The Douglas Gallery held a reception for Margo Macartney on Jan. 12.

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This was Macartney’s first official exhibit of her ceramic work.

Macartney started working with clay at a young age. Working in the law field did not give her much time to work on her artistic skills.

“One day I was looking at the bulletin board at work and there was a flyer offering ceramics classes at Cochise College on Saturdays,” Macartney said. “I thought to myself I can do Saturdays.”

Once she felt the clay in her hands she said to herself “I remember this feeling.”

Some of her pieces have been fired in a salt kiln. Salt is tossed into the kiln when it is hot, and the salt forms a glaze, sealing the clay and forming its own glaze.

The color is created by oxides, brushed on before firing. The surface then becomes like the surface of an orange.

Macartney featured her work at the Cochise College Pit fire this past November.

“After an initial bisque firing, the work is placed in a pit dug into the earth, then covered with wood and ignited,” she said. “Often, various oxides and chemicals are sprinkled on the vessel, and then they are wrapped in newspaper. The work is then fired for several hours.”

She is featuring mask in her exhibit that have been raku fired.

“When the vessel is red hot the kiln is opened, the vessel is removed with tongs from the fire and placed into a metal barrel loaded with paper, leaves, weeds, whatever will burn,” Macartney added. “The barrel is then covered, removing air, and the piece sits in this ‘reduction’ setting until cool.”

Macartney has various pieces on display at the art gallery for the remainder of January.

Raul Montano’s graffiti art will be display in the month February with a reception on February 9. The Douglas Art Gallery is opened Tuesday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and located at 625 10th Street next to the Post Office.