It’s late August, and I’ve been on the road for three hours. In the passenger seat is a box of tools, my apron, and bowls still warm from last night’s bisque firing. Excited and a little apprehensive, I wind down my hundredth hill and under an old wooden sign: Ghost Ranch.
Over a rigorous 3-day weekend I and several other talented potters, attended Ralph Scala’s GR workshop.
Caption: Ralph Scala drying piece. Photo by Harmony Martinez.
Ralph’s freeform style of glazing and throwing was both inspiring and challenging for me. A lot of his techniques are quite different from how I have been going about my own practices in Arita porcelain. His works play a lot with textures, something I’ve done only twice before on my own and am eager to explore further.
I really admired how expressive and soulful his dog sculptures are, and something I now hope to bring into my own animal pieces.
Caption: Inspiration can come from many places, both furry and feathered. Photos by Harmony Martinez.
Speaking of animals, ghost ranch had plenty of opportunities to study wildlife up close. On Saturday morning before class began, I explored one of the nearby trails in the Carson National Forest and was met with wonderful birdsong, insects, and scenery. I also had an unexpected visitor, an inquisitive old raven, join me for a picnic my first night out. These interactions along with Ralph’s dogs really encouraged me to take a leap with my sculptures.
Caption: The sculptures that came out of it. Clutched is a bee, and behind it, a puma, hare, and the beginnings of a particular avian friend... I enjoyed working with the super sculpt clay, it holds its shape well and dries tough! Photo by Harmony Martinez.
It was such an honor to work with so many other talented ceramicists. Leonard, Diane, Christiane, Cirrelda, and CB, to name a few, were such joys to work and talk with both inside the studio and at the dinner table.
Thank you to the NMPCA board for granting me the Judy Nelson Moore Scholarship and with it this wonderful opportunity. It was a lovely workshop and I look forward to following the curve my artistic journey has taken from it!
Caption: Ghost Ranch from atop a mesa in Carson National Forest. Photo by Harmony Martinez.
---
Many thanks to Harmony Martinez for sharing their thoughts about the workshop.
-Cirrelda and Mary, editors
