Claude AUSSAGE on wed 22 oct 03
Some of you could be interested knowing that an old wood firing kiln has
been fired again after 50 years of inactivity, in St Amand en Puysaie-France=
(not far from the wineries of Sancerre...)
Several big wood firing kilns (up to 100m3, i.e. 3500cube feet !) were in
production until the 50's. 3 years ago, the 100m3 kiln was more like a
green house : trees growing over (and even in) it.
An association has been set-up to put it back to work by a small dedicated
team managed by Fran=E7ois Eve, who did a fantastic work, with some limited
local authorities support. 2 weeks ago, the first firing in 50 years was
concluded successfully after 15 days of firing, exactly as planned, and
with an enormous amount of emotion...
Workshops, exhibitions, etc. are expected in the future on the site.
More info on www.patrimoinepotier.org (firing Temp. profile, photos of the
firing...)
Edouard Bastarache Inc. on wed 22 oct 03
Salut Claude,
merci pour l'information.
Ici, il faudrait se render à l'évidence qu'il n'y a pas que
les orientaux qui ont de solides traditions en poterie/céramique.
Nathalie Civard a-t-elle assisté à cette cuisson?
À plus tard,
"Ils sont fous ces quebecois"
Edouard Bastarache
Irreductible Quebecois
Indomitable Quebeker
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
http://sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
Joe Coniglio on mon 27 oct 03
Bonjour Claude!
Your posting was a joy to see. I have forwarded this to my French friends
and my Belgian (French) speaking wife terminal at work so she can browse and
translate for me.
I don't understand the language but the photos are fantastic. All the very
best. It looked like a wonderful time to be alive. I saw a lot of kiln
action. Hundreds of photos. Now I'm going to browse to see the resultant
pottery!!
Cool shots of the pots cememted on the roof!!!!!
All folks in some of the shots take note of the roof tiles. Yowser!! Those
are Berthas!! WOW!! A testiment to tenacity!! Rock On!!
ALL THE BEST.
Joseph in Stamford (god's own) Connecticut USA
Taylor Hendrix on wed 29 oct 03
Howdy y'all:
These little moments of convergence keep coming. I read Claude's post
earlier in my evening shift. I have just now begun to read the 1981 volume
of Ceramic Monthly only to find in the March issue on page 55 this
article: "Traditional Wood Firing in France: The Massive Kilns of La
Borne". If you have access to this back issue, you should read it. Great
pictures of a typical La Borne monster kiln. Wow, I'm jealous.
Taylor, in Waco
On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 05:02:53 -0500, Claude AUSSAGE
wrote:
>Thanks Joseph for your encouragements... Sorry for the pictures' comments
in
>french, but they have been updated live, in the hurry !
>
>Some news : The kiln is now sufficiently cold to be opened. Ahhhh...
>
>But before getting to the pots, the team has to dismantle the chimney !
>Ooops, seems strange, is'nt it ?
...
Claude AUSSAGE on wed 29 oct 03
Thanks Joseph for your encouragements... Sorry for the pictures' comments in=
french, but they have been updated live, in the hurry !
Some news : The kiln is now sufficiently cold to be opened. Ahhhh...
But before getting to the pots, the team has to dismantle the chimney !
Ooops, seems strange, is'nt it ?
If you know the traditional St Amand kiln type (or La Borne, same...) you
already know that there is NO chimney, just a sort of holy wall at the back,=
which you rebuild partly each time you fire, because it's the way you get
inside the kiln... The reverse compared to usual "tunnel-like" kilns.
There is a tale about this curious design - Though I doubt it's historically=
founded - is that some travelling guy saw an anagama in Japan, got back with=
the plan, and locals built it the wrong way...
More seriously, this design was very convenient to have both a huge way to
put pots inside (very usefull indeed for the type of pots they were doing
: big jars for preserving meat in salt for example) and a very strong
permanent backwall behind the 'grate' area.
For this firing Fran=E7ois decided to build an more conventional chimney,
which needed 15 tons of bricks in itself. Thanksfully, there is no plan to
fire this kiln often !
All that to say it will take time to get to the door... Last Monday, Linda
and Co started to 'unbuild' the chimney, so we will be able to see the pots
next week. More pictures to come ! In the mean time, I'm going back there to=
practice wheelbarrowing...
Keep an eye on www.patrimoinepotier.org
Russel Fouts on thu 30 oct 03
Claude
>> For this firing Fran=E7ois decided to build an more conventional
chimney, which needed 15 tons of bricks in itself. Thanksfully, there is no
plan to fire this kiln often ! <<
I've heard of this type of kiln before, I think you can find historic ones
like in this in the states as well, probably brought by french settlers.
Why did she decide not to use it in the tradional manner, why build a chimney?
Russel
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75
Http://www.mypots.com
Home of "The Potters Portal"
Over 2300 Pottery Related Links!
Updated frequently
My work can also be seen on:
The World Crafts Council International Site: http://www.wccwis.gr
The World Crafts Council Belgium Site: http://wcc-bf.org (English Pages)
EasyCraft: http://www.easycraft.org
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that
we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American
public." --U.S. President (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Theodore
Roosevelt.
Edouard Bastarache Inc. on thu 30 oct 03
Russel,
french settlers mostly settled in Quebec and
I have never heard of such kilns here.
I do not about other places where they settled such as
the rest of Canada, middle and southern USA,
certainly not by the Cajuns.
Later,
"Ils sont fous ces quebecois"
Edouard Bastarache
Irreductible Quebecois
Indomitable Quebeker
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
http://sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
http://www.digitalfire.com/education/toxicity/
Russel Fouts on thu 30 oct 03
Claude,
Sorry I got the name wrong, it was mixed with a bunch of code in your email
and I assumed it was the feminine form.
Anyway, I'm sure kilns like your are rare in the states. I was only
remember (probably incorrectly) something I saw a picture of years ago. In
any case the idea of having the back closed by open brickwork is something
I've seen before.
>> Efficiency. This type of kiln have usually a big temperature difference
between mouth and chimney. 1300->10000C. If you look at the shape (like a
rocket engine nozzle !) and the lack of chimney, that's quite logical. In
the old days, they put biscuits or flower-pots at the rear. Not critical
if underfired... This time, that was not the case. All the pots needed to
be properly fired at 1250+ ! That's was in fact a big gamble, as nobody
used this kiln this way before, ever ! All the old guys said before the
firing "if you get 1100 at the rear, you would do very well..." The team
struggled a lot but got the 1250+ rear cone flat (cones were a meter from
the rear) with a good soaking time at the front... <<
It would be interesting to fire it in the historical manner some time.
Maybe if you contacted some earthenware potters, you could cover all temps.
Hope the kiln opening went well. We're waiting to see the pictures.
Russel
At 11:13 30/10/2003, you wrote:
>Hi, Russell...
>
>Traditional American kilns I know (the one I've seen in the books !) seems
>more
>pure tunnel like (Groundhogs...) If you have more info about similar kilns
>in US,
>I'd be interested in...
>
>About the chimney addition reason, I will ask the same question to
>Frangois next
>week-end to be sure... I wasn't in St Amand at the time he decided the
>options and
>last time I was there he was too busy with the firing and all the event
>organization, that was not the time for strategic questions anymore....
>but only
>to move tons of wood !
>
>I could see 2 main reasons :
>
>Security. There is just a little passage (about 2 meters) between the kiln
>exhaust
>and another building behind (contemporary to the workshop operations !)
>including
>a door (it seems it was originally steel-made). As the event was public
>over the
>week-end (!), this was safer.
>
>Efficiency. This type of kiln have usually a big temperature difference
>between
>mouth and chimney. 1300->10000C. If you look at the shape (like a rocket
>engine
>nozzle !) and the lack of chimney, that's quite logical. In the old days,
>they put
>biscuits or flower-pots at the rear. Not critical if underfired... This
>time, that
>was not the case. All the pots needed to be properly fired at 1250+ !
>That's was
>in fact a big gamble, as nobody used this kiln this way before, ever ! All
>the old
>guys said before the firing "if you get 1100 at the rear, you would do very
>well..." The team struggled a lot but got the 1250+ rear cone flat (cones
>were a
>meter from the rear) with a good soaking time at the front...
>
>Claude
>
>
>
>Russel Fouts a icrit :
>
> > Claude
> >
> > >> For this firing Fran=E7ois decided to build an more conventional
> > chimney, which needed 15 tons of bricks in itself. Thanksfully, there is no
> > plan to fire this kiln often ! <<
> >
> > I've heard of this type of kiln before, I think you can find historic ones
> > like in this in the states as well, probably brought by french settlers.
> >
> > Why did she decide not to use it in the tradional manner, why build a
> chimney?
> >
> > Russel
> >
> > Russel Fouts
> > Mes Potes & Mes Pots
> > Brussels, Belgium
> > Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
> > Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75
> >
> > Http://www.mypots.com
> > Home of "The Potters Portal"
> > Over 2300 Pottery Related Links!
> > Updated frequently
> >
> > My work can also be seen on:
> > The World Crafts Council International Site: http://www.wccwis.gr
> > The World Crafts Council Belgium Site: http://wcc-bf.org (English Pages)
> > EasyCraft: http://www.easycraft.org
> >
> > "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that
> > we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only
> > unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American
> > public." --U.S. President (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Theodore
> > Roosevelt.
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75
Http://www.mypots.com
Home of "The Potters Portal"
Over 2300 Pottery Related Links!
Updated frequently
My work can also be seen on:
The World Crafts Council International Site: http://www.wccwis.gr
The World Crafts Council Belgium Site: http://wcc-bf.org (English Pages)
EasyCraft: http://www.easycraft.org
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that
we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American
public." --U.S. President (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Theodore
Roosevelt.
Claude AUSSAGE on mon 3 nov 03
Hello... My two guesses about chimney addition were correct. Fran=E7ois said=
that was the only improvement they can really do to get the expected
temperature. As for the security, it was not really because of the public,
but mostly because the rear wall was not in a really good condition, so the
chimney could also be a containment box if it collapsed !
Playing with old toys need some extra care, but gives also extra sensations
!
The chimney now is gone down, and I have seen the rear wall. It has indeed a=
serious slope, the top going backwards with a nice overhang ! That wall
cracked a bit, but dozen of previous firings have sealed and vitrified it
sufficiently not to move too much. This adds to my admiration to these
guy(s) who dared to fire the kiln....
We got a first look at the pots through the rear wall holes, seem nice and
well fired (should be !) a few piles of small pots at the rear have gone
down (probably due to excessively rapid cooling during the fagots fun
session at the end of the firing !!!)
Claude
Claude AUSSAGE on fri 7 nov 03
St Amand - R. Jacques' Kiln opened... We started to unload it on tuesday,
and we are doing that very carefully because a few piles are touching each
other. Unpacking 2m80 piles of big pots Pise style, that's a slow,
meticulous and tiring process. But franckly wa are slow also because whe
spend a lot of time looking at the flamme passages in the kiln and at the
pots themselves.
Incrediblingly we had ash and flamme effects through all the kiln even 8m
from the firebox... Beautifull pieces at the rear with flashing, ashes, and
vault droppings. Sometimes droppings were however heavier than expected as
the old time guys had repaired the vault's cracks with materials not suited
for high temperature, so we have a few pots broken or with strange
'concretions'. Not everybody's taste...
We'll continue to unload all week end, but from what we have seen at the
rear, I am sure it will be fantastic at the front. All the team is already
very, very pleased with the result.
Pictures soon on the web www.patrimoinepotier.org !
Claude AUSSAGE on fri 14 nov 03
Unloading of St Amand's big kiln almost finished...
You can have a look at the pots on
http://asppp.free.fr/gallery-defournement/index.html
and some extra pictures on
http://www.chez.com/rabs/StAmand/
All the credits for the success are for Francois and his team...
Claude Aussage
Paul Herman on sun 16 nov 03
Claude,
Thank you for sending the link to these pictures. It was a great
pleasure to see them, and to read about repair and firing of the kiln,
after it lay dormant for 50 years. My compliments to the people who did
this.
And Clayartors, if you haven't looked, you are missing something
wonderful. The roots of our Art are old and deep, and it's reassuring to
see people keeping the connection strong.
Grand feu,
Paul Herman
Great Basin Pottery
423-725 Scott Road
Doyle, California 96109 US
potter@psln.com
----------
>From: Claude AUSSAGE
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Re: Firing of a big old kiln in St Amand (FR)
>Date: Fri, Nov 14, 2003, 1:40 AM
>
> Unloading of St Amand's big kiln almost finished...
> You can have a look at the pots on
> http://asppp.free.fr/gallery-defournement/index.html
> and some extra pictures on
> http://www.chez.com/rabs/StAmand/
>
> All the credits for the success are for Francois and his team...
>
> Claude Aussage
| |
|
