Writings New and Old

This was a blurb we wrote for an exhibition and sale we had at our gallery back in 2008, just after we fired the kiln for 75 hours. Enjoy! 10 years in…….In 1998 we started the uphill journey into the art of wood-fired ceramics with a kiln building/firing in Edmonton at the U of A. At that time we had just completed our two story garage that was our studio, poured the pad for the gas kiln and ordered the bricks. But we stepped off the beaten path and something resonated in us, we found a way to finish our...

This is an article I wrote in 2004 I think? A time when Enzien and I fired with many groups of people and even though we fire mostly by ourselves this article still makes sense today, Enjoy! Why Wood?             The Beginning:     I like the first shift.  It’s a late fall night, cool, and quiet in a land of big skies.  This is a time when one needs to be patient but it also allows a time for reflection. Many thoughts flow through my mind the least of which being; why wood? Not that I don’t already have a mountain...

This is another one with our friend Jack Troy in it, Enjoy! Field trip I am not used to this road. Not just this particular road but this type of road. I am used to a flat, straight, close your eyes and count to five kind of a road. Here in central Pennsylvania the road is more like an asphalt roller coaster but without the safety of being strapped in. I am sitting in the back seat, which only enhances the experience. I reach for some Canadian ginger ale to settle my stomach and I think of home. Our pilot…...

Again this one is from the Alberta Potters' Association newsletter way back when. Enjoy!   AnotherExcerpt from the Book of Shards… This excerpt was taken from a conversation that my wife and I had with Jack Troy.   We walked up to Jack’s kiln just outside of his home in Pennsylvania, and just before we started the obligatory kiln tour I noticed a pile of shards just of to the side, with plants and years of debris scattered amongst the shards. Making a mental note of its location, we continued on with the tour, all the while my thoughts kept...

Here is another old one, Enjoy! ' The firing was a moderate success. There were ample ash deposits; flashing and just enough soda sprayed in at the right time to cause carbon trapping on the rims and edges of the pots. Still there was something amiss with a few of the items that lay upon the table. I first thought it was how they were jammed together on the small table, not being able to "see" them in their own space. I moved some of the better ones away, giving them a place all to their own upon a shelf...