mel jacobson on mon 2 jan 12
i have been thinking about this topic.
tony is moving his temp because of other reasons, not
age or inability.
turner has found a very exciting glaze with crystals.
that is why he is changing. business and aesthetic reasons.
i am going to rebuild four kilns at the farm.
the salt kiln is down and we are going to re/do it.
smaller.
kurt's kiln is coming to the farm.
our tiny stoneware kiln will be rebuilt.
kurt's kiln will be installed.
this is not for hay creek....it is for a few friends to use
and for me to use. it will all be much easier to fire and
use.
the wood kiln will be done with groups of people.
zac and kevin will run that program.
so.
i am thinking of moving my temp up. maybe cone 13.
the world is going to cone 6, i may go `up` some more.
i can fire those kilns fast and efficiently. what is a few
more degrees? in fact, i think i can fire as fast as
those firing cone 6. and, maybe with less fuel.
i will not let age run my life. as i tell people, as i age
i just get better equipment...larger snow blower, better garden
tractor. lighter kiln shelves... less work for me...but, can still do.
being infirm, ill or have serious health issues...then the ballgame
changes.
as i said one of the first years on clayart.
`if hamda had to go to jail for three years
and there was only cone 04 clay and an old
electric kiln...he would still make great pots.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Lee on tue 3 jan 12
On Mon, Jan 2, 2012 at 3:07 PM, mel jacobson wrote:
>
> as i said one of the first years on clayart.
> `if hamda had to go to jail for three years
> and there was only cone 04 clay and an old
> electric kiln...he would still make great pots.
>
I shared the photo below with students today (first day of class), of
Shimaoka's Hagi Chawan he dug out of a shard heap, repaired and took to
Burma during WWII. (One of Mel's students is in my class.) Shimaoka said
he really wanted to take a Hamada teabowl with him, but this was all he
could afford.
In the British prison camp, Shimaoka worked in the infirmity where
he could get glass bottles to crush and make glaze. He fired a kiln,
burning old tires for fuel. Made tea sets.
Those British were gentlemen, even with the
Japanese prisoners of war. It is amazing that Shimaoka and the teabowl
made it back home from Burma. When the war ended, he was released in
Burma, and had to walk to a port to find sea passage home. He once told
me, "Many of my friends I served with, did not survive the war. I
couldn't believe I made it home. I vowed to to my best with my spared
life."
Repaired Hagi Teabowl with Indonesian wedding fabric case:
http://bit.ly/uxNshW
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he land
of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent within
itself." -- John O'Donohue
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