International
Magazine
Arts & Crafts
Travel Adventures
Stories & Pix
Terrific Travel
Arts & Crafts on Travel Adventures
Real Travel Adventures
Talented Potter Celebrates Ninety-Second Birthday
Interntional Magazine
© 2004 Bonita Productions Inc.
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Flag of Texas
Talented Potter Celebrates Ninety-Second Birthday
By Bonnie Neely
Time and experience can be seen in Richard Nafe's hands as he works the mound of clay before him. As the wheel spins, the clay blossoms into a beautiful piece of art. Nafe's hands fashion it with delicate pressure, creating the details that make it a one-of-a-kind creation.
Recently I stopped by the Art Department of Paris Junior College in Paris, TX, and noticed the variety of students working in the ceramics shop. When I asked Cathy Tyler, the Chairman of the Department, the age range of the students I was astonished … from 19 to 91 years of age! I had to stay and visit with Richard Nafe, PJC's most senior student.He told me, “In 1990 I took classes for two semesters and learned so much. Then for several years I kept signing up and paying my fee so I could work here when I wanted to and fire my pieces. You know, this is the best bargain I know of anywhere. For about $200 dollars you can enroll and have very good instruction and use their clay, the potter's wheels, and their kiln.” At the time he began these courses Frank Sausier was the instructor. Now the PJC Ceramics teacher is Kristine Haddox, who has her Master of Fine Arts from Texas A&M-Commerce, and teaches also at Collin County Junior College and Richland College. She commutes to Paris three days a week from Van Alstyne, TX.
However, Richard's opportunities for enjoying ceramics were curtailed eleven years ago and because of other demands on his time he was unable to pursue this hobby. In December he lost Martha, his beloved wife of 67 years. “My grief was so great I knew I needed something that would get me out with people. I didn't want to be just passing time, I wanted something that is FUN!” he explained. “For kids running and playing is fun. I was always attracted by sculpture, but I could never be a sculptor, so I found my therapy in making ceramics, what I am passionate about doing.”
I was delighted to be able to watch Richard throw a pot on the clay-bat wheel, which he prefers to the metal ones. He remarked, ”I always have a plan and a definite idea of what I want to make, but it doesn't always turn out the way I planned. These old eyes and these old hands sometimes don't do what I tell `em to do!” His instructor, Kristine, further explained, “Ceramics is an unpredictable art-form. The potter must be willing to go with the flow because clay and glazes will do what they want to do and the artist loses control along the way. There is always an element of surprise.” Adopting a “take what you get and be proud” attitude was not easy for the perfectionist inside Richard Nafe, but he loves the process and has many pieces of which he is proud.
Making a pot is a several step process requiring lots of strength, energy, and patience, in addition to talent and creativity. First the artist sketches the idea for the piece and selects the type of clay, which he then has to “wedge.” This is a process of working the clay much like kneading dough to get out all the air bubbles, which would cause the piece to burst in the kiln. As I watched Richard wedge his clay I could not believe the strength in his 91 year old arms and body! He pounded and folded the clay for a long time before he was satisfied that it was right for the wheel. 
Then, as he talked to me, he swiftly and adeptly formed a perfect cylinder as the wheel spun. Using the sponge he added water as needed and quickly shaped the form into a beautiful vase. The “greenware” now has to dry for several days before its first kiln-firing, which changes it to the “bisque” stage. Then Richard will decide whether to decorate the piece with “slip” (wet, thin clay which is added as decoration), with oxides, glazes, or by carving. When the surface decoration is complete the piece will be fired again.
When Richard returned this semester after his long hiatus he realized there were problems with the kiln, which had no door and had to be bricked up each time the firing was done. Nafe is designing a heat-proof door and instructed the PJC Industrial Metals Department of how to create it. As I watched he ably hefted it into place to try it for the first time, attempting to make kiln-firing in the Minnesota flat-top kiln much easier and more efficient.
In the early 1980's, Mr. Nafe was able to retire to enjoy his many talents and hobbies. “I had always been a collector of rocks, arrowheads, and artifacts, so I bought some manuals and some equipment and taught myself lapidary. I enjoyed making things out of what I had collected for so many years, some jewelry, some useful articles, some just pretty things…from geodes I could slice and rocks I could polish. My wife had a lot of artistic talent and she loved to paint, so we enjoyed many hobbies together.”Neighbors still talk about the beautiful hydroponic vegetables the Nafes grew in their garden in Johnson Woods. But Richard talks about the wood work he enjoyed. “I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I spent lots of time making my wood pieces. 
I made some furniture that I'm proud of, including a four-poster bed, a table, and a cabinet, but what I really enjoyed were the small pieces I made for Martha and other people because I could really get them just right. You can spend more time perfecting the small pieces.” And perfect they are!
I made some furniture that I'm proud of, including a four-poster bed, a table, and a cabinet, but what I really enjoyed were the small pieces I made for Martha and other people because I could really get them just right. You can spend more time perfecting the small pieces.” And perfect they are!If you live in Northeast Texas or Southern Oklahoma you probably own a piece of Richard Nafe's work…whether it be stepping stones, culverts, cement steps to your home, planters, or some other concrete work; for over thirty years he owned and managed Nafe Concrete. “We moved here in 1954 from Lake Charles, LA, because I had this concrete franchise that covered Northeast Texas and Eastern Oklahoma, and Paris was the right size town, centrally located for my business.” Richard and Martha found Paris to be a good choice as a friendly community in which to nurture their children, Rick, Jr., and Marilyn, who is now Mrs. Bill Davidson who is comptroller of EarthGrains in Paris. Rick, Jr., and his wife, Ann Oliver, live in Sherman. With his children, grand children, and one great grandchild, June 13, Father's Day this year, is a double celebration for Richard Nafe…Happy 92nd Birthday! You are an amazing example to us of working through grief, of serving your community, and of making senior years fun and productive by following your bliss!
Nafe is as solid as the creations he makes with his aging hands when he sits at that wheel. It can be said that he is an amazing example of working through grief, serving a community, and making senior years fun and productive. To those closer to 19 than 91 he is an inspiration.
Real Travel Adventures Web Magazine
Thanks for visiting us!
© 2004 Bonita Productions Inc
If any links don't work