Presenters
Here we are presenting a first overview, this list will change over the time...
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Wood kilns in Finland, Estonia and Latvia.
Andres will talk about building and firing of bourry-box kilns (RiPAA Gama) in
the Baltic and in Finland. He is a kiln builder (electric, gas, wood-firing)
and fire master and understands himself as somebody who is helping to realize
the ideas of ceramists.
Woodfiring and Environment
Cutting trees for firing pots?
Markus looks at the environmental input of woodfiring as well as economical
issues.
He is woodfiring since 1987 in Alt Gaarz, at the half between Berlin and the
Baltic Sea. In his spare time he makes sparkling dry apple cider and organises
strange things.
Intuitive Fire: The Spirit, Reasons, and Implications behind Woodfiring without Cones or
Pyrometers
The decision to fire without the use of technology is a surprisingly
controversial issue, but a choice an increasing number of potters make
consciously. Yolande and Lee Clark will explore the practice of woodfiring
intuitively, and the reasons and implications of this practice in the context
of History, Tradition, Lineage, Community, Aesthetics, Ethics, Spirituality,
and Innovation.
Yolande and Lee Clark live in a strawbale solar-powered cottage in rural New
Brunswick, Canada, with their son Horus. Their lives revolve around the firings
of their 27 foot long anagama and their 14 foot long bourri-gama which they
fire intuitively with an emphasis on natural ash glaze.
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We learned a great deal from each other.
As a part of the panel Woodfiring and Education, Josh will present his ideas
about the educational potential of a community-based approach to woodfiring. He will discuss his experiences as a university student and how those lessons
informed his current philosophies and processes as a professional. Josh will offer details on the various manifestations of his ideas, including an
assessment of the Carolina Kiln Build, a recent kiln building workshop that
Josh co-facilitated with Eric Knoche (see The Log Book, issue 40).
Josh Copus received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of North
Carolina in Asheville in 2007. He is the founder of Clayspace Co-op, a ceramics cooperative and gallery, which
provides an environment that promotes the artistic growth and success of its
members through cooperation and education. Josh is currently in the process of
establishing his own studio and has recently built a workshop and three
wood-burning kilns on his land in Marshall, North Carolina.
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All my Dreams up in Smoke
Paul will discuss his approach to dealing with 'Carbon Politics' and an
environmentally responsible approach to his woodfiring practice and aesthetic.
Where is the future? Can we woodfire or will it all go up in Smoke!
For the past 9 years, Paul Davis has been Head of the famous Sturt Pottery, Mittagong, Australia.
Paul has now established a new studio complex at the old Iceworks factory in the
city of Newcastle, Australia, where he pursues his own individual art practice as well as collaborating in a small
prototype development facility which is jointly shared with his partner Jacqueline Clayton under the umbrella of 'Press to Play ceramics'. Both artists are developing the studio with the intention of moving to carbon
neutral practice.
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1. Historic Groundhog Kilns of North Carolina
Description and history of these unique eighteenth century wood fire kilns built
in the Seagrove area of North Carolina. The clays naturally found in this area and the groundhog kilns had a tremendous
impact on this significant pottery-producing region.
2. Train Kilns: The Pollution Solution for Wood Firing
The Train Kiln, designed by John Neely of Utah State University, is known for
its ability to create heavy ash and reduction with very little black smoke. The many features and benefits of this kiln will be discussed as well as it’s construction and firing considerations.
Since 1991 Judith has been a full-time studio potter in North Carolina. She has studied throughout the United States and Japan and fires primarily with
wood using her Train Kiln built in 1998 and her Japanese style Anagama built in
2005. Her articles have appeared in Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter, and The
Log Book, and her pottery was featured on the cover of Clay Times, a national ceramics
magazine. Judith has taught workshops throughout the United States and in Japan.
Karin Flurer-Brünger
For more than 10 years Karin Flurer-Bruenger has been a lecturer for ceramic
arts at Landau University (Germany). Being a “Meister” in pottery, a therapist and a teacher she has many years of experience in
leading workshops in the field of ceramics. She also has given a paper kiln
workshop for former children soldiers in southern Congo (DRC).
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Der Revolutio-
ein völlig neuentwickelter, sparsamer Holzbrennofen, bei dem es während des Brandes möglich ist, die Flammrichtung umzukehren (umkehren auf Italienisch – „revolutio“)
Bin seit 1993 selbstständiger Keramikermeister mit 12Jähriger Holzbranderfahrung und 4 selbstgebauten Öfen.
Hatte ein 3-Monatiges Ofenbaupraktikum in Mashiko (Japan) bei Ofenbaumeister
Tamaki Tamotsu während dem ich einen kompletten 5-Kammer-Noborigama mitbauen durfte und bei 6
Keramikern Ihre Noborigama mitbrennen durfte.
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Life in the Slow Lane.
Wood firing can be environmentally friendly, but it's the totality of our lives
with everything added together that has created the environmental malaise that we have created for ourselves. There is no point in
wood firing and claiming to be environmentally friendly if everything else in
our lives is environmentally unsound. We are lulled into believing that
everything we purchase is 'green' and healthy, but a little thought and
investigation soon reveals that this is only advertising hype, calculated to
get us to uphold the status quo and continue to consume. I don't believe that
governments are equipped, capable or even interested in solving this problem
for us. I believe that it is the responsibility of individuals to create change
and lead the way to help solve this problem by thinking seriously about what
and how much we consume.
Dr. Steve Harrison has a PhD in the school of cultural theory, University of
Western Sydney, investigated the relationship between landscape, locality,
geology and ceramics, while his MA Hons degree was in wood firing.
He has a long-standing activism on environmental and conservation issues and is the author of several books and many articles on
ceramics, his art practice is based on the use of locally sourced ceramic
materials and environmentally friendly wood firing.
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Hybrid Fire: A Woodfired Kiln Design for Ceramics and Glass
This lecture will discuss the research collaboration between Fred Herbst and
glass blowers from the Corning Museum of Glass. After successful woodfired
glassblowing experiments in an anagama style kiln, Herbst, along with Steve
Gibbs and Lewis Olson, developed a new type of kiln that allows for
glassblowing and firing ceramics simultaneously. The first version of this
design was built in Corning, New York USA and a second has been built and
successfully fired at the international art, design and architecture education
center at Domaine de Boisbuchet in Lessac, France.
Fred Herbst has been woodfiring his functional and sculptural ceramics for
almost 15 years and teaching his students to do the same for over 10 years. In
1998, he earned a Master in Fine Arts degree in Ceramics from the University of
North Texas in Denton, Texas and currently teaches
ceramics and art history at Corning Community College in Corning, New York, USA.
Woodfiring in America
“What matters to me is creating a lively and engaging environment where students
can express themselves through art.”
Wie kommt Holzbrand an die Schule?
Hans-Peter Jakobson
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The lecture reviews the wood kilns used in the Nigerian traditional societies and the contemporary relevance of wood kilns to ceramics pratice in Nigeria under a depressed economy in which other sources
of energy generation had been rendered unreliable
KASHIM, Isah Bolaji (B.A. Industrial Design, M.A. Industrial Design, PhD
Industrial Design with specialization in ceramics design). He is a Senior
Lecturer and Acting Head of Department of Industrial Design, Federal University
of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. He has taught ceramics in the
polytechnics and university for over a decade.
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Unglazed Surface Effects in Short Wood Firings
My presentation is about my own exploration of the Bizen technique of charcoal
covering and related techniques. The focus will be on generating interesting unglazed surfaces through a
holistic approach to the process which involves integrating the materials,
forms, loading strategies, firing cycles and special tools while using a
minimal amount of fuel.
Eric Knoche is a ceramic sculptor currently living and working in Asheville,
North Carolina, USA. He has lived and worked in Thailand, New York, India, and Japan.www.ericknoche.com
The Estonian Ceramists Association and the Kohila Symposia
For questions or suggestions contact
Markus Böhm, Alt Gaarz 6, D-17248 Lärz
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