Loading a wood-fire kiln

Loading a wood fired kiln is a labor of love. Loading any kiln is like putting together a puzzle with no idea what the final picture looks like. Wood firing adds another step, every piece that will touch another surface needs to be separated by wadding and or kiln wash (which is a watered down version of wadding). You will see the little balls under all the pots as they are going in. This includes the lids of pots.

This video is short and sweet, don't want to bore you.  This will give you just a little taste of how the process shakes down.

P.S. I apologize for the quality of this video. I will never claim to be a tech savvy person, but I just had to give this a shot. Enjoy!

The Estacada Development Association
presents
The 3rd Annual
Estacada
Winter Artisan
Show & Sale
Fine Art...Fine Crafts...Folk Art...
Quality Handmade Works
December 6,    5-8pm
December 7,   10am-5pm
Estacada City Hall
on Broadway at Historic City Hall
in Downtown Estacada
Proceeds benefit Estacada’s Main Street Program
Door Prizes Drawn Half Hourly
more info at:
 www.EDA1.org
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BRAND FIRE Show at MHCC Visual Arts Gallery

From now till September 2nd my one woman show is up at the Mt. Hood Community College Visual Arts Gallery. The Reception night is August 4th from 5:30pm-9pm.

I'm really excited to be showing this body of work and hope you have a chance to check it out. There is so much to see by looking closely at the surfaces. The postcard is a nod to that idea of moving in and looking at all the atmospheric firing creates of the surface of my work. There are ash drips, crystal formations, ash peppering, blushing and traces of the flames.

Mt. Hood Community College Gresham Campus is located at:

26000 SE Stark St
Gresham, Oregon 97030
(503)491-6422

Back to the grind

This week we are experiencing very nice weather and I'm grateful. I have lots of new pots that need attention. After unloading the kiln a wood-fire potter then needs to check every piece and grind off wads or ash that still remain. I'm on day three of this process, but things are looking good and I have the end in sight. Next step is to price them and pack them.

The first picture is of the tools I've been using. A Dremel, very important wood-fire potter tool, and my silicon carbide tip is almost completely used up. I wear a mask while working since I'm creating lots of nasty dust and of course the lovely sanding pads make a nice final finish.

The second shot is of a few pieces just plucked from the kiln. I've been doing goblets, funky shallow bowls, soap dishes and stripes. I'm digging the stripes.

Just Days Away

I'm counting down the days till the 29th Annual Ceramic Showcase. This is such an exciting event for the members of the Oregon Potters Association. We work on putting this show together all year round. We meet monthly to discuss the details of all aspects of this show. We run this show entirely with volunteers. From the set up to the tear down each participant in the show has a job to do. We have a central sales area so you can shop the entire show and check out all at once instead of making multiple purchases from individual artists. We will also have UPS on site for shipping directly from our show.

There is a nice map that is put together so you don't miss anything. We have demonstrations, music scheduled for Friday and Saturday evening, Clay Play areas so you can try it out for yourself and beautiful galleries set up to showcase our finest work. It's a labor of love and I hope you will join us.

Well, here we are deep into January 2011 and I haven't posted a darn thing. It's firing season for the woodfire potter so being on the computer is not where I want or can afford to be. I have at least 4 firings to be getting ready for between now and April and that doesn't just mean making pots, but thinking about the different firings and what clays do better in what kiln and what forms will get the best effect from each kiln. So I'm revisiting my pieces and seeing what worked in the past and what I can improve on. Lots to think about.

The first firing coming up is in the newly rebuilt catenary arch at MHCC. I'm putting in test tiles with various shino glazes to see what looks good. My Chicken Pot Pie kiln at home gives similar results and I will be firing it a few weeks later so this should give me a good idea of how to proceed. I better get back to the studio. So much to do, so little time. Joy to all!

Fired up!

It seems like the last few months have just flown by. Now that it's fall it's time to fire kilns on a regular basis. October was the kick off to the firing season with the big event of Soulgama in Brush Prairie, WA. This was an amazing firing with terrific people and when we opened the kiln two weeks later we discovered outstanding results. I'll have pictures soon. Then this weekend was a much anticipated, but not entirely prepared for soda firing at MHCC with a couple good friends. We will open the kiln tomorrow and see how we did. Then on Wednesday another anagama firing in the minigama at MHCC. This firing is based on a visit by a Japanese artist named Nobu. Then it's back to preparing for another Soda firing and firing my own kiln, The Chicken Pot Pie, in December. O' the Joy!!!!

A Good Day

Yesterday I had such a good day. I can't say I got lots done, but I did enjoy the small wonders of the world around me. I had plans of getting into my studio and working and while pots set up I was going to weed the garden and then head back into the studio. This plan was interrupted by at empty vase on my back deck that was calling out for flowers to fill it. So I filled it and then noticed another set of vases and another...before you know it I was gathering flowers and placing them around and enjoying my time with mother nature and art. They go so well together.

Then a tiny hummingbird came into my life. This little creature was sitting on the fence to the garden. I put my finger in front of him and he sat on it then flew back to the fence. What a joy to hold such a tiny creature and barely feel it's touch. Later in the day the same little guy was resting on the leaf of a sunflower and it's parents took turns coming and going and feeding their little off spring. It was an amazing site to behold.

The vases above are skillfully created by Barb Campbell, Susan Goebel, Brenda Scott and Vince and Sabrina Maldonado. In the Susan Goebel vase picture you can also see a John McLaughlin mug in the reflection of the mirror.

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” Frederick Keonig

Mug Shot

This is the mug of my dreams. It's the reason I love wood-firing. It was right up front in the firebox during a 68 hour anagama firing. It has no glaze just layers and layers of melted wood ash and carbon trapping. It's funky and frosty and absolutely one of a kind. I'm in love.

What a thrill

So a few nights ago a potter friend, Linda Klaus, had my husband and I, and Brian and Sarah Davis, also a potter, over for dinner. Linda is also an antique dealer and has incredible items all through her house. She has a real eye for display and has something to look at in every inch of her home. The big thrill for me was to see my work here and there displayed with other very famous potters and artists work. My stuff looked so professional and worthy and useful. Linda also had a small lidded vessel of Sarah's displayed next to a Don Sprague and they looked great together.

At the beginning of the evening she put out a some crackers and cheese. She said "I think I will use a Brenda to serve the crackers" and I said "I didn't make that". On closer inspection I did make it. It looked great.

There are days when I wonder if my pottery is viable. After the lovely dinner at Linda's I felt great about it. Thanks Linda and also thanks for a delicious meal...Lasagna, broccoli with capers and olives and a beautiful boysenberry pie for dessert.

Mahonia Hall

For the next year a few pieces of my art and 7 other potters work will be displayed in the dinning room of the Oregon Governor's mansion, Mahonia Hall in Salem, OR. Mary Lou, of Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, coordinated the display. It was an exciting day for me and an honor to have some of my pottery displayed at this venue. I think they do tours on Fridays in the summer, but so far I haven't been able to find that information. I want to take my mom there when she visits next year.

Group Photo: This photo includes the outgoing displayed artists Mindy Chaffin and Mel Perrigo
Second Photo: Mark Heimann, Kenneth Standhardt, Leslie Green and Bev Curtis
Third Photo: Linda Heisserman, Brenda Scott and Dawn Panttaja. Brian Jones could not join us.