tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247883632024-02-28T12:54:21.544-06:00Clay, Kilns, Art, Teaching, Music, Ideas, Architecture?Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-38351807040886657152008-10-04T11:49:00.004-05:002008-10-04T11:58:07.973-05:00Release of "New-Man"The Cd is done. It is called "New-Man". We have physical copies and they can be purchased at <a href="http://www.theleefamilycurse.com/">theleefamilycurse.com</a>. It can also be downloaded from emusic, itunes, and amazon.com<br /><br />I believe we started recording it over three years ago. We were both pretty busy... Anyway, Adam and I are both pretty proud of it and I hope you enjoy it.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-23920622958804134872007-09-30T08:35:00.000-05:002008-12-10T14:59:43.696-06:00Chuck Solberg Anagama<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6BqheotQ-3XJO82F_mS6HBjteVRfAcIXLBLguaPQYFE36aeeIIffneIHr4shC75lYsd7mhxlATJZtFAoHkFsvzjLZlwaQKVKAnRjA-5IN3IT-vHBG6BOBoUNi3qq9uT5vj-h/s1600-h/kilnsideviewchuckandmartin.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6BqheotQ-3XJO82F_mS6HBjteVRfAcIXLBLguaPQYFE36aeeIIffneIHr4shC75lYsd7mhxlATJZtFAoHkFsvzjLZlwaQKVKAnRjA-5IN3IT-vHBG6BOBoUNi3qq9uT5vj-h/s320/kilnsideviewchuckandmartin.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115996809568946802" border="0" /></a><br />Ari stopped by during the urban woodfire experiment. He raised the idea of fixing up Patricia (the Edina Art Center woodkiln). I said that before we expend any more energy on that kiln, we should both get some experience firing a woodkiln or two with some people who know what they are doing. Ari was around all summer. We played several rounds of disc golf and went on a "cerami-bender". He told me he wants to go to med school, so I tried to get Adam and him together. I was hoping Adam could share some insights into what it takes to get into med school and what it's like once your in. I believe that if you decide you want to do something you should talk to people who have already done it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLldLYcXM7imuT5355Db0DW_-cjEC4xrlZtiNltyfCtRrzlr1HClGjbJiFfBxXq4ZyC5Yjs-K4RzY7Ed0cPWrApIxk7QovTxe1KZ3biKAL1Sxc45Gm7gkwXntnXGIEBurZWsRa/s1600-h/chuck-and-martin-front.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLldLYcXM7imuT5355Db0DW_-cjEC4xrlZtiNltyfCtRrzlr1HClGjbJiFfBxXq4ZyC5Yjs-K4RzY7Ed0cPWrApIxk7QovTxe1KZ3biKAL1Sxc45Gm7gkwXntnXGIEBurZWsRa/s320/chuck-and-martin-front.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115998811023706754" border="0" /></a><br />So Ari went back to Colorado College and I contacted Martin. He is a friend of mine who fired Patricia with us probably 4 or 5 times. He has been renting studio space from Chuck Solberg, a local clay artist. Chuck and a small group of clay enthusiasts built an anagama about an hour or two West of the cities. I asked Martin if I could get in on the next firing. He talked to Chuck and they needed a little more help stoking the kiln. The arrangement was made that I could put about 20 pots in if I would work a 6 hour shift and pay a little money (I ended up paying $75).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdXLbuw-68NYqYh3IrGn3Ibn3VxftPXiVTZhwSGiRDXQxAhVTNKNhyphenhyphenUgQooorM63dE9zIgyjA_gg6CvLvv_Ueqb6MBz2Noxy5uxVXLYab7tpz9MbNBoB3uWfGbjF2PX3sLXAo/s1600-h/martinstoking.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdXLbuw-68NYqYh3IrGn3Ibn3VxftPXiVTZhwSGiRDXQxAhVTNKNhyphenhyphenUgQooorM63dE9zIgyjA_gg6CvLvv_Ueqb6MBz2Noxy5uxVXLYab7tpz9MbNBoB3uWfGbjF2PX3sLXAo/s200/martinstoking.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116007577051957938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMOpLfTbKhSo1iHuUZfXtpV6VIrv92cbZ3FYZHapQFgNa1GpKaNA124vI0TFZvESPdyqKcDm1GVAi-5gB1ccOkQBPOmwIo4-JH7imPLGEzOsyfygWTsGKnu23fDIZeRox3wMO/s1600-h/glowing-stack.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMOpLfTbKhSo1iHuUZfXtpV6VIrv92cbZ3FYZHapQFgNa1GpKaNA124vI0TFZvESPdyqKcDm1GVAi-5gB1ccOkQBPOmwIo4-JH7imPLGEzOsyfygWTsGKnu23fDIZeRox3wMO/s200/glowing-stack.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116009058815675106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5k7t5bjq8p50X15rThL516HjIoBxW3JZ0LJKQ8zZekKDtFD3t7UER-H0G29-cffmqY2IpaaGaYFZmnU415xHCIhZroZReQ3vrMWFy_E0Q9liwTU5wE6sdZ86IN1O28oYQ4Ij/s1600-h/mestoking.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5k7t5bjq8p50X15rThL516HjIoBxW3JZ0LJKQ8zZekKDtFD3t7UER-H0G29-cffmqY2IpaaGaYFZmnU415xHCIhZroZReQ3vrMWFy_E0Q9liwTU5wE6sdZ86IN1O28oYQ4Ij/s200/mestoking.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116007877699668674" border="0" /></a> <br /><br />We got the midnight to 6am shift Sunday morning. The kiln was started with propane on Wednesday night. It had been stoked continuously since. It was pretty much at temperature when we arrived. We were mostly just keeping it there, soaking it, allowing more ash to build up on the surface of the pots. It was a great night, very relaxing. We listened to a late night airing of "American Routes" on NPR. The dj was focusing on the music and life story of Johnny Cash. The wood was precut and stacked, four foot lengths of slab wood, off-cuts from a lumber mill up North. We took alternating 45 minute shifts feeding it into the firebox. We talked about books and jobs, drank some coffee. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsVxqEHBCD0C6Hp8zuBADYx9x31T9h9m8y8e3kiOlWlGDsRACYqUcCeg3Pk9wjv3SSUej9zCVI2iosp8ir-NmrNjua3ATVL2_LfEq_EfcZFrHE6M6AK9oDBQWW69UU_GyyMjt/s1600-h/cornerviewtrivase.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsVxqEHBCD0C6Hp8zuBADYx9x31T9h9m8y8e3kiOlWlGDsRACYqUcCeg3Pk9wjv3SSUej9zCVI2iosp8ir-NmrNjua3ATVL2_LfEq_EfcZFrHE6M6AK9oDBQWW69UU_GyyMjt/s320/cornerviewtrivase.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116011425342655218" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstdsA0x5e17IyPOW1P8csv0MVIZaBVnpkoCefEeU7lNg9Vx3PggJet_eubqFrD0aHIxx86BqaB4eSXm9I9uSHDhZ0LAn3EXpM9MtmXW_6rVCPfERC4hh7ctftRYxuMAJZJ7PT/s1600-h/facetrivase.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstdsA0x5e17IyPOW1P8csv0MVIZaBVnpkoCefEeU7lNg9Vx3PggJet_eubqFrD0aHIxx86BqaB4eSXm9I9uSHDhZ0LAn3EXpM9MtmXW_6rVCPfERC4hh7ctftRYxuMAJZJ7PT/s320/facetrivase.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116012108242455330" /></a> <br />The kiln was unloaded about a week later. I wasn't there for the loading or unloading, something I regret. My schedule just didn't allow it. I would have liked to be there for both, to see how the pots are loaded, and to see what results different areas of the kiln produce. From what I have been told and have experienced first hand, all kilns fired with a flame (wood or gas) have different zones in them where slightly different temperatures occur. Amounts of ash (or salt/soda if added) can very too, along with levels of reduction. The results were ok, a bit darker then I would have liked, but the pots are growing on me. I used the same yellow underglaze I used on the face vase. You can see that it burned out, went to a creamish brown color. I often joke with Martin, calling a wood kiln a brownification chamber. You know going in that things will be various shades of brown, that is what they tend to do. A student of mine, John E., described the woodfired look as a pot that looks like you buried it in the ground and dug it up a thousand years later. I like that way of describing it. I hope to get to fire the kiln again, and will try to make pieces specifically for the kiln. I was not intending to wood fire these pieces when I made them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdheya7SxvkkqE_sR9ew_E1OM5GW4IiV5PafOQOk6YaZS-gYjK9B3LlsoJNKuwkP5w9TZiwFZYRw7T53NnfoyTwXhIQMIzlrVx5PM1aAfo0fwNXke11IKrbUXTbvS2PAvF_WpE/s1600-h/tooltripodvase.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdheya7SxvkkqE_sR9ew_E1OM5GW4IiV5PafOQOk6YaZS-gYjK9B3LlsoJNKuwkP5w9TZiwFZYRw7T53NnfoyTwXhIQMIzlrVx5PM1aAfo0fwNXke11IKrbUXTbvS2PAvF_WpE/s320/tooltripodvase.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116012752487549746" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-0Pqen-z0XZKMirmZyk68qKLaplU7aESBVYFcURkukyq4XLqxMhBdjzx-aqKP9e8u0HLhhIKc3cVE-auI147MLcVYbLgEaaKa7RK8aH9YWXYcRGxXEP1axNJAmWm1Oo_LMdi/s1600-h/handvase.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-0Pqen-z0XZKMirmZyk68qKLaplU7aESBVYFcURkukyq4XLqxMhBdjzx-aqKP9e8u0HLhhIKc3cVE-auI147MLcVYbLgEaaKa7RK8aH9YWXYcRGxXEP1axNJAmWm1Oo_LMdi/s320/handvase.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116013319423232834" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pp38oIYpy_rzsiL0aVcYF5lONd_gAdJuBNlwlKk6CXfiZI81G4_UZwM9oaCEv1ODV-tQTfo8JSJSxB__l0JhbJvWls4OznDjsdsxP8HP3VEKTcafNL8MsoQ3KiNqEMbZAR2v/s1600-h/stripe-jug.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pp38oIYpy_rzsiL0aVcYF5lONd_gAdJuBNlwlKk6CXfiZI81G4_UZwM9oaCEv1ODV-tQTfo8JSJSxB__l0JhbJvWls4OznDjsdsxP8HP3VEKTcafNL8MsoQ3KiNqEMbZAR2v/s320/stripe-jug.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116013783279700818" /></a>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-40390865764795975682007-09-11T17:14:00.000-05:002008-12-10T14:59:44.197-06:00Urban Woodfire?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0KLIV1ehaSsc74vH9QtHJfcElAm0sDk4jTYzPQjKE3h18NT8Vcs6lVSlfyFwolynu7uClqOsJUePWCBVY46ZykLJV-kP_3Bls-G2piV1-dN9NjndJtxjVmdHFEmKxu6Q8_7x/s1600-h/brandon-and-kiln.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0KLIV1ehaSsc74vH9QtHJfcElAm0sDk4jTYzPQjKE3h18NT8Vcs6lVSlfyFwolynu7uClqOsJUePWCBVY46ZykLJV-kP_3Bls-G2piV1-dN9NjndJtxjVmdHFEmKxu6Q8_7x/s320/brandon-and-kiln.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109129846847404050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOxAKm6Da2YmKLrCnDi2o23Tb5yM4qrsldYZaZR8Tuj9AbGBIkGwDvkAz9AoUcly86E6C6ZpiTfhcmB8zPg0TGp7mgPBKTXnzPpyNGtlZTm7_2sLrkUPy0aYu-2me4HvqdSw0/s1600-h/burner-port.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOxAKm6Da2YmKLrCnDi2o23Tb5yM4qrsldYZaZR8Tuj9AbGBIkGwDvkAz9AoUcly86E6C6ZpiTfhcmB8zPg0TGp7mgPBKTXnzPpyNGtlZTm7_2sLrkUPy0aYu-2me4HvqdSw0/s320/burner-port.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109129846847404066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />The last time I fired the kiln at the Edina Art Center, we were joined by a guy named Brandon. That firing may have been the last, if you want to know the reasons why, you can read this <a href="http://joshgrenier.blogspot.com/2006/10/final-firing-of-patricia.html">post</a>. Brandon contacted me last Spring and asked if I wanted to try another sort of wood fire. He saw an article in the February issue of Ceramics Monthly in which Bruce Bowers describes converting an old electric kiln into a gas fired kiln in which wood is added at the end to create some ash deposits on the pottery. The idea is to achieve wood fired results with less work in an urban setting. If you are thinking this is too good to be true, well maybe. We got an old kilin, stripped out the wiring, filled in all the coil pockets with a mixture of clay and saw dust and set it up in my back yard. We fired it with propane using a weed burner we got from Continental Clay. The article suggests using a Venturi Burner (sp?), something that costs about $200. We opted for the $60 weed burner. Needless to say, we didn't get to temp. We probably maxed out at about cone 7 after 12 hours. Weed burners are typically used to fire similar little homemade and converted kilns for raku. That is a much lower temperature, something around cone 04. We had never tried using one for reaching cone 10 and if anyone out there is considering it, I would advise against it. They just don't put out the necessary BTUs. One thing that was nice to learn is that there are plenty of junker kilns out there that people are willing to give away or sell for under $100. We got ours for free and had leads on several others. Craigs list is a good place to look if you are interested. Brandon took the kiln over to his moms house and is considering building a new burner. He thinks he should be able to build a venturi burner for quite a bit less than $200. If that happens he may try it again and has promised to give me a call.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6rTBWzB3vyyktN1rTw4ImGFTKssBOP9eT9ixBimheT7uTNrus0jObpjZltAYXzTyId14Y-RIws6l1aipKq1yezKF2KtZtPIwzLpaievkAppuaeJ6My5g8ZLUTDe6gpQseT6R/s1600-h/brandon-and-fire.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6rTBWzB3vyyktN1rTw4ImGFTKssBOP9eT9ixBimheT7uTNrus0jObpjZltAYXzTyId14Y-RIws6l1aipKq1yezKF2KtZtPIwzLpaievkAppuaeJ6My5g8ZLUTDe6gpQseT6R/s320/brandon-and-fire.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109130890524457026" /></a>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-62395516628831358892007-09-03T19:56:00.001-05:002008-12-10T14:59:44.345-06:00Eye Project<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEa0YnisN5JwgH52csaFhYPOWjJgFNgUGzyFC6X-0j5gMzHypQK88PB30beIsrMh8Oow2jD-xFlE92Y7pPKeXQvquq4kX8hSeza-F7Hz0hsmY0K5YZfhg3TjNcSx5WawwykXay/s1600-h/Untitled-1.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEa0YnisN5JwgH52csaFhYPOWjJgFNgUGzyFC6X-0j5gMzHypQK88PB30beIsrMh8Oow2jD-xFlE92Y7pPKeXQvquq4kX8hSeza-F7Hz0hsmY0K5YZfhg3TjNcSx5WawwykXay/s400/Untitled-1.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116045377059130210" /></a><br /><br />The eye project is up. <br />I received a grant from the Edina Ed Fund to create a piece of public art for Edina High School. It is currently being displayed along the hall of the new fine arts wing. It is a series of nine large photographs of eyes. The eyes belong to Edina High School students. Ten students were selected to be the subjects. Each was selected by a different teacher. The teachers worked together to capture a broad cross section of students. The eyes are all displayed along with two pieces of writing. One was written by the student depicted in the photograph. They were asked to write a brief description of what daily life is like for them at the school. The second piece of writing is by an older relative of that particular student. This relative was asked to write a description of what life was like for them when they were high school age. Photographer Matt Blum was hired to do the photography. One of the students didn't complete the writing so we ended up with nine. The project will remain on the walls at least through the end of January. It is my hope to fill the frames they now occupy with some art made by our students.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-18549847523720148612007-09-03T19:38:00.001-05:002008-12-10T14:59:44.967-06:00Completed Ceramics Room Mural<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitd7yH5BWgu0qjoQ4sm4_4Nx_YagbtIfbzjlxiPScSpvA9VWuoCCzBTccXJ9tWTe85PzAn4buotPgkoraXeTuB4v5eyHE2gHCdv2KTP6WEu0CcqA7yV69liMkH6xKq9jXr1x9t/s1600-h/IMG_4445.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitd7yH5BWgu0qjoQ4sm4_4Nx_YagbtIfbzjlxiPScSpvA9VWuoCCzBTccXJ9tWTe85PzAn4buotPgkoraXeTuB4v5eyHE2gHCdv2KTP6WEu0CcqA7yV69liMkH6xKq9jXr1x9t/s400/IMG_4445.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5106144177067511874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xyubZCPDJQBHd69Mobr5N5JvF3kE1fQELed8QODvy9SNKegH7XrokgkNL1zzbcHoacJiE05b-C7Rhp5xWM8zDUhdZqobNskhfk8yybYsOmCRDiywW8NFsuVOv4KO9v8KfN3Y/s1600-h/IMG_4441.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xyubZCPDJQBHd69Mobr5N5JvF3kE1fQELed8QODvy9SNKegH7XrokgkNL1zzbcHoacJiE05b-C7Rhp5xWM8zDUhdZqobNskhfk8yybYsOmCRDiywW8NFsuVOv4KO9v8KfN3Y/s400/IMG_4441.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5106142274396999730" border="0" /></a><br />The mural is up. Students in ceramics levels 2-4 proposed designs last Fall for this. We went through several rounds of voting and this design was victorious. The artist is Henry C.. It is me riding a pink hippo who is eating a rainbow that is coming from a pot of gold. It appears that the pot of gold is being defended by a sword wielding leprechaun. I have a spear and a turtle on my side. The turtle is named Turdis (I am not sure how it is spelled) and he has some sort of sound gun on his back that is in the process of being fired. It took us a long time to get it done, but its up. My friend Adam came in over the summer and helped me put it up. There is still plenty of open wall for another one!Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-61272481833062491782007-08-31T09:04:00.000-05:002007-09-11T18:50:00.095-05:00Student BlogsHello Students!<br /><br />You will create a blog to document your creative work and process. Hopefully you will enjoy it and be proud of it. <strong>THIS BLOG WILL BE FOR:</strong><br /><br /><ul><li><strong>DOCUMENTING YOUR PROCESS</strong> (planning and developing your ideas, documenting your progress).</li><br /><li><strong>Reflecting on your creations.</strong></li><br /><li><strong>Showcasing finished work.</strong> </li><br /><li><strong>Giving eachother feedback/ sharing ideas</strong></li></ul>I encourage you to use this for any creative or art related action you take, do not feel like this is limited to my class. If you take more of my classes, you will continue to use it.<br /><br /><strong>It will be 5% of your grade for the semester. I will check the blog five times:</strong><br /><br /><ul><li>Initial set up (I will give you one week to get it up)</li><br /><li>Mid 1st Quarter</li><br /><li>End of Quarter 1</li><br /><li>Mid 2nd Quarter</li><br /><li>End of the semester</li></ul><p>I will also put a link to your individual blogs from this blog, so please do not put your full name anywhere in your site, just use your first name.</p><p>You need to include the following:</p><p><strong>An initial artist statement</strong> (graded one week after the semester begins) where you describe:</p><ul><li>Artists and artistic ideas you are interested in and you would like to be influenced by.</li><li>Where you are at artistically, the type of work you have made thus far.</li><li>The type of work you are planning on making during the semester.</li></ul><p><strong>For each of the 4 1/2 week working periods, you will need:</strong></p><p>1) A specific plan or objective for the upcoming working period. (I will bring this to the critiques when we look at your work.)</p><p>2) At least 1 post made while you are in the middle of the working period in which you describe and show what you have been working on, reflect on how it has been going and modifications or adjustments you are making. This needs to include photos of your incomplete work.</p><p>3) Images of the finished work and a reflection on it.</p><p>You are not required to leave comments for eachother. I will likely leave you some, and I hope you will give eachother a few. Just remember, conduct yourselves online the way you should at school. This is a public place, and I expect you to be appropriate and respectful of eachother.</p><br /><br /><p></p>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-14355465566813026432007-07-27T09:03:00.000-05:002008-12-10T14:59:46.202-06:00winter and spring 2007<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnbVfbGnwl6te4d74BVfd1u0mY1C1rs8DJReFfXhIEyMjHhNHTNu4DgToRN72_HjzXnwzRdZfwWryYbNuC3wzan2maK4CwMApRBpHwsddZYdw3B45lGWaQwmg5VxlzU15ruai/s1600-h/bikebottle.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnbVfbGnwl6te4d74BVfd1u0mY1C1rs8DJReFfXhIEyMjHhNHTNu4DgToRN72_HjzXnwzRdZfwWryYbNuC3wzan2maK4CwMApRBpHwsddZYdw3B45lGWaQwmg5VxlzU15ruai/s320/bikebottle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091882777654816706" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PsDyrjnUwJm-f4AstZcd0YFWo327ZfqDcDBs-X59Xor4j8pdWuByTL3WtiYu39tBCQRv8n3eDsGPKmhvyPuOS8YA1Gr1vw2F6RRmYDsXIsn85FkxW7QwOhkfRhVhk1AhDA3G/s1600-h/facevase.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PsDyrjnUwJm-f4AstZcd0YFWo327ZfqDcDBs-X59Xor4j8pdWuByTL3WtiYu39tBCQRv8n3eDsGPKmhvyPuOS8YA1Gr1vw2F6RRmYDsXIsn85FkxW7QwOhkfRhVhk1AhDA3G/s320/facevase.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091882597266190258" /></a><br />Here are a couple pieces I did during the 2007 school year. I am becoming more interested in color, maybe a response to the dark earthy colors I was getting with the wood firing. I am also becoming interested in making fewer pieces, spending more time on each, investing more in them individually. I had a couple interesting conversations with some students last year about art as pollution. Here we are making all of these physical objects, assuming they have enough value to deserve the space they occupy, to deserve the resources required to make them. We talked about how if you are going to bother making physical objects, sending them out into the world, they better be good! <br /><br />Hopefully these two deserve to exist (this line of thought is a bit tongue in cheek, but I think it is worth considering). They have scraffito designs that are pretty light hearted. The face is one I have been using relatively frequently. It is just a face, meant to be a little child like. I enjoy the bike as a symbol of health and active living, an adventurous spirit. I was going for the the classic 70's-80's ten speed. The hand is taken from those prehistoric cave paintings where people would put their hand on the wall and then spray ink over it, casting an ink shadow, a record of their presence. To me that is a symbol that says, "Here I am, I am alive. I exist and I am conscious of that fact." I think that gets to the root of why we make art. We exist and we are conscious of that fact. We know we are alive and are able to reflect on our own existence, therefor we make art. It is something that separates us from other animals.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-77019795665849329732007-07-16T12:32:00.000-05:002008-12-10T14:59:46.575-06:00student portrait and ideasDuring the final week of school in the Spring of 2007, I photographed each of my students individually. I sat them in a chair in front of a door with a photograph of a light bulb over their heads. The camera was on a tripod, with the intention of its postition remaining absolutely constant. The plan was to have each of their heads in exactly the same position within the frame. I told them I would then use a computer to layer all the images, one on top of the other, to create one single student who was the sum of all of them. They seemed amused by the idea, possibly slightly confused.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnyOmsmR-LJwEOn4x8zrWKQt9VjjCFRlHNgcOfHQXFaMia-cHrXWqddVkMv4NLDQ58y-lCPB8BtRTJBAAerTn4TgN_Wj1_tB-1mZeo7ZFM9clL-kihSSPbeRU65Hk4sy09ph_/s1600-h/combokidadjusted3resize700.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnyOmsmR-LJwEOn4x8zrWKQt9VjjCFRlHNgcOfHQXFaMia-cHrXWqddVkMv4NLDQ58y-lCPB8BtRTJBAAerTn4TgN_Wj1_tB-1mZeo7ZFM9clL-kihSSPbeRU65Hk4sy09ph_/s320/combokidadjusted3resize700.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087888466306697346" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This image contains all of my students. </span></span><br /><br />The light bulb was there to represent the ideas that do and will come from these people as a whole. I think that all of our thoughts are interconnected. Our thoughts and ideas are a byproduct of the thoughts that are around us, that we are exposed to and taught. Combining this attention to idea generation with the youth of the subject also leads to thoughts of the future, and the potential these students have.<br /><br />As I started putting them together in PhotoShop, the images did not line up the way I had hoped. The light bulb pasted to the door behind them didn't look very good either so I decided to cut out their heads one at a time. I then photographed a light bulb and edited it in.<br /><br />I also noticed that the person that was emerging was neither female nor male. I hadn't been thinking about gender in anyway, but started to realize that it was unavoidable. So I decided to make two more images, one with just the male students and one with just the females.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Idx4kcehfY2V0gTZJxi4hs2JORW09-5fNpvIvXmOsGz32zQk1bHB4dPxEQLuLSQhxEKsDPK4kqrNTODi8Ecw_U_4zSGhwR9ou6ZFWFhLZ0wJmBevKsvixeqLN_PH6IrYZ84_/s1600-h/combofemaleadjusted3size700.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Idx4kcehfY2V0gTZJxi4hs2JORW09-5fNpvIvXmOsGz32zQk1bHB4dPxEQLuLSQhxEKsDPK4kqrNTODi8Ecw_U_4zSGhwR9ou6ZFWFhLZ0wJmBevKsvixeqLN_PH6IrYZ84_/s320/combofemaleadjusted3size700.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087888204313692274" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This image is all of my female students. </span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK0BfXIbrZZJ1x4mYL8lujkNQuTS08hljvEGRDK1Xv3E6lKfbky93Iy87-FN8muY3vuiqmRogU4rLgloaZZuJbsvOVql7Lt5ACQxDgv5fWZskik2uyovjArobKkXPs46559xE/s1600-h/combomaleadjusted3sized700.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK0BfXIbrZZJ1x4mYL8lujkNQuTS08hljvEGRDK1Xv3E6lKfbky93Iy87-FN8muY3vuiqmRogU4rLgloaZZuJbsvOVql7Lt5ACQxDgv5fWZskik2uyovjArobKkXPs46559xE/s320/combomaleadjusted3sized700.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087887972385458274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">This image is all of my male students. </span></span><br /><br />A few years back I emailed a variety of friends, family, and students asking them if they would share with me where they think ideas come from, or how they think they come up with ideas. I collected and organized their responses and posted them <a href="http://www.joshgrenier.com/ideas.htm">here</a>. <br /><br />Two influences on my ideas for these projects were <a href="http://www.visualarts.qld.gov.au/content/apt2002_standard.asp?name=APT_Artists_Suh_Doho">Do-Ho Suh</a> and <a href="http://www.macalester.edu/alumni/reunion/celender/celendersart.html">Don Celender</a>. Do-Ho Suh was featured in the Art 21 series and has made some art about identity and the individual versus the collective. He did one where he layered all the students in his high school class year book to create a class portrait. Don Celender was a professor at Macalester who died recently. He was well known in the art world for his conceptual mail/ survey art projects. He would mail people (usually famous artists) questions or assignments and present their responses as his art.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1160934450272066422006-10-15T12:03:00.000-05:002006-10-15T19:09:44.773-05:00Final Firing of Patricia?<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/rachonstoolbykilnatnight.1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/rachonstoolbykilnatnight.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The kiln has now been fired fifteen times. Her name is Patricia, because she is level-ish and the bricks were stacked straight-ish. We fired her for possibly the last time yesterday, Saturday, October 14th. It was fired by Tony (who has fired the kiln with me many times), Brandon (who signed up for the firing as a class through the Edina Art Center), my wife Rachael, and myself. <br /><br />Fifteen firings is a pretty short life span. A kiln of that size and design would typically be expected to last at least 100 firings. It is designed to fire glazed pots rapidly. Unlike many contemporary wood kilns, it is not meant to deposit a lot of ash on the pots. It is, rather, a design an individual potter might use to fire glaze-ware when they would prefer to use wood as fuel instead of oil, gas, or electricity. The kiln is relatively small, and a potter using it as their primary kiln would likely fire it once a month or so. <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/truckload.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/200/truckload.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />If this really proves to be the final firing, why the early retirement? Simply put, it was the first kiln built by everyone involved in its construction and we didn't know what we were doing. It was built by my high school students, and as we have fired it we have learned many things we should have done differently. It is an Olson fast fire design. In theory it should be able to fire in six hours. Our average firing time has been about 18 hours and is getting longer. Why it is getting longer of late I really don't know, but my guess is that the gaps in the bricks are getting wider as the metal frame around it continues to expand and the arch continues to droop. But as for the extremely long firing times, the primary problem is that the kiln was built with hard brick instead of soft brick. Soft brick is an excellent insulator. Firing a kiln built of soft brick involves heating the pots in the kiln, the shelves, the air around them, but not the kiln itself. Hard brick is not an insulator. It absorbs heat and gives it off. When firing a hard brick kiln, you need to heat the kiln itself to temperature and that takes a lot of caloric energy. <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/firebox.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/200/firebox.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Brandon started this last firing at 5:00 am. Tony came in at 10:00 am and worked with Brandon until 11:00. At that point Brandon went home and Tony worked alone until I arrived at 2:30. I made several runs for pallets during the day, and then we worked steadily for several hours to cut them all up before we ran out of daylight. It has typically been taking us fifty pallets to reach temperature. Rachael came to help at about 7:30 and Tony went home to prepare for a raku firing he was doing the next day at the Eagan Art Center. Rachael and I finished busting up the wood and then settled in for our work. I was expecting we would reach temp by 1:00 am. We called it a night at 3:00 am, and cone 8 was only halfway down on the bottom. That was 20 hours, and in my book it just isn't worth it for the number of pots that fit in it. I think we could easily build a kiln that can hold four or five times the number of pots and fires in 30 hours. <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/tonystoking.1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/200/tonystoking.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br />So If any of the students who built that kiln ever read this, I thank you for your work. I have to laugh at how many nights we struggled into the wee hours of the morning trying to get that thing up to temp. Your parents must have thought your ceramics teacher was some sort of cruel and insane pyromaniac. I am amazed that none of them ever protested, or called me with concerned questions about what I was doing with their children until three in the morning. In the end I have learned a great deal from this experience. I hope to build more kilns in the future and maybe we will get a chance to fire together again.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1160230166497939382006-10-07T08:58:00.000-05:002006-10-07T09:09:26.506-05:00mural for the new room<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/IMG_5248a.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/IMG_5248a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This year, we in the art department at Edina High School, got to move into our new (not quite finished) rooms. The ceramics room is a bit smaller than the old one, but much nicer. The ceilings are very tall and very blank. We decided that we would try to fill them with art of our own making. Each student submitted a design proposal. We went through a series of discussions, edits, and several rounds of voting before the final design was chosen. As of this posting, the tiles are in the bisque fire. I will post another when the finished work is up. Clicking on "mural for the new room" will take you to some images of the work in progress.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1151079064843889312006-06-23T11:02:00.000-05:002006-06-23T11:11:04.856-05:00vase with band of mamo<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/squaremidband.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/squaremidband.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1150995215759488782006-06-22T11:51:00.000-05:002006-06-22T11:53:35.776-05:00new backdrop<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/teabowl6-21-06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/teabowl6-21-06.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I got a new backdrop for shooting pottery, here is a sample. I need to build a light box diffuser. This was taken with just light from the windows in my living room on a canon 20dJosh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1150874081803622362006-06-21T02:08:00.000-05:002006-06-21T12:17:10.436-05:00adam and the lee family curse<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/adamorange2.1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/adamorange2.1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/adamorange.1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/adamorange.1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Adam and I recorded around 15 songs in the spring of 2005. It was just before he got married, right after he moved here. We went to the terrarium and mostly got drum tacks layed down. A year has gone by and we have something like four songs finished. The work of adding guitars, vocals, and other embellishments falls largely on Adam. I put some of the drum arrangements together using Logic, and sing the occasional back up vocal, but he does the rest. He is very busy doing his residency and doesn't have the luxury of summer vacation like us teachers do. Here are a couple pics of the studio in his new house.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1150871700774474092006-06-21T01:01:00.000-05:002006-06-21T01:35:00.793-05:00art-a-whirlI was given the opportunity to participate in art a whirl this year. The mother of one of my students has a studio in the California Building. She told me she didn't have any work to show this year and offered the space to me to sell some things. I said yes, made a ton of pots in about two weeks, invited my friend Martin to participate, and then fired the wood kiln with just our stuff. It was about 2/3 mine, the rest were Martin's. In general the firing was disappointing, the pots were dark and brown, and the kiln didn't get as hot as we wanted. It was hard to fire it with just two people. We had some help though. A few students past and present stopped by to help for a little while, Rachael also helped out quite a bit. Here are a few pics. <br /><br />Kyle and Martin loading<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/kyle%20loading.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/kyle%20loading.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/martin%20%26%20kyle%20loading.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/martin%20%26%20kyle%20loading.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Derek stoking<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/derek.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/derek.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />here is my beautiful wife in rain gear (she's the one on the right)<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/rachgrace.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/rachgrace.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />pots before and after the brownification process (pardon the sarcasm)<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/loaded.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/loaded.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/stacked.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/stacked.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />the setup at art-a-whirl before we put flowers in the vases and made it look pretty. we had a poster size print of the kilin being fired at night with flame coming out of the stack, it was pretty sweet.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/artawhirl.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/artawhirl.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1147646126845871332006-05-14T17:19:00.000-05:002006-05-14T22:05:03.636-05:00kiln wear and tear<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/arch%20detail.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/arch%20detail.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/bending%20frame.1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/bending%20frame.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/roof.1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/roof.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/stack%20repair%20close%20up.2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/stack%20repair%20close%20up.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/kiln%20interior.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/kiln%20interior.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Here are some details of the kiln. The stack fell off before the last firing in february '06. I put it back up with some angle iron bracing. The kiln's frame was inside the insulation for the first four or five firings before we started noticing that it was super heating and bending. The bending frame allowed the arch to drop a bit. As the arch sags the walls get further apart. As a result, we have a gap in the door as we brick it up. We have since moved the insulation away from the frame. It is interesting to note that in the arch of the kiln there are a few bricks which do not seem to be reacting to the atmosphere in the kiln. They appear to have remained unglazed.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1147644948618316872006-05-14T17:09:00.000-05:002006-05-14T18:04:20.393-05:00back pressure<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/back%20pressure.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/200/back%20pressure.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />After reaching temperature, we stuff both fireboxes completely full of wood, seal them as best as possible and then close the damper.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1144982354627857652006-04-13T21:12:00.000-05:002006-04-13T21:39:14.643-05:00Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Trip 2006Rachael and I took 11 high school kids to Olympia Washington to voluteer for Habitat for Humanity. They are building 15 houses on the sight, in a cottage style development with a shared common space. All the houses are built green using a concrete wall system poured into foam forms that become the insulation. The foam pieces fit together like leggos. <br /><br /><li><a href="http://public.fotki.com/gren0044/habitat_06_olympia/">Pictures</a></li> from our trip.<br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.spshabitat.org/">Website</a></li> for the South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity Chapter.Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1143758748736938922006-03-30T16:40:00.000-06:002006-03-30T16:45:48.746-06:002 squared mugsI made a batch of these squared mugs to sell at the Mississippi Market. I gave a few to the custodians at school. It is important to keep them happy. They don't like dealing with the clay. These were fired in the electric kiln at school (oxidation). We use premixed glazes from Continental Clay.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/twosquaremugs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/twosquaremugs.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1143415054967018392006-03-26T17:15:00.000-06:002006-03-26T17:42:05.543-06:00More pots<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/3sqvases.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/3sqvases.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />These two vases below are the same as the two on the right and left above. They were fired on their sides. The picture above shows the side of the pots that were exposed to the ashes in the kiln, the pics below show the sides that were facing down. The marks you see are from the wadding that keeps the pieces from being fused to the kiln shelves. All three are about 14" in height<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/2sqangle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/2sqangle.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/hornvas3q.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/hornvas3q.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> this one is about 16"Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1143413050089635192006-03-26T16:29:00.000-06:002006-03-26T17:42:56.286-06:00pots from the wood kilnVase with squared base. I learned that from a Bob Briscoe workshop. That is mostly unglazed, there is a band of mamo on the top. we usually add a couple pounds of soda and salt.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/bighead3q2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/bighead3q2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />some lidded jars, these also have a mamo glaze, but only on the one side, all the drips on the other side are from the ash. They are 14" in height<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/2spag.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/2spag.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/2spagtopdet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/2spagtopdet.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1143411182813058782006-03-26T15:29:00.000-06:002007-09-11T21:03:15.929-05:00building the EAC wood kilnThe kiln is of the Olson fast-fire design. We left out the little hole for poking out a brick designed to reduce the size of the flue to the chimney. We miscalculated the number of bricks and ended up with a chimney that was way too short. the first time we tried to fire it we made it to cone 04 after 20 hours or so and gave up. We then added a three foot stove pipe to the top and got to cone 10 (barely) in about 20 hours. The kiln stayed like that for five or six firings, struggling to get to temp and then eventually another 3 foot section of stove pipe was added. Now we can get cone eleven flat on the bottom (if we want to) in about 18 hours.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/thecrew.2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/thecrew.2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/wallsstarting.2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/wallsstarting.2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/floor.1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/floor.1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/foundation.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/foundation.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24788363.post-1143407839437830762006-03-26T15:01:00.000-06:002006-03-26T17:52:33.546-06:00wood kiln in use<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/1600/jakeandtonystoke.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/2576/320/jakeandtonystoke.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Here is a picture of the wood kiln my students built as it nears temperature. Tony and Jake are stoking simultaniously. The kiln was built by 6of my students at Edina High school in the spring of 2004. We sold pots at a local grocery store to raise the money for materials. The store gave us a huge display area right near the cash registers and didn't make up the prices a penny. As of March 2006 it has been fired 12 times, and is starting to fall apart. The kids named her PatrISHa, with particular emphasis on the "ish". I think they were refering to the frequent usage of the suffix. An example, "Does that look straight to you? I'd say it is straitish."Josh Grenierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07541931196673354744noreply@blogger.com0