Leftover Ceramics

These pieces, which were left in kilns as I departed for Hawaii, were nice surprises as I returned to school this Spring.  Especially since everything came out so well (meaning as predicted, no cracks).  

Orange Satin Matte sprayed at top, raw clay (with grog) on bottom half.  Soda Fired.  This piece was horribly off-center (top section vs. bottom) so the swirls were added to distract the eye.

White Volcanic Ash sprayed on top, raw clay on bottom half.  Soda Fired.  I think this looks like a lady, arms at attention.

These pieces were part of my last project of the fall semester.  All lidded forms (that still fit after firing!).  I had not previously had any luck with lidded vessels and was pleased with the way these came out.  There are 6 canisters thrown on the wheel... but the lids are also thrown as shallow bowls on the wheel, and then everything is trimmed.  Then the handles are pulled.  The most successful are the second and fourth from the left.  Successful as in those are the forms I sketched before I sat at the wheel.  They were intended.  The others are OK... lets call them learning pieces.  Looks like I have some glazing to do!

A peak inside one of the forms.  The depressed interior lip holds the lid.

This is the least fun part of working in ceramics: making clay.  Made more unpleasant in the cold, as this room in the back of the studio has no heat/AC.  All the clay at USC is mixed so that we can tailor the ingredients to suit the needs of the student.  It's also probably cheaper.  Recipes are pretty simple, each ingredient is measured by the pound and added to the mixer.  The part about adding water is tricky, because that is never included in the recipes.  You just have to add enough water to make it perfect.  If you add too much then guess what:  you're making more clay.  The only way to reclaim it is to add more dry ingredients.  I made clay on this cold morning and it took about 2.5 hours.  

The clay mixer (in motion).  It's basically a concrete drum that spins.  Not fun to clean.

Ingredients, usually packaged in 30-50 lb sacks.

The Big Island: Waipi'o Valley

Our last day of touring on Hawai'i!  I think we saved the best for last.  The Waipi'o Valley in on the northeastern coast of the island.  Of the 7 deeply carved valleys on this coast (we visited the northern most valley, Pololu a couple of days earlier), this is the southern most valley.  

Before I get too far ahead of myself, we ate so well in Kohala I have to include this tremendous breakfast we had in Waimea.  Isn't it outrageous when an omelet with hashbrowns comes with a side of 2 large pancakes?  Hawaiian Style Cafe.  The cheapest meal we ate on the Big Island.  It was a great way to start the day because we didn't pack a lunch, intending to eat a large breakfast.

The history of this unique place adds to the charm.  The valley was once populated with thousands of native Hawaiians.  It was a sacred spot, home to Kings.  A tsunami in the 1950s destroyed the colony and it was left uninhabited for a couple of decades.  Then in the 70s free spirited hippy types wishing to revert to a more primitive lifestyle, along with some Hawaiians, began settling in the valley, choosing to live without the conveniences of electricity and plumbing.  They grew taro and bananas in the great valley.  Today the habitants live very much the same, though they have to tolerate a handful of tourists enjoying their stunning valley and black sand beach.  And a few near the southern valley rim have arranged for electric wires to run down to their homes.

I mean really, how can you keep this beauty all to yourself?

 The challenge of the Valley:  getting in.  The road down is narrow and extremely steep (25%).  Only 4WD vehicles are allowed to drive down.  We considered renting a Jeep and driving down but it seemed to me to be an unnecessary expense.  And really the thought of driving in scared me.  The road, over 1/2 mile, took no time to descend though it was tough on our knees.

Wild horses roam the valley.  They belonged to the Hawaiians and a few survived the tsunami.

 The two main crops, and favorites among Hawaiians, taro and bananas.  

This is a view of the back and north wall of the valley.  As you can see there is much more to explore but it would have required us to cross a road that was covered in 2' of water!  We weren't up for wet hiking shoes, and as there are no maps we weren't sure if there was anything else worth seeing... so we appreciated this rear view and turned back toward the coast.

 

I was really excited about this waterfall along the south rim.  Hiilawe Falls are tremendous - a true free fall of 1200 feet, 1400 from base to rim.  Well, we got the view to the left.  The photo to the right I pulled off the internet. I could perceive the falls in the shadow but my camera couldn't pick it up.  Oh well.  Perhaps the afternoon view is less hazy.

On our walk toward the coast there was this ominous warning about driving down the valley in an ill-equipped vehicle.  That wasn't the only wrecked car we saw down there either!

 

 Once we got to the coast I really wanted to visit the two sets of waterfalls on the southern side of the valley.  Again, this was an instance of a fruitless venture.  The left was our experience, the right was what we expected.  I think the tide was higher when we climbed over to see the falls, because there was no beach to walk on.  Only large rock scrabble and the violent surf was too close for comfort.  Rain must have been low too.  Kaluahine Falls were not there!

Another gorgeous black sand beach and a river meandering through the floor of the valley.  Again, it's so difficult to put this into perspective... It's walls are so massively steep.  This spot is so peaceful.

The forest all along the shore was a sacred burial place for the native Hawaiians.  The sign there warns not to disturb this space, it is 'Kapu'.  In Hawaiian 'K' and 'T' are very much the same.  Our term 'Tabu' originates from this Polynesian term 'Kapu'.  Disturbing this holy place is just not done :).

The way up was so very steep.  Enough said.  

At the conclusion of our venture, adequately exhausted from the climb.  But that breakfast was grand enough that it pulled us through!

I'm afraid this concludes my Hawaiian entries.  We spent a lovely afternoon at the resort that afternoon and the next morning.  At noon we headed to the airport and began our journey back to the states.  We were in Baton Rouge the next morning and spent a few days on the Tietje farm before we headed home to SC.  Back to reality!

The Big Island: Lava is Flowing!

Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes.

To access the area where you can witness the lava moving is rather convoluted.  In actuality if we could have just driven north on the Chain of Craters Road from the point where the road ended inside the park we would have reached the site in 15 minutes.  However, 15 years of almost constant lava flow from Pu'u O'o volcano obstructed that route.  So it took us an hour and a half to drive outside of the park and make a huge U on the highway to get almost back to the coast to see the moving lava.  This area is now outside of the park and the lava is flowing on private property.  The viewing site is operated by the county.

So this is the scene.  I think I was as curious about this as I was to see the lava - How will we see it?  Is there a platform?  Will there be a railing?  How do you have a structure primed to watch lava flow when that structure is always under the constant threat of destruction?  Well, this is what I was afraid of.  Just temporary barricades on a road paved 4 days ago and a crowd of people all standing and waiting for the lava to move.  Guess who always looses this game?  Christina and Matthew.  We are neither tall nor aggressive.  And the truth is this situation tends to bring out the worst in people. 

I'll save you the suspense: we never got to the front of the line.  I managed to squeeze to a second tier spot (which did me no good since the couple in front of me seemed a foot taller).  I guess if I were in the front I might enjoy the spectacle for over a half hour too. I managed to get the photos included by photographing under their arms or between their waists.  This silent battle, combined with the rain made this experience less fun that we wanted it to be.  

But we saw raw earth move and that was pretty cool.

This photo was taken looking inland, the steam revealing the path of the lava.

This was the lava's progress when we first got to the site, around 5:30pm.  Notice the ferns.  When exploring lava fields this is the easiest way to guess how recent the last flow.  I would not tread in an area without ferns.

5:40 - lava is on the move and the rain has returned.

5:50 - The rain has stopped an the lava is really moving! 

6:00 - And still the lava flows!  I like comparing this photo with the previous one - you can see areas that were once red cooled here, and other cooled patches being shifted by the force behind it.

This was the attendent monitoring the crowd.  He was a cop.  Ha!  He serves as a nice scale figure.

We retreated a few minutes later and I ushered the 10 year old standing next to me into my spot.  I hope he eventually got a front row spot.  I was pretty soaked after the experience (somehow Matthew was alot drier than I was).  All was made better after a fantastic dinner and beer at Hilo Bay Cafe (if every you find yourself in Hilo go there for dinner!).  I promptly fell asleep.  Thankfully Matthew had the energy to drive us back to the resort.  

The Big Island: Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

What a day!  You'll forgive me if this is a longer post - I had so many more photos to upload than were reasonable (lava is lava, right?).  Volcanoes National Park was about a 2-2.5 hour drive from our resort so we began the day rather early.  While driving through Kohala, on our road to Waimea, we witnessed this fantastic sunrise, highlighting 3 of the 5 major volcanoes of the island.  The two taller mounds are 12,000 and 14,000 ft in elevation!  There is a lot to cover so I'll try to keep things brief and to the point.

View of Halema'uma'u Crater from the north rim.

Steam Vents

In this area of the north rim steam vents from rock fissures.  The steam was just that - warm and wet!

Halema'uma'u Crater

Halema'uma'u Krater was a boiling pot of lava in the late 19th century.  Accounts of this wonder were recorded by literary figures such as Mark Twain... their vibrant description of the experience was really mystical.  Can you imagine such a vision having no concept of lava or volcanoes from TV?  This crater is still cooling today!  Thus the steam rising from the center.

The nice red blossom there is the Pua Lehua flower which grows in abundance in this harsh volcanic landscape.  There is a beautiful Hawaiian legend about the flower involving Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of lava, and her love afair with a Hawaiian prince... look it up if interested.  I love how it accents such a barren ecosystem.

Lava Tube

This hallow cavern was once a lava highway!  Part of the trail was illuminated and then the cave broke the surface.  But an optional trail continued through a lava tube absent of any lighting.  By the light of the iPhone (and other tourists' flashlights) we explored the dark side.  I was pretty scared!  I don't know why, I just like knowing what is going on around me.  We walked to the very back where the tube ends as ground meet ceiling.  I didn't know what darkness was til we turned off our lights at the back of the tube.

 Devastation Trail

There was an eruption in this area in the 70's and this trail explores the fringe habitat that exists as forest meets a volcanic outburst.  It looked like a war between asphalt and vegetation... very mysterious.

 Kilauea Iki Crater

If we had more time we would have hiked this trail across the floor of the crater.  It was unfortunately raining when we should have started our hike and voted instead to see the rest of the park.  It was a good call - we barely had time to explore the park in a day.

These were all stops we made on Chains of Craters Road.  Wonders include, but are not limited to, massive faults, massive craters, tree cavities, and the visibile trail of lava as it reaches the Pacific Ocean.

Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs

I think this is really cool.  Native Hawaiian art it its most primitive form.  About the petroglyphs: "Puu Loa meant 'Long Hill', and the Hawaiians interpreted it to mean 'Long Life', so for countless generations, fathers came to Puu Loa and placed their newborn’s umbilical cord in small holes scattered about the site, hoping for a long life for their children."  Check out all the holes!  How mystical that they are all filled with an umbilical cord and a parent's love.

So the Chain of Craters Road is a dead end.  Your only option is to drive to the sea, meet the lava, honor it, and turn around and go back.  This road was built in 1928, overrun with lava in the mid 60's, rebuilt in the mid 70's, and overcome with lava again in 1986.  The Pu'u O'o Volcano has destroyed the road at many points beyond this one in the years since as it makes its way to the sea.  Just another example of Nature exerting its dominance over man.

The irony.

(left) I just love these beautiful sword ferns bursting forth from the most inhospitable crevices.

(right) Holei Sea Arch was formed by the sea's destructive forces eroding away at the volcanic coast.

At this point it was late afternoon and we had left our self just enough time to reach the point where lava was actually flowing!  We turned around and drove back, and were soon met with rain.  Read on to see the lava!