Our sale begins with a grand opening celebration on Friday, December 7, from 5 to 8pm. Be the first to choose from all of the beautiful ceramic works, meet our artists, and enjoy some appetizers or desserts. The sale continues on Saturday, December 8, from 10am to 6pm, and on Sunday, December 9, from 10am to 5pm.

Our artists this year include Kay Yourist, Jeremy Anderson, Renee Baxter, Darcy Bowden, Jerry Bricker, Barbara Harding Brown, Nancy Bulkley, Jeanine Center, Marilyn Edington, Rose Gomez, Oksana Linda, Brandon Moore, Deborah Sedore, Ann Unbehaun, and Kevan Wilson.

See you there!

Whenever the studio gas kiln is fired, a call goes out for volunteers to lend a hand. Why are volunteers needed? Because, unlike the electric kilns, the gas kiln needs to be monitored as it is firing.

To understand, it helps to know a little about the firing atmosphere of a gas kiln. In simple terms, firing ceramic wares requires fuel and air to produce combustion. Limiting the amount of oxygen available to the natural gas that serves as the fuel in a gas kiln results in incomplete combustion. This is called a reduction atmosphere and is responsible for the exciting and unusual results that can be obtained from a gas kiln firing. (You can see these results in the works of Kay and others in the gallery.)

Mark Burleson explains the process in The Ceramic Glaze Handbook: "The amount of oxygen that is available to the fuel is increased or decreased by oxygen control devices, such as the kiln damper and burners. When the oxygen entering the kiln is slowed--by closing the damper or air intake on the burners--the decrease in oxygen forces the fuel to seek the oxygen available at the molecular level in the glaze materials and clay body in order to create combustion. When the oxygen present in the molecules of the glaze and clay is consumed, fundamental changes to the materials take place which affect the clay surface and color dramatically. Because the fire in the kiln is actually caressing the clay and glaze surfaces, variations in the amount of consumed oxygen appear on the surface and leave dramatic effects on the clay and glaze."

It's the job of volunteers to assist in this process by checking and recording the kiln's pyrometer (temperature) and oxygen probe readings at half-hour intervals, as well as making sure all of the kiln burners remain on. Readings must be kept within a certain range with respect to each other, so a volunteer may have to adjust the kiln damper slightly to get them back into line.

As a recent volunteer, I highly recommend the experience, especially if you are firing wares in the gas kiln. I learned so much from the training that I feel I have a far better understanding and appreciation of the alchemy that occurs in a gas kiln. Although volunteer duties are rewarding and fun, they are not taxing. Between readings, you can work on your own projects. All you have to do is keep an eye on the time so you don't miss a reading.

Interested? You have the opportunity to volunteer for a shift on Friday, November 16. Please let Kay know if you can lend a hand. Email Kay or call her at 734.662.4914 and be generously blessed by the kiln gods.

For more technical information about reduction firing, see this article by Hal Frenzel at Ceramic Arts Daily.

A new clay shipment has arrived from Aardvaark, and Tom Coleman Porcelain is available once again at $18.50 for 25 pounds. We also have new supplies of the popular Russian River, Jamaica, and Tecate Gold Sculpture clays, as well as paper clay.

This is our last shipment until Spring, 2013, and we expect these clay bodies to be in great demand. So come and get your clay now, while we have it in stock.