Fire

A post on Becky's blog referencing Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into The Fire" got me to thinking about our relationship with fire in pottery.

We have an extraordinary link with fire. Every time we make something we put a little bit of ourselves into the fire and wait to see how it comes through it. It's almost like the kiln should have two doors --an in and an out since firing our pieces really is a passage.

There's also the analogy of each pot being like your child. You put everything you know into forming them, finishing them, trying to be sure they can stand on their own. When you put them in the kiln it's like sending them out in the world to do what they will. You just hope you had the necessary skills to make them complete.

Elements...

We are working with all the elements in pottery. We start out with that most basic --earth. We add water to help form it and decorate it, then wait for the air to dry it. But it's the fire that really makes or breaks the piece. It can wrap it in drama with the most amazing colors, contrasts and hues or it can break it into pieces. The worst it can do is nothing when a pot comes through it's trial and is completely nondescript.

Too much thinking and not enough throwing...