Introduction to Woodfire

Tuesdays, July 12 – August 23, 2011

6:30-9:30PM at Goshen Clay Artist's Guild

Instructors: Justin Rothshank and Fred Driver

Cost: $250 per person

TO REGISTER: call or email Liz Hess - – (574) 825-4855

Explore the process of woodfiring with introduction to woodfire aesthetics, firing process, clay bodies, glazes, slips, wadding and loading techniques, and firing methods.

This class will require hard work and serious commitment, including the following list of tasks that you will be expected to complete.

• cut,split and stack wood
• clean and prepare kiln and shelves for firing
• load kiln
• several 6-8 hour long shifts during the actual firing of the kiln
• unloading and kiln cleanup

The nature of the class requires that students possess intermediate throwing and or handbuilding skills and an ability to lift heavy items including armloads of firewood and perform other physical activities.

The last class session for working with wet clay will be Aug. 16. The final class session , on Aug. 23, will focus on glazing and wadding pots to prepare them for loading into the kiln.

Kiln loading and firing will take place from Sep. 15-18. Once the fire is lit, the kiln will be stoked continuously for more than 60 hours. Kiln unloading will be on Sep. 24. The class will be firing Justin Rothshank's 2-chamber wood kiln, located 5 miles east of downtown Goshen. More info on the kiln is here.