MEET “BOB”
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This is Bob, my 75 cubic ft anagama style wood burning kiln. Bob is my second woodkiln, built during the first year of the pandemic where I spent 4 months alone in the woods slowly grinding and stacking bricks, bringing her to life. I listened to a lot of John Prine that fall, and learned more about myself, and life, than I possibly ever have. By winter she was ready to fire, and since then, with a group of committed friends and fellow makers, we have fired her 8 times with exceptional results. Each firing improves as we get to know how Bob behaves, and as the bricks collect ash that is gifted back to us in subsequent firings.

I have been firing my work exclusively with wood since 2013, using no electricity or applied external glazes. Some tableware has a liner glaze applied to the interior for a smoother food surface, while the exteriors are left to be self glazed by the fly ash and fumes produced in the firing process. All the pattern work is made with various clay slips which results in a subtle textured surface. The nature of wood firing allows for each piece to be completely different due to its location in the kiln, what type of wood we are burning, or the weather that day. Like people, no two pieces are identical.

I typically fire 4-5 times a year, with a small crew. Each firing is four days and three nights of round the clock stoking to bring the kiln up to temperature. We work in shifts, taking turns on the long hours of stoking through the night. Noting the first bird song in the morning, or when the coyotes are at play, are some of the benchmarks that help us stay awake. Once the kiln is up to temperature, we continue adding small pieces of wood while the kiln cools, a process called “reduction cooling”. By continuing to add fuel and starving the kiln of oxygen while it cools, we are able to achieve results of deep blacks, bright reds and moody purples, all from the clay itself.

The majority of my work is made by hand using pinch and coiling methods, without the use of a pottery wheel. I work alone in my studio, with my cat, and breaks to visit our chickens or walk the trail behind our house. The work is inspired by my home, our garden, the landscape around me, and my relationship with it. There are many stories of life to be told through clay, and I’m aiming to tell them. It is my desire to create objects that speak of place and time, and help the user to slow down and appreciate their surroundings (the cup holding their coffee included).