Finding bliss by the boardwalk

MAT-SU -- The year was 1967, "the summer of love, baby," as Dennis McKenzie puts it.

It was the year 18-year-old McKenzie, now a local pottery instructor and photographer, found himself growing up in the midst of the original hippie movement of the San Francisco Bay area's Haight-Ashbury and Berkeley areas.

Living in the upper Castro area, he hung out at the local dive shop with a group called the Golden Gate Divers and got into scuba, snorkeling and photography -- his first love in the arts. The dive shop turned into a job and within the shop, they formed a photography club.

McKenzie's photography showed his eye for art and he was in a place and time to capture photographs of legendary subjects such as Jefferson Airplane when the band brought in a new lead singer named Grace Slick, a woman who became an icon of 1960s rock history. The whole movement brought great opportunities for his photography to blossom.

"Living in Haight-Ashbury was such a great time, the people and the attitude. I mean it was probably the safest place in the city, you'd never get mugged," McKenzie said, "because the whole philosophy of peace and love preached to its followers to trust others and love your brother."

But times began to change as the Bay Area gained fame. "Thousands of people flooded into the area because of what was going on there and with them came the predators -- you know, nasty drug dealers and crime."

It was the summer McKenzie and a buddy, having a fascination for the wilderness, decided to take a chance and hitchhike to Alaska. His travels led him to Anchorage, where he soon found himself working as a carpenter.

After meeting his life partner, Vicki Cole, the couple moved to Wasilla in May 1974 and their son, David, was born in 1977. "We chose Wasilla, because it was close to Alaska," McKenzie said.

While Cole was pregnant, McKenzie began to try his hand at pottery and found it to be quite a hit at the Renaissance Fair, held in those days at Campbell Creek. The self-described "city boy" was ready to take on the challenges that faced him. Making a living was his priority and McKenzie decided from his experiences at the fair that he could probably make it with pottery.

In their 30 years in the Valley, McKenzie and Cole have been deeply involved in art. She taught anthropology and a variety of art classes over many years at Mat-Su College, and he began to diversify his pottery living by teaching others the art.

Today the couple owns Birch Grove Studios, a nice little home business out in the woods off the intersection of Hollywood and Johnson, near the Big Lake turnoff. The studio features a variety of useful, colorful and earthy designs in pottery, with some exquisite photography as well.

Lots of artwork is for sale, but most importantly, the studio provides the teaching environment for his many students.

"It takes time to learn how to throw pots, you know," he said. "It's like playing a musical instrument, that's what I tell my students. We all know how someone can pick up fiddle or a guitar and make it look easy. Well, we all know that it's not easy and that's kind of how it is with pottery -- it takes a lot of practice and after a lot of messing up, you get good at it."

McKenzie currently teaches three separate group classes a week, on Wednesday nights, Thursday mornings and Saturday mornings. Classes are limited to about eight students, run three hours once a week and last for six weeks, with open studio time at any other times of the week. There are currently nine wheels provided to throw pots. Class fees are $185, which includes a 25-pound bag of clay, enough to throw between 15 to 17 mugs.

McKenzie points out that there are no other hidden fees, like boardwalk, outhouse or parking fees (there is a nice series of boardwalks and stairs through the woods to the studio).

"We could do a punch card where your 10th outhouse visit is free, but we don't want to go the corporate route here," he said.

And, he doesn't give out his glaze recipes to his students, as he has developed those over the years and they are part of his unique style. But he does try to teach the students the art as quickly as possible, so they can really learn and enjoy it.

McKenzie's friendly and mellow demeanor seems to suit him well for teaching in his woodsy and off-the-beaten-path studio. He says he has taught "hundreds" of students over the years.

To arrange for classes or directions to Birch Grove Studios, people may visit www.BirchGroveStudios.

com for a map and other details or call 376-5816. Dennis McKenzie's pottery and artwork may also be purchased at the Town Square Art Gallery in the Carrs Mall in Wasilla or Alaska's Finest in Palmer.