So over the weekend I attended Prairie Flicker with the aim of learning what this whole junk-a-gama thing was all about. It’s wise to acknowledge though that as artists there is rarely true junk out there, or materials that we can’t find a new life for. This is particularly so for ceramics where anything in it’s final form can at the very least be ground down into grog. So when referring to a junk-a-gama kiln, we’re really not talking about junk, in fact the bricks we used were, while definitely not new, were in pretty good shape.
So the building began by about 11am and with a good break for lunch we were finished construction by around 3 that afternoon – now that’s my kind of kiln building! Mind you we had a lot of hands, but still, as much as I love a beautifully constructed kiln, my patience and my back can’t handle all the work. So a one day kiln was just my speed.
Here’s a few play by play shots of the construction:
The floor in place and the beginning of the walls.
A view of the fire box with stainless steal rods in place.
Walls complete and the chimney in place.
A view from the front to the back.
The checkered bag wall.
At last the packed kiln!
The aim was to reach at least cone 6, we had a good range of clay bodies and a select few glazes that could withstand a range in temperature. The top of the kiln was finished off with old shelves and a final layer of soft brick.
Unfortunately in the end with a one day firing we didn’t quite reach the goal temperature but with some minor adjustments the next firing should proceed according to plan. But melted glaze or not, what fun! Beyond that, this kiln was the perfect size for a backyard, single person firing wood kiln.
The workshop participants also got the chance to pit fire and raku. While I fondly remember back in undergrad my friend Jessie and I building our first kiln, a raku that we actually got a substantial amount of work through before it started to fall apart, it’s been ages since I’ve done a raku. It’s not that I’m not an admirer of raku work, it just that it doesn’t quite fit the work I’ve been producing over the last few years. But I was introduced to a new technique for raku this weekend that I’ve never seen before – chip slip. I was quite inspired…maybe there will be more raku in my future.
Here’s a shot of the slip being picked away, and a beautiful final result.
