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10.18.99
eight.a
FIRE IT UP
Students build passion for art into 24-foot kiln
Members of the KU ceramics department survey some of the 200 fired pieces. Many pieces exploded, fused or fell apart in the kiln. Anagama firing is characterized by its uncertainty.
STORY BY SHEA MAYBERRY PHOTOS BY SHELBY SMITH
SURROUNDED BY 5-FOOT-HIGH WALLS OF STACKED WOOD, RYAN PAGET, SCOTT CITY SENIOR, GRABBED WOOD SCRAPS A YARD LONG OUT OF THE PILE AND READIED HIMSELF FOR THE BLASTERING HEAT Radiating OUT OF THE KILN.
"Ready, open, stoke, close," said Adam Welch, Northern Arizona University senior, as Paget continued to feed wood into the fire.
This was the drill every five minutes for a group of ceramics students Wednesday, Oct. 6 as they fired the 24-foot student-built anagama kiln for the first time. For 40 hours students manned the kiln on West Campus behind the University Press building, as the fire consumed 4 tons of wood, and the temperature in the kiln climbed to 2.400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Inside, the earthenware art baked.
Construction of the kiln began in spring 1998 in a class taught by Joe Zeller, professor of design. The class explored how different kilns were made.
The wood-fired anagama kiln is part of a 600-year-old Asian method of firing ceramics.
This firing was a cooperative effort between KU ceramics students and students from Northern Arizona University who have experience with anagama firing.
"It is critical for students to know how things are fired," Zeller said. "It allows them to reach their aesthetic goals."
Chris Obert, Toppenish, Wash. graduate student, designed the kiln and has been a driving force throughout the process. David Vertacnik, associate professor of design, and Zeller have directed the building of the kiln and assisted with the development of the design.
Several students put this theory into practice, designing and building the kiln, not for a grade, but because of their passions for ceramics.
The KU kiln is unique because it was built with recycled materials. Students constructed the kiln using 5,000 salvaged bricks from an old boiler on campus. When Oberran out of bricks, he made his own from leftovers in the ceramics workshops.
Zeller said only about 50 anagama kilns existed in the United States. The one closest to the University is at the University of Iowa.
The kiln's outer layer of 5 1/2-inch bricks, made of waste clay and sawdust, creates an insulating layer around the kiln.
"Ready, open, stoke, close," Welch said.
As Paget and Welch dropped handfuls of wood into side ports at the rear of the kiln, Brian Harper, Northern Arizona senior, pulled on his hooded sweatshirt. He put on his stocking cap, pulled it down tight over his forehead and put on two thick insulated gloves over his hands.
Harper grabbed three pieces of a split walnut stump and opened the door to the main fire box in front of the kiln.
He threw up his forearm, shielding his face from the heat as it threatened unprotected skin. The inside of the kiln was glowing a bright orange. The wood scraps exploded into flames. Flames
Black smoke billowed from the chimney. Lured by the chimney's pull, flames lunged out the top and skirted around the side port doors toward the rear of the kiln. Ash hung in the air.
engulfed the pottery, swirling around and between each piece. Harper closed the door and took off the uniform.
"The process is what is so engaging," Paget said. "You know exactly why your work looks the way it does. We are hoping for a wide array of surfaces to the work."
Wood firing creates a natural ash glaze as wood ash falls on the pottery and melts on the surface. Earth tone colors such as mustard and burnt siemna are characteristic of this type of firing. Flame patterns are obvious on the surface of each piece. High-temperature firing gives the finish a three-dimensional look.
Two hundred pieces of pottery were included in the firing. Pieces included large jars, pots, flat platters, bowls, cups and decorative pieces. Some cracked and fell over, some exploded, some stuck to neighboring pieces — all a part of the normal firing process.
All the fuel used in the initial firing was scrap wood donated from manufacturers in Kansas and Ohio. The team fed the fire anything that would burn, including teeth, hearts, stars and cows — all wooden, of course. These figures were carved remnants from a decorative trim manufacturer in Perry.
The position of the pottery in the kiln also affected the finished product. Obert tumble-stacked the pieces, putting them on top of one another using only nonstick clay between the pieces, instead of the shelving that is traditionally used. The process increased the speed of the flame as it moved and created a turbulent flame pattern. This creates varied pieces and dramatic glazing effects.
The speed of the flame and the heat of the fire dramatically can alter the look of the fired ware.
The kiln will give students in the ceramics program more options for finishing their work. With the anagama kiln, the firing technique is as much a part of the artistic process as creating the pieces, Obert said.
The anagama firing process results in a less traditional aesthetic product. The outcome is not as easily controlled as other methods of firing. Zeller said artists had to be involved in the process of the anagama firing for a successful outcome.
Obert said he thought that the kiln design was successful, but that it was not an exact science. Each firing will yield different results. A level of uncertainty characterizes anagama firings.
But the unpredictability is part of the romance of the style. Each handmade anagama kiln has its own personality, each piece of pottery tells its own story of an encounter with the flame.