Second firing!

Here are images of the second firing from April 2013. Beautiful snow and a great team of generous friends and family, hence great results! Dry wood also helps! It took 27 hours or so with great reduction effects and great results in general.

Future and present

At the end of february, I had the great pleasure of welcoming the future in my very present. 

I always semi-jokingly say that I aim my pottery at the kids as future clients, but the truth is I think they're the future artists, transmitters, teachers and that clay as a material and a way of expression is a vital experience in every human being's life time. To experience it as a child will transform your  perception of the world and daily life and it will stay with you your entire life.

I had three young teenagers visit my studio for a hand building and throwing experience. I was welcoming strangers in my very own personal workspace for the first time. I usually teach outside my studio because my space is quite restraint. What a pleasure to slow down the pace and share with them the love of clay discovery. They took it all in; looking at ceramics pieces from around the world, wedging the clay, hand building a simple jar, then an animal, dealing with the speed of the wheel and the reaction of the clay and their hands on it, deciding on a mental shape and transferring it into reality.

Then , really want to do it again.

It was a very rich morning for the four of us. I really enjoyed sharing all of it and then watching them experience it for the first time. Something in their brain changed that day and because of it they might be able to understand other things on a different level. "It's truly magic", they said. 

First pieces from my kiln!

At last: photos of the result of the first firing of November 2012

a part of the lot fresh out of the kiln

pitcher, left side without glaze

pitcher

big jar with blue, kaki and ash glaze

inside of a bowl

blue bottle

pot with alot of ash deposits. was close to the firebox

bottle, top with kaki glaze and a bit of white

plate with seashell marks. I piled up piles of 5 plates.They ALL turned out great and different

big pot , glazed only at the rim

coiled water jar, blue and ash

My favourite piece: Sake bottle without anything on it. Natural deposits of the firing.

EXPO-SALE fresh from the new KILN

 EXPO VENTE  

CARMEN ABDALLAH

DANIEL GINGRAS

Pièces de la  cuisson  au bois
Woodfired pieces

inaugurale du dragron fly ash gama 

Une seule journée / One day only

    Vendredi 14 décembre / Friday dec.14th 2012

     De midi à 21 heures / from noon-9pm

Atelier Desjean Gingras 

2177 Masson, (coin/corner Des Érables) local 409
514.523.1644 

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