News from Earth and Fire -- November 1, 2006
Can these pots really go in the oven!!??Bill van Gilder tells a joke about a bunch of potters running down the list of everything they need for a firing. The punch line is basically that although they might forget matches, they never forget the beer.
Not to say that potters are all a bunch of drunks, but that firing a kiln, especially a wood-fired kiln, is generally a communal effort. Firing with wood is a very labor-intensive effort. The kiln is tended constantly for about 17 hours. Wood is fed into the firebox at just the right pace to keep the temperature rising steadily, until it reaches about 2300 degrees Farenheit.
2300 degrees. That's hot. The oven in your kitchen, by comparison, is like a cool summer day.
When Bill van Gilder dropped off the pots that he and Blair Meerfeld fired together this month, he sent along some pictures that photographer Benita Keller had taken of the event:
Bill van Gilder, making a watering can
Blair Meerfeld -- waiting for a match
Blair Meerfeld - stoking the fire
Not sure what it is Blair is looking for here, or why he still has his eyebrows....
This is why your insurance company frowns on you having a wood-fired kiln in the backyard
Bill van Gilder selects pots for the November Gallery walk
Blair selects his pots for the show
Ready to see the fruits of their labors?
Bill van Gilder's pots from the firing.
Blair Meerfeld's pots from the firing.
The weather report for this Friday promises NO RAIN!!!! so I'm hoping for a good turn-out from 6 - 9 pm to see the pots in person. There are also five original landscapes from Kesfra Hoffman.
Attention collectors of Byron Temple pots!
Click here for information about the Silent Auction currently underway
New work has arrived from Barb Campbell.
That's going to do it for this time. Hope to see those of you who are in the area Friday night, November 3 -- from 6 pm to 9 pm.
Have a good week.
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