Since age 15, I have been actively creating art, either in my imagination or in practice. Between the formal fine art training I received and the various apprenticeships I have engaged in, I see my life as an artist intertwined in everything I do.
For 35 years, clay has been the most important of the materials I use to create my art. I find that pottery talks directly to my need for tactile intimacy, communication, and expression. In 2005, after many years of firing my work in other peoples’ kilns, I built a high temperature wood-fueled kiln in my backyard. Through every process of making my pottery I try to minimize the impact on the environment. The fuel I use is fallen wood in my neighborhood that would otherwise be taken to the landfill. The kiln burns very efficiently and, therefore, no smoke is emitted to further pollute the air.
In addition to mining local clays, I gather, split, stack, and stoke the kiln. I believe that, by using my own energy, I am forced to directly confront the question of whether the pots I make deserve being fired at all. I believe that I am more responsible in the use of energy resources if I have to create that energy myself. I like the physical work involved in working with clay, obtaining and preparing the wood, loading and unloading the kiln and I like the look of wood-fired pottery. I glaze most of my pots with a liner glaze, but the outside glazing results from the ash in the atmosphere of the kiln and its reaction to the clay and the white or red slip I use for decoration. As a result, my use of purchased refined chemicals is lessened and therefore my exposure to dangerous raw materials is minimized. I can never predict what the surface will look like and, for me, this is a major attraction of this type of firing.
I will learn over time how the design of the kiln, the barometric pressure and other weather factors, the type of clay, the shape of the pot, the speed of the firing, and the type of wood affects the ultimate look of the pots that come out of my kiln. This will take a lifetime.