Jeremy Nudell Kalin on wed 26 apr 00
I would like to issue a word of caution about any attempts to accurately
determine this figure. As an undergraduate student, I was participating in
a wood firing at an experienced and well-exposed (for lack of a more
appropriate phrase- he's been around the block talking about wood kilns to
say the least), I was surprised to hear this potter and another well-known
potter estimate the total number of wood kilns in the US at 100! When I
asked if he knew of woodkilns firing by people whom I knew, they each said
htey hadn't been aware of them.
The best guess I can come up with is an average of 10-50 in each state;
there are so many woodfirers, working off the beaten path, who do not seek
the acclaim of the clay community in the same way that others do. Each
path- isolated or community-oriented- has its merits and should not be
derided by the other. However, my caution is not to be dismissive of those
whom we have not heard of, or who choose to live and work with a different
attitude from our own.
That said- can I guess the number of jelly beans in the jar at maybe 700?
Anyone else wager a guess?
Watching the tulips and garlic grow,
Jeremy
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