Making Work for the Wood-Fired Kiln
Fall Class | Available
Students will receive instruction on how to make work for the CAC Wood-Fired Kiln! Topics covered will include handbuilding various forms, especially tea bowls, what type of clay to use, modifying the clay with aggregates, and glazing considerations. Aesthetic guidance will be discussed through the use of examples of finished work made by many different artists. Students will also be instructed on the basics of wood-firing. Students will be able to fire a small number of pieces as part of the "class share" in a wood-firing but firing more work will require registering for a wood-fire workshop that will include 5 cubic feet of space in the wood kiln.
(All levels handbuilding / Experienced wheel throwers only.)
SCHEDULE NOTES:
This class meets 12 times on Wednesdays from 9/18/26 to 12/2/26.
Class will meet as usual on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
The Community Arts Center will be closed for Thanksgiving Break from 11/26/26-11/28/26.
Clay is not included in the supply fee but the aggregates to be added to the clay are included.
Clay is to be purchased through the office. Purchase can be made via email, by phone and/or in person during office hours. Please note specific clay body when placing order. Porcelain clay bodies (257 and 437) are priced at $60 per unit. Non-porcelain clay bodies are priced at $35 per unit. Purchase in advance of class and present receipt to instructor before collecting clay.
Please note: Students who wish to fire work in the soda kiln and are currently registered in a class that is not soda kiln specific can do so for an additional $25 fee/semester. Only available to students who have previously taken a soda specific class or workshop at CAC.
- Materials List:
- Carving tools and a metal rib
- 11.5" to 12" bats, preferably plastic
- Large plastic bags without holes that fit over bats
- Canvas covered (portable) wedging board (Instructor will give instruction on how to make these in class if you don't already have one)
- Banding wheel, preferably Shimpo brand
Mark Tyson
“All of my tea bowls are hand formed and carved without the use of a potters wheel. I strive for organic forms that are unique ceramic sculptures that are comfortable in the hand and feel natural to hold and drink from. I try to give each piece a complex, naturalistic surface by adding materials such as small stones, ground up rocks, sand and ground up iron to the clay and glazes and by firing with wood whenever possible to add wood ash to the surface instead of or in addition to glaze. Many of my pieces are fired multiple times to build up layers of wood ash or to layer glazes over wood ash or other glazes. I follow the same process for all of my ceramic art.
Every tea bowl that I have ever seen, handled or used, subconsciously influences my work which then, in turn, will also influence my future work. A tea bowl is a seemingly simple form that is actually quite complex, so that the quest to make the perfect tea bowl is an endless one but also one that I will never grow tired of. I also enjoy making other tea wares, jars, vases and sculptures. I have been a full time ceramic artist since 2011.
My ceramic art has been influenced by many other ceramic artists, both those who I have attended workshops with and those who's work I have collected over the years” — Mark Tyson
LEARN MORE: https://www.ceramicartyson.com/