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Woodfiring |
The
art of transforming clay into stone, make it eternal, resistant
to water, frost and small shocks has been known to man for thousands
of years. The solution has been wood and fire.
There are now several other methods available to
fire clay. Fuel, gas or electricity being some of them, they
are all practical, efficient and give good results. |
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But
woodfire gives more than just heat. The flame touching the
surface of clay at high speed leaves its colourful marks,
tells its story about the transformation process.
The minerals in woodash leave
deposits on the piece, enhancing the shapes, varying in colour
and depth with different types of wood and kilns, and the
length of firing.
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My
work is made for the fire to leave its marks, to underline
the idea, sublime the beauty.
The
way the work is stacked in the kiln and the firing techniques
are very important factors for the final result. But you never
control totally the movement of the flame or the colour it
will give you.
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This
makes it magic ! I use stoneware and porcelain for my work,
and fire to 1280-1320 degrees Celsius.
To
obtain such a high temperature with wood and a natural air
supply is a difficult task, and it takes several days of feeding
the kiln continuously with wood.
At the end of a firing, when
you reach high temperature, the kiln comes alive, it breaths,
moves, spits flame and inside the clay reaches its melting
point surrounded by white heat.
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