Whenever I spoke about leading a clay workshop in Mendocino in May, the consistent response was 'WOW, you are going to have a great time, its BEEAAAAUTTIFUL there'.
And I always responded, 'I know ceramic studios are usually in beautiful places on earth'.
But this Mendocino village is out of this world - so beautiful.
The town itself juts out right into the Pacific ocean.
When you see towards the west, south or north you can see
the water, the ocean. It is unbelievably enchanting.
I'm so grateful to Katie Applebaum, Studio Manager, Ceramics lab,
Mendocino Art Center (MAC), for inviting me to lead a 3-day making workshop
and a week long firing workshop.
I had such a wonderful time!
I started my stint there on May 15
with a hand building workshop.
For demonstration purposes, I made these tetrahedrons, rhombus vase,soft slab drinking vessel, pinched bowl and
cubes with native clay provided by Ichiro Enomoto,
one of the Artist in Residence at MAC.
I connected on many levels with the workshop participants.
Because of our learnings and sharings they brought me a book -
The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas.
Reading this book brought back memories of
studying Western Aesthetics back in 1997,
at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India.
Two sentences stood out for me:
1. The philosopher is literally a "lover of wisdom"
and approaches his intellectual task as a romantic quest
of universal significance.
2. Plato described knowledge of the divine as being implicit
in every soul, but forgotten.
I wonder if our main goal through this journey of life
is to reunite with what we already know deep down?
On May 19, Katie and I prepared the kiln
to start the kiln firing workshop.
The chamber of the kiln is 60"wide, 28" deep & 35" high.
This kiln was built with Mitch Iburg and fellow
residents and studio manager several years before.
The firebox grate is novel to my eyes.
Arches in the firebox replace metal bars or
lintels(long super duty bricks)
that I have seen in most other kilns I have fired.
On May 20, I started the workshop with words
shared by my dear friend Gail Weinshenker,
It is not easy, but be ever on the path and never give up!
Workshop participants -
Sofia Alaoui
Trevor Duarte
Ken Becker
Crystal Lane
Artist in Residence who joined -
Ichiro Enomoto
Sakshi Mathuria
Community members who joined -
Stefani Threet
Paul & Ann Lester
After participants slipped and glazed their pots,
we did a mock load on the table outside the kiln.
This helps in planning for the load. Only the pots
that would fit were walked over to the shelf
placed in the kiln chamber.
Then we started loading the kiln.
pc - Crystal Lane
pc - Crystal Lane
Sakshi is
setting the floor for the back stack.
pc - Crystal Lane
pc - Crystal Lane
Then we closed the lid, which is on hinges.
It took two tall people, and third person who
removed the big rod that holds the lid in open position.
We placed kiln wool on the top of the walls,
which insulates the gap between the lid and the chamber.
Trevor, a participant who was firing a wood kiln for the first time,
created our kiln god out of wadding(refractory separator) clay.
Katie brought a bouquet with flowers from the MAC Campus.
We joined hands as we stood around the kiln and Ken, who was doing his first wood fire atmospheric kiln, lit the fire.
We were all in it together, a team with a single goal ahead of us!
We started a fire at the base of the chimney.
This is to warm up the chimney to create a low pressure zone, which compels
air to be pulled through the chamber
towards the chimney.
pc - Crystal Lane
Finally, we started the fire on the front.
There is a 9"x 9" opening from where
we introduce wood and light the fire.
A few crumpled newspapers help start the fire.
At this point, I like to think, one can be provided
with all the materials, yet it is so helpful to have a mentor
who guides us into making the best use of the
materials. It is so important to do the actions in the correct
sequence, I wonder what would I have done without
my mentors. I am here because of them.
I bow and I offer.
Participants took six hour shifts to feed
the kiln round the clock.
We fired the kiln for 52 hours.
At 12 hours into the firing
L - R Crystal, Antra, Ken.
pc- Crystal Lane
18+ hours into the firing
L - R Ichiro, Sofia, Katie, Sakshi.
24+ hours into the firing
L - R Crystal, Trevor.
36+ hours into the firing
L - R Antra, Sakshi, Ken.
pc - Crystal Lane
42+ hours into the firing
L - R Antra, Stefani, Trevor.
pc - Crystal Lane
We got to cone ten everywhere in the kiln, and then we continued
firing for more ash build up and layers of deposits
to enhance the surface of the pots
and get the glaze to mature in the
continuous heat of the kiln.
We sealed up the kiln and introduced wet wood
through the side stoke hole for reduce cooling.
We continued this for the next six hours,
finishing up on May 23 morning
at 6am.
Good work everyone, the kiln seemed to
have fired well, nicely sealed up to
cool for the next few days.
During the cooling days, I rested
and enjoyed Mendocino village.
Here's the view of the ocean from my abode
for a fortnight!
It was gorgeous to wake up to it
every single morning.
The ocean continued to keep the inspiration flowing.
I take nothing for granted.
enjoy breakfast cooked with local harvest. It was a treat to visit.
I had the dosa, the fresh ingredients
were such a delight!
My favorite sculpture on MAC campus
Kiln cooling days are the best
days to tour the area, so we
went to a waterfall hike.
This brought so much delight with
the amazing nature and Katie's
suggestions that helped me notice all
these beautiful things....
I am so grateful for this time
and this experience of
walking in the Redwoods.
Kiln cooling also provided the opportunity
to share my story with the interested
folks...
pc - Crystal Lane
We had an amazing pizza party at Cider Creek Collective.
CCC is a ceramic studio, artists residency space created by
Jess Thompson & Nick Schwartz
with other artists who are part of the community.
I was so enamored by the space, kilns, resident spaces,
studio spaces, vegetation, ecological work being
practiced at the studio. It was fantastic to hang
with Linda Christianson, who was visiting from Minnesota, conducting
Catenary kiln Salt firing workshop. Also, met several
participants of the workshops in this creative space.
I forgot to pick up my phone to take any pictures.
I was seeing Linda after eight years. I had a chance
to get to know her when she was visiting artist at USU, where I work, in 2019.
We had a lot to catch up on, and felt lucky for the time
together.
Finally we got into the kiln on May 26.
pc - Crystal Lane
Cone 8,9,10,11,12 from all the spots
of the kiln. Satisfactory :P!!
Sakshi & I.
Nick Schwartz + Bill Brazill
They both were Long Time Ceramic Instructors
of the
Makovkin Studio
at MAC
Bill from 1974 - 2007
Nick from 2011 - 2013.
Fun pictures of everyone
pc - Crystal Lane
The group
Ken Becker
Stefani Threet
Crystal Lane
Trevor Duarte
Sofia Alaoui
Katie Applebaum
Sakshi Mathuria
SO GRATEFUL!!!!!
Looking towards the ocean.
The housing.
The office + studio building.
Robert and I at MAC.
end of this time at Mendocino!
