Richards featured as First Friday artist

A diverse selection of artwork and a wide array of colorful creations by Jean Richards, will greet visitors to the First Friday Art Reception at the Ritzville Art Gallery on Friday, Nov. 30, beginning at 5 p.m. and concluding at 7 p.m. The gallery will remain open until 8 p.m., to allow more visitors to shop locally during the Friday night festivities downtown.

Richards originally moved to Ritzville in 1984 when she purchased the tavern and pizza in the downtown area. Her daughter opened up an arcade next door, and Richards remained in Ritzville for about five years before relocating to Oregon.

The trip to Oregon was originally going to provide the downtime for Richards to write a book, but her life became a whirlwind of experiences and memories. When her trailer broke down in Bend, Ore., Richards began working at local businesses to fix her vehicle before continuing her journey.

In 1992, Richards found herself back in the community of Ritzville and purchased a ladies boutique in the downtown area. After maintaining the shop for about three years, she returned to Oregon and bought a hostel on the coast, in Newport.

“That’s when I really got involved in clay,” Richards said. “In Newport, that was a great time in my life.”

During her time in Newport, she met the love of her life, John. The two managed the hostel together; using the experience to socialize with others and learn about the community they were residing in.

The two became involved in an agates club, and that is where Richards met a potter who focused on raku pottery. Richards vividly remember the first time she traveled to the potter’s home to watch the process of making raku pottery.

“I have never had an experience that close to God,” Richards recalls, as she watched the flames leap from the kiln, and the water boil and hiss as the finished product was put in. “It was wonderful color and explosions.”

Richards also recalled this day to be the first time she remembered John becoming excited, as he was generally a calm individual with a composed demeanor.

With the help of her husband, Richards began experimenting with raku pottery and found a creative outlet. Richards said she was always impressed and amazed by the artwork in the Newport community, and finding her way as an artist was easy in that atmosphere.

“Newport is art oriented; it just immerses you,” Richards explained.

In 2005, the couple retired, sold the hostel, and Richards again found her way back to the Ritzville area. The two immediately became involved in the Ritzville Community Theatre (RCT) group, and Richards has loved living in the area ever since.

Richards served as the RCT president this year, and enjoys performing because, “It’s an opportunity, it’s an outlet: a creative outlet,” she said.

The couple traveled to the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona on their honeymoon, where Richards discovered the art of using horsehair.

Richards said it was during this vacation that she discovered horsehair pottery, which has become her primary pottery. The horsehair pottery she treats like a glaze and said after heating the piece, the heat and static electricity attract the hair to the pottery.

“Primarily, that’s what I’m doing now, because it takes two people to raku,” Richards said of her decision to change mediums.

On Dec. 23, 2010, John died from lung cancer that had been diagnosed only months earlier. His dream had been to see the creation of a local art gallery but passed away just months before the doors opened to the Ritzville Art Gallery. The loss of her husband created a void in Richards’ life, but she has worked to fill the space with new artwork and creations.

Richards said she has recently begun experimenting with barrel firing to create different pieces. The barrel firing consists of molding a piece, and placing it in a barrel with the appropriate burning material.

She explained that she sets the material on fire for about an hour and waits for the fire to burn down before removing the pieces. Richards finds the new process interesting because of the unexpected color it brings to the pieces.

Richards plans to have 30-35 pieces of all different sizes on display, primarily her horsehair artwork with a few barrel firing pieces and one raku piece.

She also has one barrel firing piece available for bid in the Ritzville Western Art Show silent auction, which is currently going on at the gallery.

The First Friday event is sponsored by the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce and celebrates the talent and success of local artists in the area.

The Ritzville Art Gallery is located at 109 West Main Avenue. For more information about the event, contact the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce at 659-1936.