October Firing at the Gustin Anagama

October is a beautiful month in New England, and the weather was perfect for the loading and firing at Chris Gustin's studio in South Dartmouth, MA. Loading commenced on Thursday, October 6th, and was finished up on Sunday, the 9th.

Front stack of anagama after loading, pre-fire.

 Once the floor grate and firebox door was in place, pre-heating began. On Monday, October 10th the front chamber was started, and on Sunday, October 16th, the third chamber was completed. There were many pieces in this firing, from clay artists around the country, that had been donated for the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts' 25th Anniversary Invitational Wood Fire Auction, Exhibition, and Raffle. Unloading was on Saturday, October 29th.

Front stack of anagama after firing, pre-unloading.

Below are images of pieces I had in this firing. Inquiries about these works are welcomed. Please contact me, via email, at lmkoonce@mindspring.com for additional views, dimensions, prices, etc.

Chawan (Tea Bowls)

On Exhibition: From the Center to the Edge

2

Yunomi (Tea Cups)

  

1

SOLD

3

SOLD

On Exhibition: 2012 Yunomi Invitational

SOLD

Tokkuri (Sake Flasks)

On Exhibition: Ocean in a Cup

2

On Exhbition: Ocean in a Cup

Katakuchi (Sake Pourer)

1

Guinomi (Sake Cups)

1

2

3

On Exhibition: 100 Wood Fired Cups

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Starbrick Clay National Cup Show

Recently, this guinomi (shown below) was selected for inclusion in the Starbrick Clay National Cup Show 2011. Juror Kristen Kieffer chose 50 pieces to be exhibited from over 300 submitted entries. The exhibition will run from September 25th - October 25th at the Starbrick Gallery, 21 W. Columbus Street, Nelsonville, Ohio; telephone (740) 753-1011.


Wood fired Sake Cup



A Couple of Summer Firings with Jeff Shapiro

I was fortunate to be able to fire in Accord, NY at the studio of Jeff Shapiro this summer. In June, the anagama was fired, which lasted six days. In July, I helped fire his "tea bowl" kiln. This is a sweet little kiln that is used to wood fire small wares that are glazed.

Kogama Tea Bowl Kiln

Below are a few works that came out of the anagama firing in June, followed by a piece from the July firing.

Anagama



Sake Cup



Sake Cup



Sake Flask



Tea Bowl Kiln



Shino - Black Oribe Sake Cup



 


Strictly Functional Pottery National

The guinomi (sake cup), shown below, was recently juried into the 19th annual Strictly Functional Pottery National. Juror Mary Barringer selected 110 pieces to be exhibited from a field of 853 submissions. Presented by the Market House Craft Center, East Petersburg, PA, the show will be on view from September 24 through November 06, 2011. It can be viewed on line by clicking on this link: http://www.strictlyfunctionalpottery.net/sfpn2011.html

Wood fired Guinomi

June firing of the Gustin anagama

It was another great firing down in South Dartmouth, MA this past June at Chris Gustin's wood kiln. After three days of loading, firing commenced for six days. After a couple of weeks to cool down, we unloaded July 2nd.


Front stack, Gustin anagama

At the height of firing the front chamber, I pulled a guinomi  (sake cup) from the front stack and immersed it in water. This is a technique known as "hikidashi", which originated in 16th century Japan around the Mino wood kilns. Pieces with iron-rich glaze or slip will give a rich variety of black due to the rapid reduction cooling. The cup was glazed with a slip made from wild clay dug out of the Connecticut River. Here is an image of the finished piece:


Black Seto Guinomi

Below are images of a variety of my work from the kiln:
(This work is available for purchase; correspondence at  lmkoonce@mindspring.com  for pricing, dimensions, descriptions, and more images of particular pieces).

Chaki

(Tea caddy for thin tea)

  1

 2

Chawan

(Tea Bowl)

1

2

Kogo

(Incense Box)

Tokkuri

(Sake Flask)

ON EXHIBITION

2

ON EXHIBITION

Katakuchi

(Sake Pourer)

Guinomi

(Sake Cup)

ON EXHIBITION: Daily Companions (Baltimore Clayworks)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

ON EXHIBITION: Daily Companions (Baltimore Clayworks)

11

SOLD

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

ON EXHIBITION

22

Atmospheric Fired Exhibition

The following two pieces were recently selected for Atmospheric Fired 2011. This exhibition, an invitational and juried show, exemplifies ceramic work that is atmospheric fired, such as wood, salt, soda, raku, etc. Juried by Lorna Meadon, the exhibition will be shown at the Carbondale Clay Center, 135 Main Street, Carbondale, CO from July 1st through August 2nd, 2011. The opening reception is Friday, July 1st, 6-8 pm.


Sake Flask with Blue Drip



Tea Bowl