Check out the blog posts by our residents, Lane and Mitch, about their results with the most recent anagama wood firing.

http://lanekaufmannpottery.wordpress.com/

http://mitchiburg.blogspot.com/2011/11/anagama-fall-2011.html

Anagama Firing Round 2

We have just concluded the second firing of our newly built Anagama kiln. Here is a recap of what happened and what we learned. Along with a few photos of course.

Our stacking strategy was a bit different this time around. We plugged up a couple air holes at the bottom of the interior back wall. We found this worked pretty well to distribute the flame exiting the ware chamber, which helped to even out the temperature. We stacked the back

pretty full and put our taller pieces in the front with open space above them to allow ash to travel to the back of the chamber.

Our plan for the firing was to go slow, we had no problem gaining temp in the first firing. Then we wanted to hold at about cone11 to get the pots nice and sticky and allow time for the ash to melt. We also tried to keep good reduction throughout the firing starting at cone 012.

We started with an overnight gas preheat and followed by 3 1/4 days of firing with pine and oak, which was a bit shorter than our plan. We did one last major stoke and then sealed it up with cone 12 bending in the front. With just 3 people pulling 8 hour shifts each day, we were a bit tired by the end of it.

We ended Thursday and opened Monday. It was hard to wait for that moment and admittedly,

we peaked.

Here is what we saw...

We learned a lot about our different clay bodies from this firing. Much of the work in the kiln was made using at least some of the native red clay dug on the property. This is one iron rich deposit! We got a lot of dark metallic purpleish brown coloring on the native clay pieces, even those with just a little native. We also found that the native on it's own is not great at catching ash. In the future it will need a little help.

Come join us at this year's Appomattox Railroad Festival. October 8th (8 am-5 pm) and 9th (12:00 am -5 pm.) We will be selling work from our second wood firing and will also have a throwing demonstration. Should be a great day, so come join us!

More info on the Historical Appomattox Railroad Festival can be found here

Soda Kilns Falling Down

After several not-so-successful firings of our newly built wood/soda kiln we decided it would need to be rebuilt to accommodate a larger fire box. Step one of this rebuild is the demolition of the current soda kiln. We are please to say that step one is complete. Below are a few photos of the process. We are excited to get the new model built and firing beautiful pieces.

We started by supporting the key block of the arch to prevent a major collapse during the deconstruction. We wanted to save and reuse as many bricks as possible. Deconstruction went well as we worked from both sides of the kiln removing bricks. As we got closer to the middle, excitement rose as the arch continued to hold....and hold....and hold. Below you'll see the shortened video of the

collapse of the kiln. It was good to know that the arch we built was strong.

And here is the site of the future wood fired soda kiln.

Residency positions available

ATTENTION POTTERS, CERAMIC ARTISTS, AND CLAY ENTHUSIASTS

The Cub Creek Foundation is now accepting applications for 12 month and short term residencies. Please contact John Jessiman at info@cubcreek.org or by phone at 434.248.5074 for more information.

Facilities:
Spacious 400 sq foot studio space
access to:
newly constructed anagama
cone 10 gas reduction kiln
wood-salt - in progress
wood soda - in progress
Skutt manual electric kiln
two abundant native clay deposits

New blog post by resident Mitch Iburg with photos from the first firing of the new anagama.

Summer 2011

Yet another blogging hiatus has come to an end. The summer of 2011 has seen an abundance of healthy activity at Cub Creek. Our kiln building workshop held in early June resulted in the successful construction of a brand new anagama as well as a small wood fired test kiln which occupies the same chimney. The week long workshop was a lively time of hard work, long hours and hot sun. Despite dangerous working conditions our wonderful group of residents and local artists pulled together to leave their mark on Cub Creek's future.

Dimensions are established on the concrete slab

A cinderblock foundation is layed first to elevate the kiln

Softbrick

leveling the walls

Wooden arch forms are cut to support a roof made entirely of castable refractory.

Applying castable refractory roof. A separate key brick will be cast to allow for expansion from the heat

Wooden form removed after castable has cured

Anagama nearing completion with steel reinforcement. Chimney and wood/soda kiln in progress

The week long workshop was a lively time of hard work, long hours and hot sun. Despite dangerous working conditions our wonderful group of residents and local artists pulled together to leave their mark on Cub Creek's future.



The weeks following the workshop have been spent saying goodbyes to residents at the end of their year long Cub Creek experience, digging and processing local clay, and creating a healthy amount of pots to fill the new kiln. With the arrival of kiln building workshop participant turned short term resident Ron Shaw came the construction of a roof to protect the new kilns from the elements. Ron is not only a terrific potter from Florida, but also a tremendously hard worker whose assistance with building the shed cannot be thanked enough.






We began our first firing of our anagama on July 16th. The good news is that it works! cone 12 was soft in the firebox at 24 hours. The less than satisfactory news is that, like many first firings, it will take a few firings to fine tune. Despite an uneven firing with a minimal amount of natural ash we still received many successful pieces and an abundance of knowledge with which to approach the next firing.

Keep an eye out for photos of the loading, firing, and finished work.

-Mitch