and the surroundings of the building it's in.

The tall mushroom shaped stones were used by the ancient Chamorro people to build on.  These stones were placed in two rows, and the main floor beams were placed across the tops of them to support the building.  They put their houses up in the air to keep out the occasional high water, and allow the breeze to blow under the floor, cooling the building.

The bigger the "Latte" (Laa - tee) stones, the more influential and prestigious the family.  The Latte stone is a symbol of the Chamorro people of the Marianas Islands.
     All that being explained...  the Gallery is in the Hall of Governors, in the top building, with the Latte of Freedom standing next to it.

Sitting up on that hilltop affords a fantastic view in every direction!

The view to the North...

West...

View to the South...

and the West - on the other side of the Gallery...

The western side of the Gallery...

and its view!

Look between the white water and the curl of the next wave and you can see the reef...

This is the Hall of Governors.  It will have about 15 - 18 tables, 6' long, spaced around the hall.

I will be sure to post pics of the show when it's set up in February.  I can't wait to see this hall filled with student work!

Cake Stand...

Just a quick question to those out there who have done this kind of work before...

A cake stand on a standard 14" bat

It's not very high, or very thick.  What I want to know is:  Will the top platter part sag when this is glaze fired, or will it stay flat?  It is a ^6 Oregon White clay, with a little less sand than a Laguna B-mix.  I would hate to glaze the top and have it sag down around the base.  If it will sag, then I will leave the top bare, and just glaze the base - and fire it flat upside down.  Any suggestions??

More plates...

The students have actually started more plates than I originally thought.  Since I was at school today to make some plates with my grandson, I checked on the students' work.  So far twenty plates are in various stages of decoration.  I took pictures of them so you could see what design work they have come up with.  Not bad...