LOWELL BAKER on fri 29 aug 97
In my current profession I am so used to being misquoted and
misunderstood that I think some days it must just be me....
What I was trying to say was...Getting there is half the fun. No 12
hours is not a quick fire, but the question is; do you get the
desired results from that firing or would a shorter or longer fire
serve you better. If you simply want speed and ease wood is not the
answer. If you want ash, speed is probably not the answer. If you
want to loose a few pounds and smell really bad when you are finished
you should definately be stoking the pine.
There are probably people on this list, including me, who could fire
your kiln in a few hours. The question is to what end? I propose,
like I do with most of my more thoughtful students, that if you have
a desired result, it would be appropriate for you to share it with
us. when we are faced with a goal, we can set about finding a goal
oriented solution. Too fast, too slow, too hot too cold are possably
understandable by the individual who is making the statement but
rarely by their audience.
From time to time a student comes to me and says, "I don't like this
glaze" or "We are out of ------" If I am thinking, my response is
"That's a bummer" or "I'm sorry to hear that". If I pause for a few
seconds the student might rethink their statement into a question.
That question might even be goal oriented.
So far as the other line on making your living. I have done it. I
know it can be done. The place I would caution anyone in this
discussion is to be assured that it is not easy. I don't think I
would invest my venture capital in a high percentage of the students
I work with. Does that mean they can't make it. Nope. Does that
mean they won't make it? Nope. It simply means that I have
evaluated the chances and I find the risk too high. Does it mean I
will give them one second less of my time or indicate in any way that
they may not suceed at their personal dream or goal. Not a chance.
My only job these days is to teach and be supportive, and make some
art if I can.
I think I'm pretty clear on this. But, I could be wrong....
Lowell
it only took three hours to write this.
The University of Alabama
Peter Willis on sat 30 aug 97
I appreciate all of the responses to my Olsen Fast fire dilemma.
to lowell, this is my first response to your input and I want to clarify
some things.
My partner and I agreed on the Olsen Fast Wood kiln because A: We wanted
a quick firing time due to our busy scheduals. 2) We are located in a
very hard to get to place and gas would be an expensive and hard thing to
get. And finally we plan to use this kiln to experiment with firing
techniques and want to have fun with it while we both work on our
individual styles. I am very happy with my kiln and have discovered a
few things we did that we could change and increase the time. Our wood
was tooooo new and a little damp, our chimney a little short, and we
weren't stoking fast enough. So, I have invested my time and money and
heart into this kiln and I think it is worth the effort to fire this
thing the way it was designed to, in as little time as possible. If I
wanted to work my rear off all day and night, I would have built a
anagama or something equally lengthy to fire. I got a fast fire for that
reason, speed. I am happy with the ash that I got from this firing but
it was bonus.
Thanks for your support,
Becky Lowery
Lexington, KY
Getting ready to throw salt into my Fastfire Kiln ;)
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