wood firing
I’m honoured to be exhibiting 3 Tea Bowls on the 1st Feburary.
In Pennsylvania United States
In The Community Arts Center 414 Plush Mill Road,
Wallingford PA 19086 United States.
It is a fantastic opportunity to see some wonderful wood fired ceramic work.
For more information https://communityartscenter.org/exhibit-type/current/
The first firing of my new wood fired kiln at the end of October 2018. With some support from Ealaíon na Gaeltachta I was able to build, and fire this kiln using only local clays.
Wood firing local clays to cone 8 [1250 celsius] and going very slowly to temperature, it was very interesting controlling the speed of the flames. I used some birch, but mostly local sitka spruce a fast growing pine in this Irish climate.
In 2014 I started using local clays that I found here on the Dingle Peninsula. At this time I only work with local clays.
I am very happy with the fired result from these native. The results are very rewarding I look forward to using the knowledge gained for the next firing.
Mo mhíle buíochas d’Ealaíon na Gaeltachta as ucht a gcuid tacaíochta thar na blianta leis an dtionscanamh seo. Thank you to Ealaíon na Gaeltachta for your support over the years with this project.
I was very happy to take part in this firing. The last firing of the Kerrygama was 4 years ago. This was a good opportunity to test the local materials in a woodfired kiln in this area. The pots were wood fired for seventy two hours using local spruce wood. I tested a native clay with nothing added to it, just a small amount of sand remived, from the Feothanach area. It will be useful in the future for woodfiring, the results showing promise. I also mixed this Feothanach clay with some refractory clay from a local bog. By combining the two clays, the pieces will have more fire strength, with less chance of slumping, and it can tolerate higher temperatures. I'm delighted to have this information now for the wood fire kiln I'm currently building close to my studio.
Wood fired unprocessed local clay. Fired for 72 hours with local spruce wood.
Wood fired Yunomi made from 100% native clay from Feothanach. Fired for 72 hours with local spruce.
Wood fired local clay mix. Fired for 72 hours with local spruce wood.
The Kerrygama kiln May 2017