Donalson on sun 11 may 03
Northern Arizona University will be offering two, two week workshops, =
conducted by Jason Hess ( cover of CM a couple of years ago, seven tall =
woodfired bottles), this summer, that may be of interest to some of =
you.
The first, a Salt/Soda Workshop will begin July 7 and run to the 21st.
The following kilns will be fired as quickly and as often as we can fill =
em up with work. A forty cubic foot hardbrick salt kiln, gas fired, =
downdraft, has produced many a beautiful pot. A large catenary arch, =
crossdraft, woodfired kiln that we built beginning in the fall semester. =
This baby has been fired four times thus far and is a gem. No =
sidestoking required, hinged stoking door just above waist height, =
making it user friendly even for the over 40's. Fantastic =
autobiographical, directional flame patterns show up throughout the =
kiln..sweet ash and soda effects. This kiln can be loaded, fired and =
unloaded in 72 hours and will be fired often. The third kiln is a 40ish =
cubic foot crossdraft, gas fired, soda, that we are building new next =
week. Modeled after a kiln that Matt Long uses to get his exciting =
carbon trap soda effects=20
. =20
The second workshop is a Woodfire offering that runs from July 23 thru =
August 6. Again there are three kilns that will fired at least once =
during this two weeks. The above mentioned soda kiln has a siamese twin =
that shares a stack with it's sister and is used just for woodfiring, no =
salt or soda. Fires quickly, no sidestoking and gives up some beautiful =
work. We have just brought in a good amount of oak and elm to =
supplement our usual pine and add some exciting color to the fly ash =
glazes. The second kiln that will be fired is the "Train". Jason =
built this kiln two years ago, modeled after John Neely's design. Tons =
of ash effects, puddles cone 12 often, requires a small amount of =
sidestoking and, like the catenary, thirty hours of firing. The third =
kiln to be fired will be one of two anagama's at the complex. Each is =
large, eating up tons of pots and wood and requiring 4 to 5 days of =
firing. Radical ash effects close to the firebox and stunning glaze =
effects with ash highlights as you go deeper into the stacking chamber. =
Sidestoking the last two days of the firing.
Wood... There will be some mechanical splitting of pine rounds, no =
hand splitting of sidestoking stock as we have located a source of =
hardwood strips that we have just been crosscutting. 90% of your time =
will be spent making art and firing wood kilns.....NOT getting blisters =
on your hands and picking out slivers, if you get my drift.
Studio... Open as long as anyone wants to work. A mix of new electric =
wheels and some older Lockerbie's with motors. Peter Pugger and Soldner =
mixers, mucho bisque kilns, a spray booth you could take a nap in and an =
excellently supplied glaze room. Raw clays in abundance and variety for =
those that want to mix their own.
Fees. Three units of credit from NAU and a $50 materials fee will cost =
you less than $500! Whether you are lucky enough to live in AZ or not. =
http://www.distance.nau.edu/summer/taking/sumtnfee.aspx
Housing.. Plenty available on and off campus. $30 per night will keep =
you comfortable. Camping available within comfortable commuting =
distance.
Flagstaff. Great place to visit. Cool in the summers with 80* being =
about as hot as if ever gets, dipping into the 40's at night even in =
July. Lots of great places to eat, several micro breweries. More =
hiking trails than you could explore in several summers, Grand Canyon =
less than two hours away, Indian country, petrified forest, painted =
desert yada yada yada..
The crew.. A core group of ceramic majors at NAU are taking each of =
these workshops. Each of these folks have been here at least three =
years and they all know the ropes ....their jobs this summer are to make =
art and make these workshops an enjoyable, educational and memorable =
experience.
Contact.. jason.hess@nau.edu
Plug. Tell him Ponaldso tipped you to these events.
Craig AZ
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