Brick by Brick: A Potter’s Smart Fundraising Idea Helps Fund Kiln and Build Customer Base
When potter Joseph Sand ran through his initial business loan before getting his kiln built, he came up with an inventive way to raise the funds and finish his 40-foot-long anagama. In the process, he also built a supportive community and customer base. In today’s post, an excerpt from the June/July/August 2011 issue of Ceramics Monthly, Joseph shares his story.
All Aboard! Judith Duff Shares her Tumblestacking Techniques and Train Kiln Plans
When most people hear the words “tumble” and “pottery” in the same sentence, they might envision a pile of broken shards. But tumble does not always have a negative connotation in the pottery world. Tumblestacking – stacking pots on top of one another in a kiln, separated only by wadding – is a popular way to load pots in atmospheric firings because it can influence the path of the flame and the marks it leaves on the pots. This is the method Judith Duff uses in her train kiln to beautiful effect. Today, in an excerpt from the newly expanded Wood Kiln Firing Techniques & Tips: Plans and Instructions for Making a Wood-fired Kiln and Firing with Wood, Judith shares her firing method and the plans for her train kiln.
Seriously Playful: The Pottery of Matt Jones
Today’s post highlights the pottery of Matt Jones, Using local materials and decorative traditions, Matt’s work pays homage to the time when pottery played an important role in survival. Even the tools he uses exemplify this reverence for “our collective pottery past” as he puts it. Take, for instance “The Crusher,” Matt’s super low tech and incredibly brilliant homemade device for crushing old bottles into powder for his glazes. Matt explains how it works, and we have a video of it in action! So cool! He also shares a couple of glaze recipes.
A New Pot’s Story
In my last firing, I made a pot that satisfied me like none before. It was one of those miracles where a good form and an even better firing combine with a dollop of serendipity. On a whim, I yanked the piece out of the kiln on the last day of a six-day wood firing. As I watched it cool from red heat into glacial blues, whites, and blacks, I was overcome with both a feeling of accomplishment and a vision of a new and exciting direction for my work.
Wood Kiln Firing Techniques and Tips: Inspiration and Information for Making a Wood-Fired Kiln and Firing with Wood Available for Download!
Today’s post is an excerpt from our new free download, Wood Kiln Firing Techniques and Tips, in which Nesrin During shows us how to combine wood firing and raku firing. As you’ll see, wood firing isn’t just about high firing. You can build a simple raku kiln and fire your work with wood to get stunning results.
Building an Anagama Kiln for a High School Ceramics Class
An anagama kiln at a high school? That seems highly unlikely, doesn’t it? Many high school art teachers feel lucky to have a wheel and a small electric kiln. But Council Bluffs, Iowa, high school art teacher Clay Cunningham was determined. And with careful planning and execution, he, his students and some local potters made this vision a reality (and with great results, like the vase at left by student Rick Devoss). Today, in an excerpt from the July/August 2009 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, Clay shares the process and plans for building the “High School Anagama.”
Wood Firing Basics
Wood burns in two distinctly different stages. The first, and most obvious, is the burning of gasses produced when wood is heated. Wood begins to gasify at about 500°F. The second is the burning of the charcoal. This happens, for the most part, after the materials that form the gasses have been driven out of… Read More »
Pottery Decorating Video: Trimming and Glazing a Wire-Faceted Bowl Pt. 2
This week’s Video Tip of the Week is a follow-up video on trimming and glazing the wire-faceted bowls Mark Peters demonstrated last week. In today’s video, Mark shares a Cone 10 Temmoku glaze recipe and Randy Johnston’s flashing slip recipe, which he likes to use on these forms. We have also posted these recipes on the site so you don’t have to worry about jotting them down while watching the video. Enjoy! -Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
