: Cass - Viewing Profile

is he not a clay god?...look at these monumental monoliths, my jaw is on the floor


















i'm inspired by the scale, but mostly by his work ethic, how amazingly prolific he is

from this past weekend, we loaded the anagama at Blue Mountain, outside Missoula, MT

the kiln is owned by the Clay Studio of Missoula

at least 1000 pieces got in there, it is quite big, i will get some better pics of the whole kiln when i take my shift next friday







couple of my sculpture on the floor there, in between the stokes! ^^^^ should be interesting if they dont get creamed by people sidestoking....












fires until next sunday afternoon, opening party the following sunday

i have a hard time shelling out for factory produced clay tools...i have some of course, but i am Always on the lookout for anything handy, and i do think it has an effect on the end result

a few things i use daily, many found at the hardware store, THRIFT store, or the grocery store...some pilfered from our kitchen, lol



like i said, always on the lookout, anyone else have some odd or homemade ideas?

In French there is an excellent phrase that has no exact English counterpart, "Mise en valeur"...to put in value. When a product is presented in it's proper surroundings, or better yet, a touch above it's proper surroundings, the impression is given that it is more valuable, and people want it, and gladly pay a premium price.

For those doing shows, my best (extreme) example would be a potter sets up with a card table and puts out a scattering of pieces....even if the work is very good this puts the work in a poor context, and therefore won't command a good price, or be 'wanted'...but if someone has a primo booth, the opposite is true, you can UP the perceived value, and the prices on work that is justly presented. And amazingly, by putting higher prices the implication is made that the work is better, well crafted, and that the price is justified...this is not off the top of my head, market researchers have proven this again and again for clients wanting to find the maximum price that the market will bear.

this took a few years for me to accept, and believe, and try...there was a point in '98 or so when the numbers weren't quite adding up, i don't mean the costs and all, i mean my rent! and bills and on and on, for the hours we were putting in, so...

we doubled or prices, and sales volume went up...and we got new accounts. and about the same time we invested in our booth, trying to 'mise en valuer' we copied the type of booth that the jewelers used, clean black Propanels, glass shelves, good halogen lighting, and blowup, high res images of us working, firing, and pot detail shots....sales boomed, thats why i think of this as Investment.

all this not to blow my own horn, but for those getting going now to think about.

our 17" x24" Cress has been a workhorse for us for 12+ years










_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________






all in all i would guess it has handled 300 loads, always even heating...very reliable results. I would say that the predictability of this kiln has been a major factor in our having been able to make a business and career of Raku.


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




full kiln height 24" piece ^^^


full kiln diameter 16" piece vvv