Untapped: IVDM BeerFest 2021

 ~ Kayla Kirby, IVDM Education Specialist

"A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure." -- Czech proverb

Guests traveled from all over the Imperial Valley, and even San Diego County, to visit the Imperial Valley Desert Museum this past Saturday for a night of beer tasting.  Museum staff were happy to host our annual BeerFest, especially after missing out on the chance for fun last year.  

The event sponsor, Alford Distributing, donated a variety of beers, including a pumpkin porter, passion fruit kombucha, a michelada lager, a fleet of IPAs, and more.  The two favorite kinds of the night were the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Oktoberfest and the Karl Strauss Brewing Co. Boat Shoes.  

More than 80 guests sampled beer, toured the museum's exhibits, and generously participated and tried their luck with the night's raffles.  As the keystone fundraiser for IVDM in its fall season, and the seasonal alternative to the institution's spring Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, raised funds from the night offer continued support for the museum's education and curation programs.  The sounds of unleashed carbonation and the cascade of liquid hops into customized beer glasses resounded against the backdrop of classic rock blaring through the museum's exterior speakers, the ever-changing hues of LED event lighting, and the groans and cries of celebration among patrons of the night's featured horror-movie trivia game.

Despite the windy night, guests and staff had a wonderful time.  This year saw the museum move away from taps and kegs to instead offer bottle service, allowing for a greater variety of beer.  Museum staff greatly enjoyed sharing that wider range of offerings and helping guests to find their new favorite flavor and style of beer!

We hope to see you all again -- and, hopefully, many new faces as well -- for the 2022 wine tasting event.  Stay tuned for details... and happy drinking!

Picking Pigments for Pottery Painting

~ Kayla Kirby, IVDM Education Specialist

 Art is important to any civilization. Art can be used to tell stories, share information, practice religion, and much, much more. Today, we sing at concerts, host plays and dance recitals, and paint on canvas. Those who came before us, enjoyed art a little differently. Have you ever seen photos of paintings on rock faces and cave walls (pictographs)? If you’ve toured our exhibits, you’ve probably also seen some of the Kumeyaay’s painted ollas on display.

In one of our previous #TraditionalCraftDays guests used the traditional practice of coiled clay pottery making to make small bowls similar to the Kumeyaay ollas. Having dried and then fired those pots, guests were invited to return for their painting -- mixing raw, ground pigments to create paints and add color and life to their vessels!

Guests seemed to have a lot of fun choosing what pigments to use and what designs to include on their pots. Some guests created intricate designs with snakes and polka dots, while others tried their hand at abstract painting. We were even asked to mix pigments to create custom colors! After painting, guests trickled through the exhibits to learn more about the Kumeyaay and their traditions. 

Modern Pottery, Ancient Traditions

But the Kumeyaay didn’t visit their local craft store for paint or canvas like we do today. So how did they do it?

Knowledge of the local geology was key!  From the rocks and minerals of the region, new colors and slips (paints) were created.  Indigenous groups in the area made red and yellow pigment from red ochre deposits, sourcing the material from hills and red clay deposits across the state.  This ochre was then ground in sandstone or basalt mortars. Sources for red ochre were kept secret between the tribes.

For those of you whose favorite colors are more blue-green, well guess what, indigenous groups knew how to make those colors too! Blue pigment was commonly made from blue azurite, and green was made from green malachite. However, blue azurite tends to become malachite overtime, meaning some of the blue azurite paint could have turned green over long periods of time.

With the exception of a few indigenous groups, black was typically made from charcoal. It is noted that some groups believed charcoal from ash trees and oak bark were the best for making black pigment. Can you take a guess how white pigment could’ve been made? White pigment was usually made from burnt and pulverized seashells.

Even though we did not search for our own red ochre deposit, harvest the red ochre, and then grind it into a powder-like substance, we sure did have a ton of fun sharing this knowledge with the community during our first pottery painting #TraditionalCraftDays.