Year of the Horse is almost here!

Jayme Allen says that most of his time is spent waiting. He works with the raw earth. More specifically, he transforms Willamette Valley clay in process that involves several steps. Each of these steps demands time, hence the waiting. But Jayme fills his waiting time by moving the clay from one stage of the process to another. And because there is so much waiting, he has several batches processing at one time so that he can work on one thing while he is waiting for another. Ultimately this results in a workable piece of clay. This local clay is one of the things that made me scratch my head when I first met Jayme. His clothes were covered in mud and he looked exhausted. He had just returned from mining a batch of local clay. You know the stuff that makes it impossible to have any type of workable garden? Most local gardeners replace this stuff with compost blends and topsoil. But Jayme works with it to make a high-grade local clay. It’s hard work, but for Jayme, it’s also a source of inspiration.  Pictures of his process can be seen here: Firebug Pottery Facebook Page.

Jayme is fully involved with the pottery he makes. He digs the clay, processes it, wedges it, throws it, and when he is able to use a wood-fired kiln, he splits the wood for the fire then loads and unloads the kiln. He is involved in every part of the process and that’s the way he likes it. Ultimately, he is developing his kung fu through his work.

We invite you to come to our Year of the Horse Tea Sealing Celebration on February 1, 2014. We'll be sealing tea in clay vessels made by Jayme and Elkton-based potter and ceramic artist, Hiroshi Ogawa. This year’s seal was designed by local artist Dave Snider. More of his work can be found on his blog: Sniderland

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