Kiln Building

During this hands on workshop we will build a new soda kiln and finish with a firing!

Emma will cover all the basics of kiln building, from required tools and best safety practices, to proper brick laying technique and terminology. Together we will start from the ground up, covering the requirements for a solid foundation, design considerations for efficient air flow and combustion, how to insulate, and most importantly, how to have fun with bricks!

We will also talk about various kiln designs and the benefits and differences of each. If you’ve ever been interested in building a kiln of your own, or simply keen to lay brick and have a better understanding of how kilns function, this is the course for you.

We will finish the workshop with a firing of the new kiln.

Firing

After the kiln is built, it’s time to fire! We will cover creative loading techniques for dynamic surfaces, firing schedules and their effects, and the introduction of soda ash at peak temperature. We will be firing in reduction and cooling in oxidation, aiming for good flashing effects and juicy surfaces. After a day of cooling we will unload and wrap up with a critique of the finished works.

For those in the previous making workshop, you’ll be firing work you created during the workshop. For those only participating in this workshop, you may bring bisqued cone 10 work to fire.

Cost

€2170 includes (almost) everything;
9 nights accommodations, all meals and drinks, all trips and tastings, all tools and materials, train station pick-up and drop-off. (It does not include shipping your work home.)

**If you are also attending the making workshop, the total cost is €3800, which includes both workshops and the lodging and meals for the two nights between workshops.

About the Instructor

Emma Smith is a ceramic artist, kiln builder and mover from Ontario, Canada. Growing up in the shadow of the Niagara Escarpment along the shores of the expansive Great Lakes, she aims to celebrate her relationship with place and environment through her artistic practice.

Emma works primarily in woodfired ceramics, where the pieces are made to be experienced quietly, encouraging moments of contemplation and reflection. Alongside her clay practice, she is inspired by the physical body, and loves to explore new ways to story-tell through movement. She is a regular performer with HAG, an aerial and stilt theatre company that produces narratives using puppetry, clowning, and circus arts.

Her current body of work focuses on love of place, and significant moments in time, while threading her two loves (clay, and the body) together. When she isn’t on the road firing or building kilns, you can find her at her home in Jerseyville ON.

Food and Drink

We will indulge ourselves in the best that Tuscany has to offer. Three meals a day, Italian style. Dinners will begin with an aperitivo, there will be wine at each lunch and dinner, and a ‘digestive’ will round things out (there are always non-alcoholic options, and it’s all included in the workshop cost)

But not only will we eat, we’ll also learn how some of it’s done! Try your hand at our tortelloni and tagliatelle. Learn the hows and whys of cantucci. And make your own wood-fired pizza from scratch. You’ll be able to go home and impress your friends with more than your ceramics!

Several local trips will round out our enjoyment of Italy.