Potter ignite wood-fired kiln
By Doug Trumm
The shed that houses Johanna Kiln, the largest wood-fired kiln on the continent, does not look very
impressive from the outside. It’s nestled in a grove of trees between the SJU Power Plant and Lake Watab, and many who pass it don’t even realize it’s there.
The shed’s plain exterior hides its dazzling interior. An 87-foot-long brick kiln dominates the space like a giant slug. Around the shed’s
perimeter, thousands of pieces of neatly cut wood are piled to the ceiling.
Johanna Kiln was bustling with activity Wednesday as artist-in-
residence Richard Bresnahan and his apprentices prepared to fire the kiln for the first time in two years.
Lead apprentice Matt Bukrey and second apprentice Matt Van Dusen stacked bricks to seal a side door in the kiln. Junior Giao Hoang, an
intern for Bresnahan, rolled high-alumina clay into strips and set them on a lunch tray. Studio manager Anne Meyer placed the strips between each pot and its lid so they don’t fuse together and set them on shelves in the kiln.
Bresnahan and his staff have been loading the kiln since Sept. 1, packing pieces all the way to the ceiling like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle. Working their way from the back of the kiln to the door, the potters estimate they have
stacked 12,000 pieces. Only a few dozen pieces remained to be loaded on the final stack Wednesday.
Lighting ceremony
At 6 tonight, Bresnahan will hold a light ceremony to mark the
beginning of the 10th firing of
Johanna Kiln. S. Johanna Becker will have the honor of lighting the kiln.
S. Becker taught Bresnahan art history when he attended CSB/SJU. After he graduated, she helped him secure an apprenticeship in Japan so he could further study
pottery. To pay respect to S. Becker’s mentorship, Bresnahan named his kiln after her when he completed it in 1994.
Bresnahan expects 150 people to attend the ceremony. He said Br. Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John’s, plans on making the trip from Mayo Clinic, where he is being treated for lung cancer.
What’s cooking
While some at the ceremony will be spectators, many will stick around to help operate the kiln.
“It takes roughly 10 days to wood-fire,” Hoang said. “It can fluctuate because of the weather.”
A wood-fired kiln needs cooks to stoke the fire 24 hours a day, so Bresnahan needed to enlist help to make the firing possible. Not only
locals but also potters from around the world are answering the call.
The cooks must stoke the fire
carefully to maintain a precise
temperature so the pieces don’t get too hot or too cold.
“If the pieces get too hot, they can crack or turn an ugly burnt brown color,” Meyer said. “If they don’t get hot enough, we have to re-fire them.”
The cooks attempt to raise the temperature gradually over the
firing, reaching a peak of 2,700
degrees Fahrenheit by the 10th day. These high temperatures allow flashing to occur. Flashing is when the heat darkens the outside of the pieces, bringing out interesting colors in the clay. Flashing provides much of a piece’s beauty.
Stoking the kiln can be a quiet job.
“When the kiln reaches 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, the wood doesn’t even make a sound of hitting the ground,” Bresnahan said. “It’s all coals by the times it drops that far.”
Bresnahan breaks the cooking responsibility into four six-hour shifts. He leads one shift himself and Bukrey, Meyer and his friend Mitsuo Kakutani lead the others.
Potter community
Kakutani, a retired art professor from Earlham College, flew in from Japan to be a part of firing. Bresnahan met Kakutani in Japan during the 70s when he was studying pottery and they have been friends ever since.
Potter Keisuke Hatanaka also made the trip from Japan to participate in the firing. Hatanaka is representing celebrated Japanese potter Koie Ryoji, who was a visiting artist at SJU last September. During that time Ryoji made about 300 pieces which are loaded to be fired.
About forty different potters helped out, including potters from nine different colleges. Bresnahan said potters form a strong community.
“The Japanese apprentices that come here and our apprentices that go there are treated like family,” he said.
Bresnahan wants the whole community to be a part of the experience. Meyer welcomed those interested to stop by the kiln over the next ten days to check it out.
Lighting ceremony
At 6 tonight, Bresnahan will hold a light ceremony to mark the
beginning of the 10th firing of
Johanna Kiln. S. Johanna Becker will have the honor of lighting the kiln.
S. Becker taught Bresnahan art history when he attended CSB/SJU. After he graduated, she helped him secure an apprenticeship in Japan so he could further study
pottery. To pay respect to S. Becker’s mentorship, Bresnahan named his kiln after her when he completed it in 1994.
Bresnahan expects 150 people to attend the ceremony. He said Br. Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John’s, plans on making the trip from Mayo Clinic, where he is being treated for lung cancer.
What’s cooking
While some at the ceremony will be spectators, many will stick around to help operate the kiln.
“It takes roughly 10 days to wood-fire,” Hoang said. “It can fluctuate because of the weather.”
A wood-fired kiln needs cooks to stoke the fire 24 hours a day, so Bresnahan needed to enlist help to make the firing possible. Not only
locals but also potters from around the world are answering the call.
The cooks must stoke the fire
carefully to maintain a precise
temperature so the pieces don’t get too hot or too cold.
“If the pieces get too hot, they can crack or turn an ugly burnt brown color,” Meyer said. “If they don’t get hot enough, we have to re-fire them.”
The cooks attempt to raise the temperature gradually over the
firing, reaching a peak of 2,700
degrees Fahrenheit by the 10th day. These high temperatures allow flashing to occur. Flashing is when the heat darkens the outside of the pieces, bringing out interesting colors in the clay. Flashing provides much of a piece’s beauty.
Stoking the kiln can be a quiet job.
“When the kiln reaches 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, the wood doesn’t even make a sound of hitting the ground,” Bresnahan said. “It’s all coals by the times it drops that far.”
Bresnahan breaks the cooking responsibility into four six-hour shifts. He leads one shift himself and Bukrey, Meyer and his friend Mitsuo Kakutani lead the others.
Potter community
Kakutani, a retired art professor from Earlham College, flew in from Japan to be a part of firing. Bresnahan met Kakutani in Japan during the 70s when he was studying pottery and they have been friends ever since.
Potter Keisuke Hatanaka also made the trip from Japan to participate in the firing. Hatanaka is representing celebrated Japanese potter Koie Ryoji, who was a visiting artist at SJU last September. During that time Ryoji made about 300 pieces which are loaded to be fired.
About forty different potters helped out, including potters from nine different colleges. Bresnahan said potters form a strong community.
“The Japanese apprentices that come here and our apprentices that go there are treated like family,” he said.
Bresnahan wants the whole community to be a part of the experience. Meyer welcomed those interested to stop by the kiln over the next ten days to check it out.
Lighting ceremony
At 6 tonight, Bresnahan will hold a light ceremony to mark the
beginning of the 10th firing of
Johanna Kiln. S. Johanna Becker will have the honor of lighting the kiln.
S. Becker taught Bresnahan art history when he attended CSB/SJU. After he graduated, she helped him secure an apprenticeship in Japan so he could further study
pottery. To pay respect to S. Becker’s mentorship, Bresnahan named his kiln after her when he completed it in 1994.
Bresnahan expects 150 people to attend the ceremony. He said Br. Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John’s, plans on making the trip from Mayo Clinic, where he is being treated for lung cancer.
What’s cooking
While some at the ceremony will be spectators, many will stick around to help operate the kiln.
“It takes roughly 10 days to wood-fire,” Hoang said. “It can fluctuate because of the weather.”
A wood-fired kiln needs cooks to stoke the fire 24 hours a day, so Bresnahan needed to enlist help to make the firing possible. Not only
locals but also potters from around the world are answering the call.
The cooks must stoke the fire
carefully to maintain a precise
temperature so the pieces don’t get too hot or too cold.
“If the pieces get too hot, they can crack or turn an ugly burnt brown color,” Meyer said. “If they don’t get hot enough, we have to re-fire them.”
The cooks attempt to raise the temperature gradually over the
firing, reaching a peak of 2,700
degrees Fahrenheit by the 10th day. These high temperatures allow flashing to occur. Flashing is when the heat darkens the outside of the pieces, bringing out interesting colors in the clay. Flashing provides much of a piece’s beauty.
Stoking the kiln can be a quiet job.
“When the kiln reaches 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, the wood doesn’t even make a sound of hitting the ground,” Bresnahan said. “It’s all coals by the times it drops that far.”
Bresnahan breaks the cooking responsibility into four six-hour shifts. He leads one shift himself and Bukrey, Meyer and his friend Mitsuo Kakutani lead the others.
Potter community
Kakutani, a retired art professor from Earlham College, flew in from Japan to be a part of firing. Bresnahan met Kakutani in Japan during the 70s when he was studying pottery and they have been friends ever since.
Potter Keisuke Hatanaka also made the trip from Japan to participate in the firing. Hatanaka is representing celebrated Japanese potter Koie Ryoji, who was a visiting artist at SJU last September. During that time Ryoji made about 300 pieces which are loaded to be fired.
About forty different potters helped out, including potters from nine different colleges. Bresnahan said potters form a strong community.
“The Japanese apprentices that come here and our apprentices that go there are treated like family,” he said.
Bresnahan wants the whole community to be a part of the experience. Meyer welcomed those interested to stop by the kiln over the next ten days to check it out.
