Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
Community
(Photograph by Chad Pilster) Sunnyvale resident sets pottery world ablaze Marilyn Austin works with her pot on May 29 during Barbara Brown's pottery class at Sunnyvale Community Center. Brown, a world-reknowned pottery artist, began teaching pottery at the Sunnyvale Community Center shortly after it opened in 1973. (By Amy Jenkins ) Barbara Brown eats, sleeps and breathes pottery. Since she was 30 years old, the 68-year-old Sunnyvale resident has made functional pottery like vases, tables, platters and teacups. She teaches ceramics students at numerous locations throughout the Bay Area, and she collects ceramic pieces from her trips around the world. She even collects postage stamps from around the world that contain pictures of pottery. Just three months after the Sunnyvale Community Center opened in 1973, Brown began teaching courses in pottery, and she has been teaching there ever since. She teaches students year-round how to use a pottery wheel, how to hand-build objects and how to glaze. On the last day of class, Campbell resident Judy Barkhoff takes her pot out of a small kiln, places her pot into a garbage can lined with newspaper, lets it start on fire and covers it with a lid. A moment later she takes the white pot out, sets it on the ground and makes black lines by placing horsehair on the pot. Barkhoff is using an ancient Japanese firing technique called raku, which takes only one hour to complete compared to 12 hours in a kiln. And while an expert must control a kiln, students wear gloves and use tongs to fire their own pieces in raku, Brown says. During the raku process, clay is first dull, then becomes bubbly and finally turns shiny and smooth. "Pottery is an evolving process for me," says Barkhoff, who has taken classes for two years and is moving to the mountains next month to start her own pottery studio. "At first I was anxious to make stuff and went too fast. I have learned to refine and decorate things. I am retiring soon and pottery is so relaxing." Barkhoff says Brown is a great mentor. Taking classes inspired Barkhoff to buy her own pottery wheel, and Brown says she is ready to sell her work. This year Brown became the international ambassador for the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California. In this capacity, artists visiting the area stay at her house and Brown shows them local sites. Most recently she showed a potter from India around Sunnyvale, she says. Brown's house has become a museum, some students say, because artists from different countries leave rare and beautiful artwork behind when they visit While hosting dinner parties, Brown uses a variety of the colorful plates she has acquired from some famous ceramic artists. Brown's work is so esteemed in the international arts community that she was invited to attend a ceramics symposium in Yixing, China, in May 2001. The town is best known for making teapots, but while there, Brown collected numerous antique fish plates. Brown sells her work through Gallery House in Palo Alto. She notes that many of her pieces have an Asian influence. One example is the fountains that replicate fountains the Japanese use to wash their hands outside teahouses. Resident Lou Weeks-Silverman, 52, has taken classes from the Sunnyvale Community Center for nine years. "Barbara always has an idea to inspire students," Weeks-Silverman says. "She helps us if we have no idea what to make." For more information about classes offered at the Sunnyvale Community Center or to register for pottery classes, call 408-730-7350. |
Feedback, or idea for a Story for the Sun?
(Close this Window to go back to our home page.)
Copyright © SVCN, LLC. Maintained by GoGuys, Inc.