Tony Ferguson on sun 7 dec 03
Earl,
I did not mean to say that an electric kiln was lesser--just more
predictable. I think a bribe is un-necessary--if you have a friend who wood
firers, offer some form of compensation. Otherwise, take a workshop with
someone you feel you have something to learn from--always look at the pots
to get a sense of the particular kiln's aesthetic and see if it jives with
your own.
And yes, it is always a hell of a ride! Best part is seeing work that can
never be made again--and so I suppose it perpetuates the search and
discovery of the aesthetic, never boring, always exciting.
Thank you.
Tony Ferguson
On Lake Superior, where the sky meets the Lake
Custom & Manufactured Kiln Design
Stoneware, Porcelain, Raku and more
by Coleman, Ferguson, Winchester...
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com
218-727-6339
315 N. Lake Ave
Apt 312
Duluth, MN 55806
----- Original Message -----
From: "Earl Krueger"
To:
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2003 8:22 PM
Subject: Re: Predictable Unpredicability: Why I fire The Mini
> On Sunday, Dec 7, 2003, at 10:04 US/Pacific, Tony Ferguson wrote:
>
> > Why do I fire an anagama?
>
> So, lets see if I got this straight.
>
> Me and my electric kiln are like a cross country skier;
> steady, dependable, predictable.
>
> Whereas you and your wood kilns are like down hill racers.
> Sometimes you get to the bottom and sometimes you don't.
> But either way you have one hell of a ride.
>
> Is that it?
>
> Hmmm, maybe I'll see if I can weasel my way in on one of
> Odin's firings. I'm due for a wild ride. What's the best bribe
> to a wood firer?
>
> Earl...
> Bothell, WA, USA
>
>
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Tony Ferguson on sun 7 dec 03
Earl, Paul has said everything I would but I will add (nice cup by the way
Paul! Thanks again!)
Why do I fire an anagama? It is because the anagama is so unpredictable that
I fire this way--and yes, I have cried and been mad "I am never going to
fire that piece of *@#*$#*$ again!". Yes, I have had entire oxidized ugly
dull brown peach shino. Yes, there have been thousands of dollars and time
lost. I have had a few of these "bad" firings. And then there is the half
oxidized half reduced look to where there are a few keepers--maybe half the
load. I am glad I built my kiln before graduate school so I could
understand that "failure" is still part of the learning process.
Wood firing is not for the individual who expects and must have complete
reproducibility. Wood firing for me is about letting go of control--setting
up the composition of forms (pots) paints (glazes), another composition (how
the pots are laid out in the anagama) and then facilitating the final
maturation of the composition through the paint brush of fire and ash. If I
was a bit better organized, hadn't been in a car accident while in graduate
school, I could probably fire my anagama once a month--and we have 3
children, I like to help out, and I spend a bit of time with the website,
marketing online, etc. My work is functional and yet they are also what
some of you like to call art pots. My kiln holds about 200 works of varying
sizes--plenty for a show, plenty to learn from. Enough to live off.
This is the advantage of the small anagama that most people don't get: you
can fire more often, test more glazes, clay bodies, firing techniques, gain
a great deal more experience than firing a few times a year. It is no
different than sitting down and throwing 100 tea bowls when compared with
throwing 10--you simply learn more by doing and the repetition of the act
allows you to eventually transcend the mind and enjoy complete intuitive
interaction with the material, a partnership in creating. There is much more
to learn from the Japanese tea masters than "that's a cool pot." There is a
philosophy, a pathway of action, a way of approaching how one does things
that is of great value to the student in clay. It is in teaism we see the
roots of our own abstract expressionism.
My second to the last firing I fired completely by myself. I promised
myself it was the last time as I had grown beyond the macho (I built my kiln
all by my little self and fire it) stage. However, I had to do it that way
at the time and it is amazing the connection one can develop with the kiln
and the firing process--it is not simply a vessel to heat your work and
mature them. It is a tool, an extension of your personality and yet a
personality that possess its own attributes and skills that are also
developed every time you fire--as is the same with you. I prefer now to
share my firings with others more frequently as the experience we all share
propels us down our own developmental pathways.
I learn something new every time I fire and welcome the unpredictability of
the entire process. I learned, because of multiple firings, how to modify
my kiln to get nice runny ash in the front and a peppering of ash in the
back which is perfect for certain glazes. Change the stack and back wall,
you get different effects--my stack was soft brick (so I could re-arrange)
for years until I found what I liked.
Every firing I have the opportunity to either stick with what works (which
is full of enough unpredictability) or try something new expanding my
awareness of what my kiln can do under different conditions--and there are
many ways to do this other than the stack or back wall changes--how you
stoke, the wood you use, the weather conditions, hydro-reduction effects
during and after the firing, salt, silicon carbide fuming, etc.
Most Americans think that the big kiln is it. We see this pictures from
Japan or somewhere else and marvel at the SUV of kilns. But if you do a
little research, you will find that many folks have smaller kilns and
usually small experimental kilns. If you make big Don Reitz things, then
you need a big kiln. I prefer the mini.
Firing with wood is something that should be experienced by anyone in clay
at least once if not multiple times. It will teach you the real meaning of
reduction and oxidation as you can see it happen. The birth place, the
origin of our process is in wood. For me, it all made sense in my early
wood firing experiences and I fired gas kilns better because I understood
how fire worked in a wood kiln. Whatever you choose to do, try to mix
things up bit, challenge yourself to not fall into something that becomes
too comfortable, too predictable.
Thank you.
Tony Ferguson
On Lake Superior, where the sky meets the Lake
Custom & Manufactured Kiln Design
Stoneware, Porcelain, Raku and more
by Coleman, Ferguson, Winchester...
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com
218-727-6339
315 N. Lake Ave
Apt 312
Duluth, MN 55806
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Herman"
To:
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 9:06 PM
Subject: Re: Last Kiln Firing
> Hello Earl,
>
> I'll comment below:
>
> ----------
> >From: Earl Krueger
>
> > OK, this prompts me to ask the question I've wondered about.
> >
> > How do people who fire large wood burning kilns, maybe 2 or 3 times a
> > year, ever learn how to do it with any kind of repeatability or
> > control?
>
> I'm not trying for absolute control or repetition. You really have to
> pay attention, and organise your tests well in advance. I have 6 months
> between firings. Look closely for patterns and tendancies, and try to
> take advantage of them. I think about it all the time.
>
> >The weather will be different. The wood will be different.
>
> The weather certainly can affect a firing, wet conditions cause more
> reduction. Speaking of which, it's raining like a cow peeing on a flat
> rock right now. Our last firing, in October, the wind came up big time
> on the last day. It blew from all points of the compass during that day.
> The kiln did fine, because we have a big fat chimney that can power it
> on through. My advice: Build a big fat chimney. The wood, well you CAN
> influence that. Wood isn't just wood, any more than clay is just clay.
> Gotta choose the wood with care, cut and dry it properly.
>
> > The pots will be different. The memory will have faded and notes can
> > only bring back so much.
>
> Notes? Huh! I tried to take notes, but it just doesn't work for me. In
> the midst of a firing, writing things down is the furthest thing from my
> mind. I do have certain theories about how build the setting, and how
> to stoke. It's all in my head. (uh-oh)
>
> > Mastering wood firing seems like a daunting task to me!
>
> Mastering? Hmmmm, brazen, aren't you? It'll teach you about humility. I
> don't think you'll have much luck trying to master it, more possibly in
> a collaboration. It's not something you can wrestle to the ground and
> beat senseless. Learning about it is daunting for sure, but one hell of
> a lot of fun!
>
> > Or do you just have to have masochistic tendencies to get into this
> > game? ;-)
> >Earl...
> >Bothell, WA, USA
>
>
> Well, I don't think it's necessary, but probably couldn't hurt.
> Oooohhhh, Anagama Baby, you beat me so good....
>
> Grand feu,
>
> Paul Herman
> Great Basin Pottery
> 423-725 Scott Road
> Doyle, California 96109 US
> potter@psln.com
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Earl Krueger on sun 7 dec 03
On Sunday, Dec 7, 2003, at 10:04 US/Pacific, Tony Ferguson wrote:
> Why do I fire an anagama?
So, lets see if I got this straight.
Me and my electric kiln are like a cross country skier;
steady, dependable, predictable.
Whereas you and your wood kilns are like down hill racers.
Sometimes you get to the bottom and sometimes you don't.
But either way you have one hell of a ride.
Is that it?
Hmmm, maybe I'll see if I can weasel my way in on one of
Odin's firings. I'm due for a wild ride. What's the best bribe
to a wood firer?
Earl...
Bothell, WA, USA
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