Through knowledge and commonsense we can empower ourselves to work safely within a potentially hazardous environment by taking responsibility for ourselves and our actions...
iring a Bourry box down-draught kiln can be quiet, calm and civilised. Most of the time is spent sitting and watching the firebox work. When larger pieces of hardwood are used, a single stoke of wood can last up to one hour. I like this kind of firing; it makes for a very laid-back firing experience, but of course it isn't for everyone.
or three months, from July to August 2008, I undertook a McKnight Artists Residency for Ceramic Artists, awarded by the Northern Clay Centre (NCC), Minneapolis, MN, US. I was also supported in this residency by a Mid-Career Fellowship from the WA Department for Culture and the Arts. I originally became aware of the NCC in 2002 when participating in the Upper St Croix Valley Studio Tour, Minnesota. I was invited to participate by Jeff Oestreich, and was based at his studio, about an hour’s drive north of Minneapolis. Whilst there I visited the NCC a couple of times and was very impressed with the facilities and the very professional promotion of all aspects of ceramics.
Phil Elson offers some thoughts on tea and early memories
I
am writing about teapots. I make many more bowls than I do teapots, however there is something about teapots; something that evokes early memories, the very earliest memories. Mothers and teapots, they seemed to go together. Mothers, and friends around for cups of tea; and that shape – that round teapot shape – always there, always about the place. I remember it; remember its roundness – white with blue drawings and a stain from the tip of the spout down to the base. It is in my sea of memories; permanently, it seems. And now I make teapots; not white with blue drawings, and, hopefully, devoid of brown stains. This is what pots can do for us; take us to places that otherwise may be inaccessible – places that remind us of the roundness of life.
An overview by Johanna DeMaine
