I recently returned to my old stomping grounds where I studied for my undergrad to do a gas firing of some pieces for a sale next month. I seem to be endlessly drawn back to the aesthetics of reduction firing, even though I’m in love with the results of electric highfire. It’s always an interesting debate to get into with people as I still often find that the ceramics community has its own share of elitists who would have you believe that electric firing is easy. In the 4 years that this has been my focus I have found that it is anything but. And in arguably I think that each method of firing has it’s own perks and pitfalls, but none is easier than another, less labor intensive…maybe. But while the firing of a wood kiln for 6 days, plus chopping all of the wood is exhausting, there is a reward in that the atmosphere of the kiln plays such a great role in resulting finish and aesthetic of the work. On the other hand, it is true that all I have to do is program my digital electric to do as I wish and then I’m off to do other things, but I believe that the skill and knowledge required to make electric fired work beautiful is difficult. The results are more under your control and your responsibility. Nothing is a given, there are great predictable firings, and then there are those that go horribly wrong with no explanation. While I don’t look favorably on the labor of long hours of firing into the night, breathing carbon filled air, I find it equivalent to the hours in studio researching and testing glazes for electric. I once fought with a glaze for over 4 month to get it to perform just right.
Personally I’m a sucker for anything and everything clay based, and have no elitist notions of which firing aesthetic is better, but I do take offense to the snubbed nose attitude I’ve seen from other artists who think that electric fired is a sub-aesthetic.
On a different note though I had an interesting encounter with an old prof, actually the one who had taught me to throw years ago. While working in the glaze room, preparing for this gas firing, the subject turned to pricing and sales of work. I had recently seen some of this prof’s work for sale at a local gallery and had been shocked at the cheapness of the prices. Not to name names, but this is an artist of high standing in the Canadian community and I guess I had just expected higher prices. So standing there in the glaze room, I called him on it, and asked why? The response I got to this day troubles me. And admittedly I’m not sure if it was meant with sarcasm or not, one can only hope. When asked why he sold his work for so little, he replied, “I am but a laborer”. To me this is the epitome of what is wrong in the craft discipline – the artists themselves devaluing their own skills, knowledge, artistic vision, disciplined craftsmanship, and researched and developed aesthetic. A laborer…sigh. Why not a highly skilled laborer? “But a laborer”? It seemed so negative. I truly hope that it was a comment intended to be sarcastic otherwise as a young artist trying to make a living and challenge myself in the craft medium of ceramics, I have more opposition that I thought, the opposition not only being outside of the field, but from within.
