The Dragon fly-ash Gama

November 23rd -24th 2012-YEAR OF THE DRAGON-
The first firing was extraordinary! Everything went smoothly. The kiln was surrounded by passionate people, alot of wood and beautiful moon rays.
The temperature rose gradually the entire time. We all stayed relaxed but focused. The last 3 hours were very intense but very exciting. And out of the blue 6 friends showed up almost at the same time. They brought their energy, encouragement, food and enormous help. The firing lasted about 24hours including the warming-up.
Soon we'll open the kiln to reveal it's potential. I am extremely thankful to all the elements that made this amazing experience come through.

November 23rd 2012, loading the kiln for the first time
9am

Daniel in the kiln

4PM, the kiln is almost full

Start of kiln around 6h30pm

24th of november 2012, 1AM, the fire is finally warming us up a little

It is -4 oustide and it snowed

8AM, around cone05

8h25AM, chopping wood into smaller strips

The chopper

9AM , the kiln is going gradually and stongly

THE DREAMTEAM

2h30PM
The sensei

3h30 and cones 5 and 8 and 9 are down

4h20, the final countdown begins as cone 10 is bending

Full steam ahead

5h30pm,Final reduction

Fire show begins! 

Impressive flammes!

An unforgettable adventure

Building the Dragon

October 1st 2012, it's a miracle because I have a dream team all in place and booked to help me build my kiln.
Laying the floor with cement blocks.

measuring distances with the wooden frame

Daniel was the designer of the kiln and played the most important role

Me, mixing mortar. Alot more to go.

Hard brick walls are going up before the floor. I would have finished the floor before starting the walls.
J-D's technique. A very good idea.

Jean-David, a friend and a masson taught us many tricks of the trade.
Insulating the floor before putting the bricks.

Great team work. Starting the arch.

More work on the arch putting a fireclay and grog mix between bricks.

The arch is done. It took 2 days to finish it.

A great moment, removing the frame and seeing if it all holds together.

Looks good and straight!

Jean-David

Bryan and Veronik (left) taking care of the roof to come.

Building the door. Pascale (inside) helping with the scrapping inside the kiln.

The door is finished and Daniel has the pleasure and honour to bang the clef de voûte.

Stephane(with mask) helping with the insulation of the arch.

covering the kiln with mortar. (me)
J-D (left) getting the chimeney started. the chimeney is 2 thicknesses of soft brick.

David, also a masson, was a huge help all along

The chimeney being finished with cement block on the outside and 2 thicknesses of soft bricks on the inside.

It's the last day. The kiln and the door and the chimeney are all finished. It was a long day. 

The kiln is finished! Small fires are lit in it to dry out the chimeney and the kiln itself.
The building took 8 big days with the dream team: Daniel, Chris, Jean-David, David and Bryan who made the roof
And great friends who gave alot of time and energy to help: Veronik, Pascale and Stephane
The kiln belongs to all of them and their next generation too.
Saying THANK YOU is such s little word for all your energy, time and skills.
I hope the DRAGON will reward us all.

Spring 2012 firing

I finally filled a whole wood kiln for
a woodfiring for the first time. It was a lot of work but very exciting. I was very pleased with the results and the experience.(which I am very hooked on by now!) It's pretty nerve wrecking if you think about it too much, because filling a whole kiln like this one represents making around 200 pieces.Two hundred pieces to throw, trim, decorate, bisque, glaze, then transport to the kiln, load it, fire it (for about 12 hours), then unload it with fingers crossed the whole time. All this is alot of work and perseverence and a whole lot of belief in yourself!

And THAT is backed-up by friends and family that obviously support your crazy ideas and schemes. I am too well surrounded I think because some close people around me nourish those insane projects of mine and push me to go even further. It's amazing.  

In pottery, if things go wrong at any step of the way, it's a loss. If anything goes wrong in the kiln during the firing, then it's a huge and crushing loss. So why do potters do it? Why risk all that time and energy? Why do they keep firing in woodkilns anyways? I can only answer for myself... It's the thrill! The unknown mystery of the flame, fire and high heat that will bombard the delicate pieces that have been so carefully taken care of in every other step of the way until: the fire! Opening the kiln is usually done a few days after the firing, during those limbo days it's hard do do anything at all. It's a good time to rest eventhough deep inside, one is like a kid again, hoping that Santa will bring that gift they really want. Praying: PLEASE let it be nice! I'll be good , I'll work harder, but please let this kiln be nice!! And it is truly a ceremony to open the kiln. Brick by brick (and there are a lot of them!) slowly revealing the wonders that are unrecongnizable inside that dark and now quiet chamber which a few days back was raging with flames, heat and ashes. And there they are, all the pieces I've spent  months making, counting and packing. 

I take a piece out of darkness and bring into the sun to really see it.

 It's beautiful! Original! Very different! 

I MADE THAT??? 

WOW!

...a very happy moment...

Basboussa

Spring is here again. Nice warm air and budding vegetation everywhere.
Here's to spring with a little Egyptian dessert recipe.
Enjoy
It's much tastier cooked in a ceramics tray. Cooking in ceramics tends less dry and impossible to burn, not to mention healthier that aluminum or teflon cookware.












Basboussa:
1 1/2 cup of semolina
1 1/2 cup of plain yoghurt
1 cup of sugar
1 Table spoon of butter
a few drops of vanilla
-Mix everything together.Mixture should look soggy.
-pour in a nice ceramics platter.
-decorate with peeled almonds
-cook for about 20-30 minutes at 300F or until golden
Syrup:
2 cups raw cane sugar
2 cups water
-boil for about 15 to 20 minutes or until it has the thickness of maple syrup
-add a tea spoon of lime juice OR for different taste: a teaspoon of rose water
-pour half of the syrup on your cooked Basboussa. Let it absorb it. Add more to taste.

Exhibition december 2011

I am exhibiting this month at Espace KAO, in Val-David, Québec, Canada.
My exhibition is in two very different parts; one part is an installation and the second part is wood-fired ware. it's going on until January 8th, 2012. Come and see it for yourself.

fall fire

sitting on the wood pile

My second wood-firing at the same kiln, 

André's kiln, took place in november. This time I had the opportunity to tend to the kiln a lot and I learned a great deal.  After loading the kiln I got second thoughts about my work. I tried many new things all at once and for the first time in a kiln that's not even mine. First I mixed 2 kinds of clays and added tons of black sand to them. Then along with my usual blue-green and kaki glazes, I mixed up a new cone 12 white glaze which I had only tried at cone 6 in an electric kiln. Then I filled all my bowls with pine needles and cedar branches.

It was a fragrant treat while loading the kiln. So all these new aspects of my work which I had never even tested seperately kinda worried me. On the other hand, I love surprises and I was hoping it was going to be a good one. And it was! There is tons of room for improvements of course but for the first time I feel like this small body of work is finally what I want my work to be like. It's very strong, subtle, has many nuances, the clay body is more lively and plays well with the glazes, every piece is unique and it all had to undergo the flame and the heat that only a wood-kiln gives out. I was very satisfied and it was a blast unloading those surprises.