Over the two days while the wood kiln cooled, Simon and I co-demonstrated our different pottery making techniques to the workshop participants. It was both a lively and relaxing week for me with music-making and shenanigans and new friends! I will go back for more. Amy Song offers these types of workshops a couple of times a year with different visiting artists--and her kiln produces gorgeous results. If you're interested in wood-firing, I highly recommend a trip to her beautiful pottery on the banks of the Fox River in Plano, Illinois! Click here for River Song Pottery Workshops We built it! Unfortunately, the first firing of our Coyote Kiln of Many Colors wasn't quite what we'd hoped, but as Jack Troy says, "there's a lot of good information there". (We overheard this comment from Jack at the Northwest Wood Fire Conference, and it really stuck with us.) Our wood kiln obviously needs a few tweaks, but we had fun and learned a lot and can see from the ash distribution that our kiln will perform beautifully when we can actually get it to desired temperature! Here are a few of pictures from the construction and first firing. We will be raising the shed roof (again), making our chimney taller, rebuilding our "Chunnel" (horizontal chimney tunnel), increasing the size of our flue, and insulating the front and back walls with fiber and cement board. Then we'll be golden! Stay tuned....
 The Coyote Kiln Crew: Heather Hitt, Jeremy Noet, Ann Marie Cooper, Amy Popelka Living the Dream In January of this year, almost a year into the lonely pandemic, 3 masked friends and I gathered around a bonfire and made a plan to give us a little light of hope and excitement during a difficult time: to build ourselves a small wood kiln. Shortly thereafter, things started to happen. In the spring, we dug a hole and poured a concrete slab. Then a friend offered me bricks! Once we were all fully vaccinated, our cohort took an exciting ferry ride in a large rental truck to fetch them. In the summer, we built a roof. And now it’s fall, and we’re stacking bricks into the shape of a kiln which we hope to finish and fire this winter. If you know me at all, you know I’ve been firmly hooked on wood-firing since my first experience almost 9 years ago. So this is a big, dream-fulfilling deal to me. I’m going to compile photos and document the process here. There are already some funny stories that deserve sharing. I’ll keep you updated on the progress of the Coyote Kiln Project.  My Mary Tyler Moore impression, and my cups on display at Urban Forage Cidery. In March, I went to the annual NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) convention in Minneapolis. Land of the Mary Tyler Moore Show and Warren McKenzie. I found inspiration traveling by bus through the Upper St Croix River Valley, visiting the studios of Matthew Krousey, Will Swanson, Janel Jacobson, and Linda Christianson(one of the invited artists in our upcoming Good Earth Pottery pitcher show). The numerous gallery exhibitions offered drool-worthy and jaw-dropping examples of what ceramics has to offer, I even had the great pleasure of seeing my own work in an NCECA sponsored exhibition, "You've Been Served" organized by Clay Arts Vegas and the University of North Dakota ceramics department. The vast array of studio tools in the expo hall is overwhelming and covet-worthy. All in all, it's a highly stimulating and overwhelming experience, brought to its apex by the community of people that readily embraces each other. I feel fortunate to have found myself in this tribe of clay people, who understand the struggles and triumphs and why we keep repeating the madness that is ceramics. This, my 5th NCECA, did not disappoint when it came to the people. It strengthened existing friendships and built new ones, and was just what this working potter/gallery owner needed to energize herself for the coming year, both in the studio and the gallery--and life in general! See you next year in Richmond, Virginia!
I'm pretty ecstatic to share that two photos of my work (with captions written by yours truly) are included in the new, revised edition of "The Encyclopedia of Pottery Techniques" by Peter Cosentino. I feel very honored to have been included--especially after seeing some of the other artists pictured within.
It wasn't all deep thoughts and deeper conversation (although there was plenty of that), we ate well, we laughed, we danced, we fortified friendships, we learned. Every wood-firing teaches me something new about the process, and about myself. (Who knew I'd love to wield a machete?)
  I'll add more pictures of my work from Simon Levin's Thunder Train kiln to my wood-firing portfolio page soon.  Back Row: Ann Marie Cooper, Heather Hitt, John Brooks, Any Guelmann, Jenn Gavlin, Tracy Rock, Nick Kestler Front Row: Mike Rogers, Zoe Peterson, Liz Duarte, Phi Le, Tara Wilson If you follow me on Instagram (@annieoclay), you probably know I have a passion for wood-firing. That passion is always there, smoldering in the back of my heart and mind throughout the year between firings. It fully ignites when I have a firing on the horizon, or in this case, just past. Recently I had the opportunity to fire with renowned Montana wood-firer, Tara Wilson, thanks to the Washington Clay Arts Association. As part of the WCA's annual Summer Social, we teamed up with Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA, to host a workshop for WCA members, with Tara as our fire master. What a time we had! The weather was wild: cold, windy, hot, windy, cold, windy, windy. Did I mention windy? The participants varied in experience level, from newbies to experienced wood-firers. The anticipation, camaraderie and cooperation created a delightful firing atmosphere, despite the challenges we encountered along the way. Midway through the firing we struggled to even the heat of the kiln. The front roared beyond where we wanted, while the back remained too cool. Eventually we succeeded in balancing things out with a little Tara Wilson know-how, and we managed to get the back of the kiln up to a solid Cone 10 (which was our goal, although up front, Cone 11 was a puddle and we hit 2460 on the pyrometer). The roaring temperatures made for a lot of group sculptures, and the broken shelf in the front section didn't help those pots any, but there were some mighty fine survivors, and I think the newbies are hooked!
Thank you, Any Guelmann, for the slow-motion stoking video!
Here are a few more pieces that spoke to me. Sadly, I did not get the names of the first two artists pictured, but the wood-fired platter in picture three is by none other than American wood-firing icon, Jack Troy. (I'm seeing a trend in my favorites....🔥)
I'm a people person....and I didn't ever realize that until I became involved with ceramics. Since then I've discovered that I need my clay community, these conferences, these connections that help me be the best me--within my clay life and outside it (yes, I have that, too). I thrive on those familiar smiles and hellos in the hallways, the winks across the hotel lobby. 😉 Like many folks, I'm reserved at the start of an acquaintance, but once that connection is made, I'm all in. Apparently at this NCECA, I was so in that these are the only people pics I brought home (the first I borrowed from my friend, Karen Wise (so wise she always remembers to take photos in the moment). To all those of you whom I shared this experience, know that I treasure every moment--my roomies, fellow wanderers, drink sharers, dance partners: Liz, JJ, Meredith, Heather, Amy, Simon, Harry, Irene, Damian, George, Sudhi, Ellie, James, Liz, Erin, Mya, Zak, Karen, Sean, Jake, Rickie, Kimberly...and so many more, including the new folks I met and hope to get to know better at future conferences. And to those I didn't get to see or visit with longer, let's try for more next year!
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Ann Marie CooperConsumed by a love of clay. Archives
October 2022
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