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Show RALPH HEFT, president of Uinta Potters Guild, mixes special glaze recipe. A" ) -, - ; ' S it's it-'s k 1)1 - - ? : , f 1 lit RALPH HEFT, prepares to dip pottery into glaze before the pots final firing in the potter's kiln. Ralph Heft, named president of Uinta Potter's Guild Ralph Heft holds the present yearly title of president of the Uinta Potters Guild. Heft has been busy organizing the Uinta Potters Guild's first annual craftsfair. The craftsfair is entitled "Santa's Workshop" and will be held at the National Guard Armory, Saturday, Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The guild hopes to make this an annual event for the Uintah Basin. There will be approximately 30 booths to stroll through and purchase Christmas gifts from pottery to flower arrangements. The Guild feels as if the coming craftsfair will give artists in the Basin a chance to display their wears and eventually put the Basin on the map as an art center. Heft states, "Handmade gifts seem to have a personal unique meaning behind giving a gift for Christmas. In sup-, porting the craftsfair we as Basin citizens divert our monies to local persons rather than large corporations. There are a lot of local artists that people never hear about that are truly very fineartists. I think the event could turn into an annual affair that Vernal citizens as well as Basin area residents can be proud of." Examples of items to be displayed on i . Saturday will be: oil paintings, quilts, wood projects, kid toys, Christmas tree ornaments, baby items, leather goods, macrame, cake and cookie decorating, silk flower arrangements, pottery, animal hide sculptures, bucksmithing, antler, horn and quill jewelry, plant terrariums, handpainted eggs and gingerbread houses. Heft has been a professional production potter for two years but it took him 10 years to obtain that title. Heft was born in Seattle, Wash., in 1944. He was also raised in the Seattle area. He came to Vernal 7 years ago through his job transfer with the Bureau of Land Management. He holds a BS degree in forestry from the University of Montana. Heft became involved with the Uintah Potters Guild through USU classes. There is an infinite amount of glazes and clays a potter can work with . Ralph has invented a tool to dip fragile greenward pots into a glaze before firing. This eliminated one firing, thus speeds up his production. The glaze he uses is also of a special recipe. Heft is in the process of having his tool and glaze idea published. |