We have had a lot of requests for pictures of finished work from the indoor raku session. Well... about 30 minuets after the fire department left we pulled this beauty out of the flaming can. Enjoy. -TS

Last Saturday Chris took part in O'Neill Studio's annual Salon Party, this year bennifiting Research Down Syndrome. Over 60 pieces of artwork were, and still are, on display featuring Chris Cooley, Dominique Fierro, Maggie O’Neill, Rodger Schultz, Brittany Sims, Karen Suderman, & Tina Palmer, with 100% of ticket sales going to Research Down Syndrome. If you missed the party saturday your still in luck, the artist will be using the same space as a temporary studio all week, 1147 20th Street NW, Washington DC. Chris, Maggie and Erin Fry visited the ABC7/News Channel 8 studios to talk about the event, check out the interview here- Lets Talk Live -TS

Taking raku firing to the extreme, Chris heats a large bowl in his electric kiln, (inside his studio) then places it into a tub lined with news paper, bringing fire and life to a high copper glaze! Don't try this at home!!! Song credit "We didn't start the fire," Billy Joel -TS

Here is a unique look into what it takes to produce wood fired pottery. This video documents the entire process, from loading to unloading, of a 72 hour wood firing. The firing take's place at Justin Rothshank's noborigama kiln, in Goshen, Indiana. www.rothshank.com -TS

A collection of images by photographer Richard Busch from the late 60's early 70's documenting Hippie culture opens Friday April 6th at The Cooley Gallery. About 25 black and white images will be on display and for sale at the gallery through April. Here, Richard tells us a little about the show and what goes into traditional darkroom printing. -TS

The photographs in this show were all taken between the late 1960s and early 1970s, mostly while I was working in New York, first at LIFE magazine, then as a freelance writer and photographer. It was a period when the term “hippie” had become common.

The word was coined in 1965 by Michael Fallon, a San Francisco journalist writing about a local coffeehouse frequented by what had been called beatnicks. This was the beginning of a time of broad political and social unrest, defined by New Left politics, the Civil Rights movement, feminism, anti-war protests, communes, outdoor rock concerts, an interest in Eastern philosophies, sexual liberation, long hair, tie-dyed clothing, bell-bottom jeans, drug use, and various other manifestations of discontent with the establishment. 


I found plenty of hippies to photograph in my own backyard—on the streets of New York, in Central Park, at music venues, and in other public places. I was also fortunate to attend some of the big events that marked the period, including Woodstock, in August, 1969. I camped out in the backstage area, wandered about with my cameras, and, despite being occasionally under the influence of illegal substances along with everyone else, captured some of the pictures on these walls. 

Another event was the 1970 Alternative Media Conference (AMC), in northern Vermont.  This was a gathering of so-called underground newspaper writers and editors, political activists, comic book artists, freelance journalists of a leftist bent, and others. Their purpose was ostensibly to discuss politics, feminism, the arts, and other topics. Though there were actual discussion periods, the event was marked more by music, marijuana, nudity, and sex. 

I also attended two big demonstrations in Washington, DC– the 600,000-strong anti-Vietnam protest march in November, 1969 and, in 1970, a somewhat smaller turnout in response to the Kent State killings and the American incursion into Cambodia—both attended by hippie throngs.

The subject of hippies has lately sparked interest among people who weren’t there at the time, as well as those who were but look back today with a touch of nostalgia. Reviewing my pictures from the last 40-plus years I am struck by the realization that many of these people are now in their 60s and 70s, or older, most of them undoubtedly solid members of the society they once railed against way back when. It is a bittersweet reminder that this fascinating and often wacky era has been long gone. I’m glad I was there to be a witness. 


—Richard Busch

    March, 2012