October '09 Fire

This was one of the most memorable firings i've ever had the pleasure to do, largely due to the great friends and people who were involved in it; stories, music, comedy, food, and opening the firing up to the general public for viewing was fantastic; seeing their expressions and amazement brought me back (way back) to when I first got involved in it all in the early '90's; firing these types of kilns truly is an experience unlike any other.

manana manana, the puzzle, manana

The work is done and now the fun begins! Packing tomorrow, the fire will start thursday morning after my massage. =)
The orbs and oblong pieces are designed as cremation urns, all the rest is mugs, tumblers, plates, and bowls.

Brown Eye?

a close up shot of the concrete island i fabricated recently and the eye of an animal?

got wood?

The tree that has been threatening to crush our house is now firewood! It was a tense moment as the tree finally made it's way toward the ground; two trucks, one pulley and one cum-along were needed to get the job done and the house is untouched by the big leaning tree. thank you matt!

The Beauty Of Garbage and A Brain

2 weeks after slicing my thumb open, it's starting to heal, only minor nerve damage and into the bone; i think it might take a year or two to get it back to normal. i've been playing catch up with the polished concrete jobs and happened across some pretty cool images in my clean out area.
Kim is having a show this month at the cornerstone coffee shop in Mcminnville and one that starts at the end of the month at the Gaurdino gallery in portland.

the cool down

during the 2 days of cooling for the kiln, the first day is spent sleeping and eating while the second seems to be an obligatory trip to the beach to clear the head and paradox the intensity of fire with some outstanding visuals and some outstanding friends.

new pots

The fire went pretty good this time around, lots of great tea bowls and tumblers, and a few juicy tea pots that just keep making me laugh. This time we used cedar up until around 1800 degrees F then moved to fir and oak with a bit of cherry, elderberry, hawthorne, yew, alder, and apple. More pics and thoughts as i finish investigating the pieces. As always you can click on any image and it will magnify itself.

gearing up for the may wood firing

The next fire will be focused around larger works; I love making the big wall platters and shields, it gives me a chance to play with a lot of ideas in a two- dimensional format, though it's always hard to picture the end result being that the fire changes things so much. I'm hoping to have at least 8 of them ready. The following are 4 of them that are ready to go. They are 26 inches diameter and should shrink to roughly 23 inches when they're done.

STUDIO FRENZY

The damage toll has been minimal this time around; so far Kim has managed to only whack her head against a post resulting in a minor bump to the head. While Kim is working in the studio it's the intelligent person who simply stays away, the chaos of the studio encompasses her; emotional valleys, wet paint, razor blades flying, and table saw mambo. I simply shuttle wood for the stove in and try to avoid a whack to my head. Looking at her work of intricately cut paper and thousands of nails, one might not be able to imagine the whirlwind of activity behind the scenes. This thursday, february 26th we'll see how OPB has decided to edit these activities as she will be one of the featured artists on oregon art beat.

February '09 firing

72 hours of burning 2 cords of wood (a mix of oak, yew, cedar, and fir) 2 days of sleeping and eating afterwards, and I was unpacking some pretty interesting looking pots. I feel like the effects work better with the forms this time around; now I'm not sure yet if that's because the forms have morphed a bit, or if it's because the firing has improved (this being the 5th firing,) or a combination of the two........ probably the latter, regardless, I'm having a great time cleaning and investigating each one. I think next time I'll seal out oxygen while it cools and go for the more matte surfaces, for pleasure and to see more about what the cedar ash can do.
The above pics are a few pots I'm really diggin' for the moment and the chimney at fire-off.

FLOOD WATERS = SURFS UP!

My friend Corey Adams invited me to come check out an afternoon of surfing with him and his buddies....... on the river. The yamhill river is at flood stage warnings so it's sure to be an epic day.
click here for video