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!

Speaking of wood-fire...

It's been far too long since I've posted on my blog. I think about it all the time, but always come up with something else to do...aaahhh gardening. I'm finally getting around to writing down what I learned this year at Ceramic Showcase. I had a great show and to be honest I'm already looking forward to next years show. It's always so great to see all these amazing talented artists come together and work, laugh, and catch up. This year since I was not in charge of the show I thought I would give a concerted effort to spend more time in my booth and talk to potential customers. This is very difficult for me. I could probably sell something of yours far better then selling my own work, which essentially is selling myself. People who know me think it odd that I have such a hard time with this, but I really lean far on the Introvert side of the Myers-Briggs personality test.

As to what I learned. It's not as hard to spend time in my booth and talk with a few people as I thought. I would try to gauge the person's interest and ask if they had any questions or complement them personally. That usually broke the ice. On one particular occasion my world was changed. A lady and her daughter stepped into my booth and picked up one of my more expensive mugs. She looked at it a bit and set it down. I pointed out that I had some more reasonably priced mugs on another shelf if she was interested. She looked at me and asked "why is that one so much more?" This was my chance to speak about the wood-fire process that I am so excited about, but I didn't want to bore the pants off of her, it's all about balance. I wanted her to see that although the others were very nice, this one was special. It had all the features of wood-fire I love. So I gave a run down of the basics...I don't really use or rely on glazes to finish my work, the ash from the fire flies through the kiln, lands on the red hot pots, melts, drips, creates crystals...sometimes, flashing, wadding, grinding...etc. She soaked it in and grabbed the mug, "I'll take it, but I don't know if I'll remember all of that". Her daughter looked and smiled "I got it mom".

I was on cloud nine. I loved that mug and was so pleased with how it came out and it found a home that will look a little deeper and closer at it then the average mug. That is why I do wood-fire and pottery. I want to make functional art that adds to peoples lives and makes them look at the small things. Now maybe I'm just babbling, but I can hardly express the joy I felt the moment she took that mug and understood that it was one of a kind, unique, maybe like her daughter...special out of all the others.

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

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.

Winter Solstice firing

Just one day away from loading the kiln for our Winter Solstice firing. We are loading on Sat. so I can watch the Packers on Sunday. I'm excited about the little crew I put together for this firing. Several MHCC students and workstudies that are getting the wood-fire bug and a new OPA member that I met at our Food Bank volunteer day. I'm going to test out a couple different Shinos and a few different stoneware bodies. Of course I'll be putting plenty of Dakota Yellow pieces in.

So today is about finishing up my glazing and making my Chicken Pot Pie cone packs. Better get crackin'.

Sisser's donuts

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since October. Where does the time go? I've been working hard on the planning of OPA's Ceramic Showcase which opens April 30, 2010. Mark your calenders because it's a show you don't want to miss. I also work at MHCC in the ceramic department and that keeps me busy. I'm working on gathering a nice group of students to fire our little anagama in February. It's always fun to get a few new students excited about the process. I'm firing the Chicken Pot Pie the 21st. So much to do to get ready and the weather is an icky 20°. I hope this cold snap...snaps and we can get back to realistic temperatures. I don't live in Wisconsin for a good reason.

Speaking of Wisconsin...my good friend and clay mentor, Treatzi Dall, sent me a beautiful story written by her youngest girl and she said it was OK to share it with others. It's a nice story so I'm going to share it here. I know her kids and they are a fantastic family and have all turned out well. They love each other so much. It's a beautiful thing.

I went to the grocery store today and my thoughts wandered to my sister as the most often do. To begin, I am married to a wonderful man who has serves his life to the greatest of his abilities as a soldier in the United States Army. I have an amazing husband who supports me unconditionally precisely as who I am and I am so thankful for that. We reside in Germany currently and as much as I really do love it here, the one thing that pulls at my heart the most is being away from my sister, or as I call her, "Sisser". I have never been one to have many friends, nor is it a strength of mine to really grasp onto a group of people. There is just something about a sister, My Sisser that no one will ever fill.
As mentioned earlier, I went to the grocery store today to grab just a few staple items; eggs, water, bread, etc. and found myself feeling so lonely for My Sisser. What sparked the thought of her was simply a donut. I was eying all of the tasty treats in front of me and after choosing one to drop off for Troy, my husband, I was next deciding which one I would like most for myself. As I stood staring at all of the lovely bakery, my head began to swell with the rich smell of sweet treats. It was then that I could feel myself shrinking back to being just a four-year-old standing next to my big, seven-year-old, sister in one of Rhinelander, Wisconsin's oldest traditions of Bernie's Bakery.
The few days that Mom and Dad would take us to the bakery, I remember being flooded with excitement. Upon arriving created a feeling of being overwhelmed with all of the sugary options layed out in near-perfect displays for us to admire. With our family lined up, I can fully remember looking at My Sisser and thinking, "Wow, she's so pretty with her dark curly hair. I wish I had freckles like her too." However small the the thought might be now, a person can imagine what a compliment like that meant coming from such a young girl. (As some of you may recall, I had stick-straight hair when I was young and My Sisser always had nice dark wavy hair. To this day, I have just one single freckle on my nose.)
I recall that it was snowing and as cold as it likely was outside, the warmth of the bakery combined with the wonderful cookie scent gave a feeling of being hugged by a giant marshmallow. Mom was holding Aaron who was all bundled up in a yellow snowsuit. It was keeping him so snuggled that he could barely move. He, being just a baby, appeared to care-less about being at this wonderful place. I became baffled by this thought. Andrew was all excited and had his face pressed on the display window. (As most kids would behave in house full of all the unhealthy wonderful things that most six-year-olds imagine they should be able to live on.) Dad stood silently behind us until he, carefully, reached out and grasped Andrew's shoulder with his big daddy hand and pulled him back from the glass. My Sisser stood carefully examining all of the treats in front of us. I remember she looked as though she was contemplating World Peace. My Sisser has always been one to stay focused on being certain to choose and do the "right thing"....even when it came to choosing a donut.
Eventually, My Sisser stepped forward with much more maturity then I had ever seen in a seven-year-old. She looked at the clerk and stated, "I'll have the sugar-covered, strawberry, jelly-filled one, please.", all the while, carefully pointing her thin finger precisely at the one she desired. It was then that I, too, stepped up to the counter. The kind lady with fluffy brown hair looked at me and asked what I would like. I did not say a word. I looked up at her and then fixated my eyes on my chosen donut....the one right next to My Sisser's; the exact same choice she had made.
As young as I was, I may not have known exactly what the definition of "admiration" was, but I certainly understood it. I knew, even as a four-year-old, that I loved My Sisser more then one could imagine and, somehow, I wanted to be just like her when I grew up.....even if it meant it would take me a mere three years to get there. I realized, even then, that Sisser always made the correct choices. Funny thing is, to this day, I love the sugar-covered, strawberry, jelly-filled donut choice and, yet, that morning, what I really wanted was the sprinkled cake donut.
To those of you who don't know, "My Sisser", is the eldest Dall child, Abbey. Next comes Andrew, then myself and finally Aaron. Though we are all grown now, we hold a bond that cannot be explained. We lean on each other every fraction of the day whether we are in complete awareness of it or not. Those of you with siblings, I am sure know that power. Abbey is always available for me. She has seen me through some of my darkest moments and stood by me through my happiest. My throat becomes tight when I think of the beauty she brings into my life. Abbey is surely one of the most selfless people I know. She is an amazing mother, daughter, sister and friend. She keeps me focused and thankful for the wonderment I have in life. Family is the greatest gift given to us and I ask that everyone pass this simple story to others. It is my hope that yourself as well as the people in your lives are able to reach into their deepest memories and pull out what events and people they should be thankful for most. Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Blessings, Ashley

One of a kind

With wood-fire no two pots are the same. So today I thought I would take a minute to blog about some of the features of wood-fired pots. The fire is said to PAINT the pots you put in the kiln. It licks the surfaces and kisses them with ash. The ash melts and creates glaze and sometimes jewels. The pictures here illustrate some of the prizes from a wood kiln. You will see crusty surfaces, smooth ash drips, crystal formations, super glossy surfaces from melted ash, flashing and blushing of the clay body. The surfaces you see here have no glaze just melted ash. When we fire with wood we are giving up a lot of control. This can be a turn off to some potters. There is usually loss due to cracking, two pots being fused together because one fell over during the firing, it was in a cool spot of the kiln and didn't get much action or maybe it got way too much action. But there are always those few pieces that sing to me and convince me to keep firing this way.

I encourage you to look very close at the surfaces of the ceramics you choose to use everyday. Don't just fill the cup with coffee and mindlessly drink. Feel the rim against your lip. The handle against your fingers. Scan the surface with your eyes and fingers while you are enjoying that richly roasted brew. Fill your senses. This goes for your favorite cereal bowl or dinner plate too.