Victoria E. Hamilton on sun 21 may 06
Martie -
Wonderful! I eagerly await the next installment.
Occasionally in our studio, someone will wonder how long some of those
pieces have been sitting on the kiln. "Surely they must be dry enough by
now?!" Funny.
Vicki Hamilton
Millennia Antica Pottery
Seattle, WA
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Martie (AKA the
Kiln Priestess)
Sent: Sunday, May 21, 2006 18:11
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Memoris of a Kiln Priestess--Part One
"Memoirs of a Kiln Priestess" installment one, "Desperately Kneading Clay"
By Dr. Martie Geiger-Ho (A.K.A., The Kiln Priestess)
This story is dedicated to anyone who has ever humbled themselves (or has
been humbled) before a kiln or kiln god-you know who you are.
My involvement with kiln gods began innocently enough. At first I was only
pinching small amounts of clay-but soon my needs grew and I had to find
new sources of clay in order to keep up with the expansion, both in size
and number, of my humble, kiln guardians. When I was sure that no one was
watching, I would collect little scraps of clay from under the table or
from inside the extruder where large smooth ribbons of it had been left by
some other less attentive and needy student. The type of clay that I
picked up and added to my clay stash didn't matter to me-I had become a
non-discriminate clay user. For me, coarse dirty clay with bits of
cigarette ash mixed with common floor dust and debris had become just as
acceptable as the highest grade pure, white, buttery porcelain, which
unfortunately, I had the chance to sample only on the rarest of occasions.
I am telling you all of this so that you can have some understanding of
just how hard I had fallen under the spell of the kiln gods. I was totally
dedicated to the task of trying to learn the art of firing kilns and of
trying to please the kiln guardians early on in my academic training as an
art student supported by payments from a GI Bill.
My military training had taught me how to make kiln gods covertly (I
learned how to make covert art as an 03-Delta, or Arts and Crafts
Specialist while stationed in Panama, Canal Zone, in the late 70's) and I
became very adept at using the ruse that I needed to check the damper on
the up-draft kiln, so that I could nonchalantly slip through the kiln yard
and find a location where I could fashion my kiln gods without being
noticed. The most risky part of being a kiln god initiate or cult follower
isn't the gathering of illicit clay, or the even the fashioning of the
kiln gods themselves-it's really the final ritual placing of the gods that
is dangerous. This is because, as everyone knows, a kiln god statue, no
matter what its outward appearance, cannot actually be incarnated with a
protective kiln god spirit until it has been accorded its proper place
either directly on the kiln or in a specially prepared niche or altar that
has been located near the kiln. At least this is the way that Western, and
particularly American kiln gods are "worshiped" or attended to by potters
hoping to garner the favor of benevolent kiln spirits.
Most kiln god conflicts come from non-initiates in fields outside of the
ceramic realm who seem to feel threatened by the various shapes and
attitudes proffered by a prominent array of highly individualized kiln
gods that are the hallmark of any healthy university or private kiln
yard. Perhaps these people are suffering from kiln god envy, or maybe
they have lost their ability to relate to primal art, but whatever the
underlying psychological cause of their anxiety towards kiln gods may be,
it generally results in a complaint that erroneously reports the goings on
of pagan cult activities that need to stopped in the ceramics department.
The unfounded accusations of these misinformed tattletales is the reason
why potters must be discrete in their kiln god related activities. This is
also perhaps why no one in the West has ever dared to reveal the secrets
of proper kiln god etiquette and veneration. No one that is, until now.
Next Installment will be: "Bad Karma in the Kiln Yard"
____________________________________________________________________________
__
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.
Martie (AKA the Kiln Priestess) on sun 21 may 06
"Memoirs of a Kiln Priestess" installment one, "Desperately Kneading Clay"
By Dr. Martie Geiger-Ho (A.K.A., The Kiln Priestess)
This story is dedicated to anyone who has ever humbled themselves (or has
been humbled) before a kiln or kiln god=97you know who you are.
My involvement with kiln gods began innocently enough. At first I was only
pinching small amounts of clay=97but soon my needs grew and I had to find
new sources of clay in order to keep up with the expansion, both in size
and number, of my humble, kiln guardians. When I was sure that no one was
watching, I would collect little scraps of clay from under the table or
from inside the extruder where large smooth ribbons of it had been left by
some other less attentive and needy student. The type of clay that I
picked up and added to my clay stash didn't matter to me=97I had become a
non-discriminate clay user. For me, coarse dirty clay with bits of
cigarette ash mixed with common floor dust and debris had become just as
acceptable as the highest grade pure, white, buttery porcelain, which
unfortunately, I had the chance to sample only on the rarest of occasions.
I am telling you all of this so that you can have some understanding of
just how hard I had fallen under the spell of the kiln gods. I was totally
dedicated to the task of trying to learn the art of firing kilns and of
trying to please the kiln guardians early on in my academic training as an
art student supported by payments from a GI Bill.
My military training had taught me how to make kiln gods covertly (I
learned how to make covert art as an 03-Delta, or Arts and Crafts
Specialist while stationed in Panama, Canal Zone, in the late 70's) and I
became very adept at using the ruse that I needed to check the damper on
the up-draft kiln, so that I could nonchalantly slip through the kiln yard
and find a location where I could fashion my kiln gods without being
noticed. The most risky part of being a kiln god initiate or cult follower
isn't the gathering of illicit clay, or the even the fashioning of the
kiln gods themselves=97it=92s really the final ritual placing of the gods th=
at
is dangerous. This is because, as everyone knows, a kiln god statue, no
matter what its outward appearance, cannot actually be incarnated with a
protective kiln god spirit until it has been accorded its proper place
either directly on the kiln or in a specially prepared niche or altar that
has been located near the kiln. At least this is the way that Western, and
particularly American kiln gods are "worshiped" or attended to by potters
hoping to garner the favor of benevolent kiln spirits.
Most kiln god conflicts come from non-initiates in fields outside of the
ceramic realm who seem to feel threatened by the various shapes and
attitudes proffered by a prominent array of highly individualized kiln
gods that are the hallmark of any healthy university or private kiln
yard. Perhaps these people are suffering from kiln god envy, or maybe
they have lost their ability to relate to primal art, but whatever the
underlying psychological cause of their anxiety towards kiln gods may be,
it generally results in a complaint that erroneously reports the goings on
of pagan cult activities that need to stopped in the ceramics department.
The unfounded accusations of these misinformed tattletales is the reason
why potters must be discrete in their kiln god related activities. This is
also perhaps why no one in the West has ever dared to reveal the secrets
of proper kiln god etiquette and veneration. No one that is, until now.
Next Installment will be: "Bad Karma in the Kiln Yard"
Marcia Selsor on sun 21 may 06
Martie,
I retired in 2000 in May. I did a residency in Iceland in Spet. 200. =20
In Oct. I thought..gee
I wish I would have gotten a photo of all the kiln gods on the kilns..
more than a hundred for sure. When I stopped ny to see if I could =20
photograph them, I was
told they had all been removed because the new teachers felt they =20
were bad Karma. In November of 2000
the kilns caught fire to the roof of the kiln room...twice. Both gas =20
kilns were shut down permanently.
One was rebuilt in the spring.
Looking forward to your second installment. Nice to hear from you =20
after so many years.
Marcia
On May 21, 2006, at 7:11 PM, Martie (AKA the Kiln Priestess) wrote:
> "Memoirs of a Kiln Priestess" installment one, "Desperately =20
> Kneading Clay"
> By Dr. Martie Geiger-Ho (A.K.A., The Kiln Priestess)
>
> This story is dedicated to anyone who has ever humbled themselves =20
> (or has
> been humbled) before a kiln or kiln god=97you know who you are.
>
> My involvement with kiln gods began innocently enough. At first I =20
> was only
> pinching small amounts of clay=97but soon my needs grew and I had to =20=
> find
> new sources of clay in order to keep up with the expansion, both in =20=
> size
> and number, of my humble, kiln guardians. When I was sure that no =20
> one was
> watching, I would collect little scraps of clay from under the =20
> table or
> from inside the extruder where large smooth ribbons of it had been =20
> left by
> some other less attentive and needy student. The type of clay that I
> picked up and added to my clay stash didn't matter to me=97I had =20
> become a
> non-discriminate clay user. For me, coarse dirty clay with bits of
> cigarette ash mixed with common floor dust and debris had become =20
> just as
> acceptable as the highest grade pure, white, buttery porcelain, which
> unfortunately, I had the chance to sample only on the rarest of =20
> occasions.
> I am telling you all of this so that you can have some =20
> understanding of
> just how hard I had fallen under the spell of the kiln gods. I was =20
> totally
> dedicated to the task of trying to learn the art of firing kilns =20
> and of
> trying to please the kiln guardians early on in my academic =20
> training as an
> art student supported by payments from a GI Bill.
>
> My military training had taught me how to make kiln gods covertly (I
> learned how to make covert art as an 03-Delta, or Arts and Crafts
> Specialist while stationed in Panama, Canal Zone, in the late 70's) =20=
> and I
> became very adept at using the ruse that I needed to check the =20
> damper on
> the up-draft kiln, so that I could nonchalantly slip through the =20
> kiln yard
> and find a location where I could fashion my kiln gods without being
> noticed. The most risky part of being a kiln god initiate or cult =20
> follower
> isn't the gathering of illicit clay, or the even the fashioning of the
> kiln gods themselves=97it=92s really the final ritual placing of the =20=
> gods that
> is dangerous. This is because, as everyone knows, a kiln god =20
> statue, no
> matter what its outward appearance, cannot actually be incarnated =20
> with a
> protective kiln god spirit until it has been accorded its proper place
> either directly on the kiln or in a specially prepared niche or =20
> altar that
> has been located near the kiln. At least this is the way that =20
> Western, and
> particularly American kiln gods are "worshiped" or attended to by =20
> potters
> hoping to garner the favor of benevolent kiln spirits.
>
> Most kiln god conflicts come from non-initiates in fields outside =20
> of the
> ceramic realm who seem to feel threatened by the various shapes and
> attitudes proffered by a prominent array of highly individualized kiln
> gods that are the hallmark of any healthy university or private kiln
> yard. Perhaps these people are suffering from kiln god envy, or maybe
> they have lost their ability to relate to primal art, but whatever the
> underlying psychological cause of their anxiety towards kiln gods =20
> may be,
> it generally results in a complaint that erroneously reports the =20
> goings on
> of pagan cult activities that need to stopped in the ceramics =20
> department.
> The unfounded accusations of these misinformed tattletales is the =20
> reason
> why potters must be discrete in their kiln god related activities. =20
> This is
> also perhaps why no one in the West has ever dared to reveal the =20
> secrets
> of proper kiln god etiquette and veneration. No one that is, until =20
> now.
>
> Next Installment will be: "Bad Karma in the Kiln Yard"
>
> ______________________________________________________________________=20=
> ________
> 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 =20
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
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