ARTIST STATEMENT
At my core I am compelled to create meaningful artwork that explores the human experience in the hope that viewers will be challenged to live purposefully. I believe it is important for a viewer to walk away from an installation and have a special memory that they made there that they share with others and remember for a long time. I want my work to be a catalyst for the viewer to leave touched in some way.
The issues that are central and drive my work are faith, conflict, history, and irony. I start with faith because it has always been a part of who I am and how I was raised; it is foundational in much of my work. Next, I believe that through conflict we discover what we are capable of and without it, we become, as Roosevelt describes, “those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Furthermore, although I despised it in school, history fascinates me and provides endless inspiration. Finally irony; it exists in both tragedy and success and it seems to have the best and worst timing. Irony is the blunt reminder that we really don’t control much of anything in our lives.
About Wood-Fired Ceramics
Potters have the pleasure of working with the world's oldest and universal art medium. Shards of ancient pottery tell us about the lifestyle and culture of a people long lost. Not much has changed in pottery-making over a few thousand years, and yet it seems that humans continue to find new uses for clay everyday. From homes to toilets, water filtration, spacecraft parts, sound amplification, teeth, wedding rings, prosthetics, hair straighteners, and a plethora of others, there are few things that clay cannot do.
There is a certain confidence one can have with their expectations for results from an electric or gas kiln, or even in a salt/soda kiln. The glaze is carefully chosen and applied for a certain look or effect. The difference with wood-firing kilns is that the potter takes a somewhat masochistic approach toward the unexpected that requires loads of patience, observation and hope. All of the hard work can be negated by one small oversight while managing a box of fire energy that reaches nearly 1/4 the temperature of the Sun's photosphere. Nonetheless the joy and amazement from a successful firing proves priceless and a worthwhile investment of time and effort.
In an anagama (Japanese for "cave kiln") wood firing, many months are spent making enough pottery and splitting enough pine and oak to prepare for the 7-10 day firing. An experienced team of potters is required for around the clock stoking of wood. The door is sealed and the firing begins; by day three the kiln is close to the prime temperature (between 2200-2350 deg F) and is maintained for the days ahead with constant stoking and strategic influx of the internal temperature. After a final stirring of the coals and taking it to about 2400 deg F, everything is sealed up. The kiln must be slow-cooled over several days to allow the natural ash glaze to mature, form crystals and to prevent any cracking. Most commonly, no pre-glaze is used in wood firing. The vessels receive all of their color and texture from ash that flies throughout the kiln, which then melts and sticks to the pieces between 2200-2400 degrees Fahrenheit. Every firing produces unique results.
For a closer look at the process, visit Professor Hadi Abbas's website: www.autash.com or watch this video: http://vimeo.com/21119232
At my core I am compelled to create meaningful artwork that explores the human experience in the hope that viewers will be challenged to live purposefully. I believe it is important for a viewer to walk away from an installation and have a special memory that they made there that they share with others and remember for a long time. I want my work to be a catalyst for the viewer to leave touched in some way.
The issues that are central and drive my work are faith, conflict, history, and irony. I start with faith because it has always been a part of who I am and how I was raised; it is foundational in much of my work. Next, I believe that through conflict we discover what we are capable of and without it, we become, as Roosevelt describes, “those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Furthermore, although I despised it in school, history fascinates me and provides endless inspiration. Finally irony; it exists in both tragedy and success and it seems to have the best and worst timing. Irony is the blunt reminder that we really don’t control much of anything in our lives.
About Wood-Fired Ceramics
Potters have the pleasure of working with the world's oldest and universal art medium. Shards of ancient pottery tell us about the lifestyle and culture of a people long lost. Not much has changed in pottery-making over a few thousand years, and yet it seems that humans continue to find new uses for clay everyday. From homes to toilets, water filtration, spacecraft parts, sound amplification, teeth, wedding rings, prosthetics, hair straighteners, and a plethora of others, there are few things that clay cannot do.
There is a certain confidence one can have with their expectations for results from an electric or gas kiln, or even in a salt/soda kiln. The glaze is carefully chosen and applied for a certain look or effect. The difference with wood-firing kilns is that the potter takes a somewhat masochistic approach toward the unexpected that requires loads of patience, observation and hope. All of the hard work can be negated by one small oversight while managing a box of fire energy that reaches nearly 1/4 the temperature of the Sun's photosphere. Nonetheless the joy and amazement from a successful firing proves priceless and a worthwhile investment of time and effort.
In an anagama (Japanese for "cave kiln") wood firing, many months are spent making enough pottery and splitting enough pine and oak to prepare for the 7-10 day firing. An experienced team of potters is required for around the clock stoking of wood. The door is sealed and the firing begins; by day three the kiln is close to the prime temperature (between 2200-2350 deg F) and is maintained for the days ahead with constant stoking and strategic influx of the internal temperature. After a final stirring of the coals and taking it to about 2400 deg F, everything is sealed up. The kiln must be slow-cooled over several days to allow the natural ash glaze to mature, form crystals and to prevent any cracking. Most commonly, no pre-glaze is used in wood firing. The vessels receive all of their color and texture from ash that flies throughout the kiln, which then melts and sticks to the pieces between 2200-2400 degrees Fahrenheit. Every firing produces unique results.
For a closer look at the process, visit Professor Hadi Abbas's website: www.autash.com or watch this video: http://vimeo.com/21119232
