This firing gave me enough confidence to settle on a final recipe of my clay body, furthered my testing of glaze combinations, and produced a few results that will take more work to understand. It also included the collapse of two shelves in the front stack which landed in the firebox. There was plenty to consider while unloading!
Read MoreLarge pots are occasionally interpreted as demonstrations of strength because the size is vulnerable to a kind of theater around the making: large quantities of clay paired with strenuous/exaggerated gestures. There is certainly labor involved and clay has weight; that remains true. Also, gravity absolutely remains an active threat throughout the process. However, I have never found “brute strength and ignorance” to be a successful mental framework.
Read MoreIn 2016, two weeks after I got married, I left home and camped for two weeks in illinois with Chris Pate and friends at the Waubonsee International Woodfire Conference. While there, I participated in 5 different styles of kiln firings…
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