Merrie Boerner on tue 15 jun 99
Hello Friends !
"We only have one layer of arch brick and a few feet of flue left
to stack after four wonderful days of cleaning, stacking , laying, and
leveling brick for my modified Groundhog kiln. We are having a blast on Hog
Chain Drive.....working hard, playing hard, and planing on firing this
"MOTHER"
(the name of the kiln) up late tomorrow. Lowell Baker has done a phenomenal
job of instructing a group of 16 potters/ brick scrapers / levelers / brick
layers / arch
builders / Gatorade getters / and want-a-be-carpenters in a four day
marathon kiln building endeavor."...........I wrote this late last
Tuesday....never got back to the computer for the rest of the workshop
week......just too darn busy ! I'll try to catch yall up with the rest of
the week........
We woke up Wednesday feeling like a group of Irish dancers with our arms
dangling limp at our sides.We got juiced up with coffee or Gatorade, and
finished up the kiln building....then glazed our pots and loaded up. Lowell
fit about 500 pots into the chamber ! At 6:15 PM, we had a brief ceremonial
lighting of the flame, then assigned stoking shifts. I chose the 4 AM
shift. When I arrived Thursday morning, the flame was alive ! The stoke
hole (about 2' wide and 2' tall) is in the front of the fire box, which is
directly in front of the stacked pots. As the fire dies down, you can look
through and see the stacked pots being licked by the flame ! This was my
favorite part ! I fell in love with wood firing a while back when one brick
was removed to check cones in Lowell's kiln in Alabama. I watched the white
flame dance around the silhouette of one pot.....mesmerized ! I was able to
enjoy SEVERAL pots throughout my entire firing with this new kiln ! We
could see several on the bag wall and on the shelves above.....the flame
was fantastically intense after each stoke....then it would calm down and
dance around, over, and through the pottery.....I'll have to say we did a
little dancing ourselves ! (especially when "Burn Baby Burn" played on the
jam box. ; )
By 7 AM the pots were glowing and the flame reached all the way through to
the flue. We began stoking with larger pieces of wood. By 9 AM cone 8 was
down in places ! Raising the temp was obviously NO PROBLEM ! So, Lowell
directed us as we blasted off or just maintained about 2,200 degrees for
most of the afternoon. About 10 pounds of salt was added on top of boards
at around 2 PM. Ashes were shoveled out and thrown back into the stoke
hole....My husband came home from work and we blasted it off twice before
shutting it up at around 6:30. Scott coaxed our dog into giving up a "road
kill" she was mighty proud of....then he stoked it....adding a bit of bone
ash and laughter.....Everyone was fulfilled and excited all at the same
time ! We put on our "Hog Chain Workshop" T-shirts (with dancing hogs
holding a pot in the air)....went to the local Mexican restaurant......ate
and laughed some more. We ended up at the kiln site late that night to
check things out and admire the job well done.
Friday we cooked and cleaned up the place a bit as we tried to divert our
attention from the cooling kiln. Patience is a hard virtue to come by when
pots are cooling ! We set a specific time for unloading....just so we
wouldn't jump the gun. Many people were commuting and we needed to have
everyone here on time ! So, 10 AM Saturday, I asked to be the first in the
kiln to deliver the pots to their makers. I called out names and presented
several pieces as if they were new born babes. I was so enthralled, I
stayed in the kiln the whole time ! Only a few pots were lost......but
there was an excellent percentage of beautiful pottery !!!! Salting was
beautiful and GREAT ASH !!!! Local people were trying to buy it on the
spot ! I came out of the stoke hole to find a sea of wood fired pots on
pallets near by. We each put our own pots together, took pictures, and
began wrapping. I was overwhelmed with the whole situation !!!! Hugs and
tears seasoned "Good-byes" and promises to fire again sustain me.
First I would like to thank EVERY participant for the scraping of
bricks....they were used brick, and had some sandy mortar that had to be
cleaned....about 6,000 of them at 9 pounds EACH !!!! I thank Lowell for
being such an excellent teacher and for designing the perfect kiln for me !
I thank Scott Sanders from DC for being part of the staff, without whom the
log, typing, dishes and angle iron would not have come to pass. I thank
Andrew Lentini, from Savannah, for creative inspiration on collaborative
pots, and pre-workshop help. I thank Melanie Eubanks from Petal, MS for her
darling character and her energy in scraping brick and stoking the flame,
and for taking me for a ride in the back of her truck. I thank Tom Hughes,
from Natchez, MS, for his steady fortitude, hard work, and the handmade
cross necklaces he showered over everyone involved. I thank David Hoggatt,
from Sanibel Island, FL, for his friendly, loving spirit and his leveling
ability, strength,...and his height ! That man can stack a flew ! I thank
J Koehler, from Brookhaven, MS, for her kindred spirit and enthusiasm ! I
thank CJ Coleman from Sturgis, MS, for her cheerful spirit and wonderful
smile as she worked hard. I thank Bill Newman from Baton Rouge, LA, for
supplies from Southern Pottery Equipment and Supplies, and for working
hard, and for supper at the Mexican restaurant. I thank Daniel Hopper from
Clinton, LA, for such hard work for a beginning potter and for driving such
a distance every day !!!!! I thank David Hammel from Ft. Myers, FL, for
his endless energy and fascinating knowledge. I thank Christine Straka from
Ft. Myers, FL for her wonderful laugh as she ENJOYED scraping brick ! I
thank John Jensen from Savannah, GA for his hard work and for
demonstrating on the wheel (threw 25 pounds and made a beautiful pot). I
thank Steve Myers from Mobile, AL for his hard work in the hot sun.....and
for remembering how cute I was 15 years ago ; ) . I thank Juliet Johnston
from Jackson, MS for her help with Ice chests, scraping brick like a champ,
and taking the hottest shift at stoking ! I thank Keith Carpenter from
Fulton, MS for working so hard. And I thank my husband, Bill from
Brookhaven, MS for being such a gracious host....cooking for us, taking
care of essentials, and giving me such support from the beginning till the
end of this project!
What a WONDERFUL workshop !!! (If I do say so, myself !) Now it is time
for me to turn the knobs on my electric kiln to "high"......getting an
order ready for delivery tomorrow......ho
hum......yawn.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Craving the flame, Merrie in Mississippi
If you are interested in photos or the firing log, please email me at
Boerner@tislink.com
| |
|
