12—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. January 17,1970 Making Ceramics Is A Hobby With Mrs. Raymond Hess By Mrs. Charles M Sparran sll P (Il( l uld cla y> in P lastlc bot * Lancaster Farming Staff Writer tles She P° urs 11 into a mold and it is left in twenty to thirty min- Mrs. Raymond S hcss or Clear utes or until the object has taken Springs Road, near Landisville form, or in other words until it is a very fascinating and talented is the right consistency. The person who has a most exciting mold is then turned upside down hobby. Since 1955 she has de- and the remaining liquid clay voted most of her spare time to poured out. At this stage the making ceramics. At that time molded object is called green she had a studio in Lititz where ware. She puts the greenware on she gave lessons and sold many the shelf to dry slowly for about beautiful pieces Fortunate in- a week If there’s to be flowers deed are the people who are her on it she then paints them on close friends or who can claim with ceramic paint. The piece is her as a relative because she then put in the kiln and fired If gives away practically all her it s a ceramic piece it is fired at products. She will not sell any 1800 degrees for three to four as too many people request her hours If it’s a porcelain piece it to make pieces and she says “It is fired at 2300 degrees for six puts too much piessure on me to get things done by a certain time.” However, she loves to make them as much as ever. It certainly is no exaggeration of facts to say that Mrs. Hess has hundreds of ceramic pieces She has one room where she paints the pieces It has shelves around 'most of the wall space where she has mostly finished pieces In an alcove just outside this room she has two electric kilns One heats to 1800 degrees for baking cer amic pieces and the other to 2300 degrees for porcelain piec es. Then in the basement she has a large room with shelves all around the -walls Practically all the pieces stored on those shelv es are greenware She also keeps her numerous molds on some of the shelves. She buys some of her molds here in the county from Weavers at Akron, some from California and some from New Jersey In their basement recreation room she has a large glass show case of finished pro ducts and throughout her spac ious home are many and beauti ful pieces. To give you a little idea of how a piece of pottery or china ware is made Mrs. Hess buys 1 ' Mrs. Raymond S. Hess holding a fig urine of a boy and his lamb which is par- FOR THE FARM WIFE AND FAMILY Mrs. Hess holds a horse figurine. All the ceramics on these shelves are in the tive She has some lovely antique tially finished. Ceramics on shelves are dishes, which have been handed completed. L. F. Photo down in her husbands’s family, Mrs. Hess proudly holds a rose flower- tainer which holds the greens will be the ed serving plate. She also made the china base of a table light when completed, compote and tea pot. The flowered con- - L. F. Photo to eight hours. The kilns she us es are almost as large as a wash- ing machine The walls inside Some types of pottery Is shap have thick firebnck and it de- p 'i by hand rather than molded, pends on the size of the objects Some pieces are fired and paint how many f?n be baked at one ed to give a different effect. Mrs time. After the piece has been Hess is very clever at doing free fired a glaze (liquid glass) is put hand painting and writing on on it, then it is fired again. If pieces such as plates for wedd gold is used on the piece it is mg gifts that have the invitation fued a third time and if lustre is printed on them She makes all greenware stage and ready to be fired in the kiln. L. F. Photo applied a fourth firing is requir ed kinds of china and pottery pieces such as bowls, tea pots, vases, candlesticks, dishes, comia cop las, statues, ornaments, figurines jewelry, Christmas trees wired with twinkle lights, electric ta ble and television lights, etc Mrs Hess (Alverta; aoes beau tiful work on tole (painting of flowers, fruit etc on metal trays and the likel She used to paint a lot of mottos m oil paint Right now she says “I am crocheting an afghan, knitting a sweater and doing needlepoint on a bag ” She has embroidered several ta blecloths She used to make candles etc and sometimes gilts them very effectually Now when these hobbies get her down, she can relax playing her electric organ. She says she just plays for her own amusement She and her husband also do consid erable travelling This might sound as though all she does is for fun But on the contrary, Mrs. Hess is the per fect housekeeper and does all her own housework. With all her beautiful arrangements she can make her home most attrac- displayed m a china closet in their recreation room Mrs Hess is a good cook and a very charm ing hostess. She does typing for her husband also. Alverta was born and raised in Akron, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Brubaker. Mr. Brubaker helped organize the Miller-Hess Shoe Factory around 1900 She graduated from Akron ■High School and went to Lan caster Business College where she took bookkeeping, shorthand and typing Before marriage she worked in the Miller-Hess office. Her husband, for many years, was a salesman in a feed busi ness. He now sells Rest-o-matie units for mattresses Ther head quarters is in the central part of the state and they sell ther me chanism to large mattress firms. The Hesses lived in Lititz 34 years then moved 8 years ago to their newly built home which is built on their 17 acre farm. They raise corn, hogs, goats and steers, although they do not do the farm work themselves.. Mr and Mrs Hess have one daughter, Lorraine, who gradu ated from- Lititz High School where she took a commercial coui’se She is married to John Neff and they hve nearby. They have two children Darlene will graduate from Hempfield High School this spring. She wants to continue her education and ma joi in mathematics. Gary is 16. Mr Neff is a real-estate agent for Garden Spot and has just gotten his bioker’s license Lor raine works at Georgia-Pacific Corporation at Industrial Park on Hempland Road. They make decoiated caitons for food pro ducts Mrs Hess’s ceramic talent and hobby has rubbed off on her husband, daughter and grand daughter Each of them has made a number of things. The Hesses belong to East Chestnut Street Mennomte Church in Lancaster Mrs Hess formerly taught a class in the Sunday School Mis Hess be longed to Farm Women Society # 1 until about six years ago when she transferred her mem beiship to Society #5 and has been coi responding secretary for the past five years She was a delegate this week to the state convention of Farm Women at Harrisburg Mis Hess gives us some of her favorite recipes The first one is quite simple to make but non the less very delicious GROUND BEEF SUPREME 1 lb. ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped 1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted 1 can tomato soup, undiluted % teaspoon Worcestershire (Continued on Page ?4|
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