In 1996 after working as a potter for more than 20 years I was invited to fire an anagama kiln with Hiroshi Ogawa in Elkton Oregon. The experience empowered and inspired me. Not only was the atmosphere of the kiln intoxicating, the community that Hiroshi had built around his kiln site was supportive, generous and nourishing. Each time I left the kiln site to return home, I was convinced that wood firing would become a part of my life.
I continued to fire at Hiroshi’s a couple times a year, I learned about the stoking, staking and splitting of wood. I learned about endurance and strength. I learned about cooperation and about the sharing information, critiquing my work and building a network. I really began to understand the process of making and firing my work. My love and appreciation for clay deepened.
I returned to Boulder each time with the goal of building my own anagama. I began to look for other potters interested in this idea and found that many students and local potters were inclined to help. The path was long and filled with many turns but I had a lot of lucky breaks as the idea took form. I learned about a brick yard going out of business. With the help of some other crazy potters, we bought as much brick as we could, paying pennies on the dollar. We loaded a semi truck and brought the brick back to Boulder.
After buying the brick I applied for a building permit from the City of Boulder. I was immediately told we could not build a wood kiln. They gave me no explanation. I was devastated. After talking with a variety of officials I decided to ask permission to do a wood kiln research project to determine if firing with wood was more polluting than electricity, gas or oil. To my surprise, they agreed.
In 2005 we held a series of fund raisers and raised enough money to begin building our own anagama. I found luck again when I talked Jim Cooper (a master kiln builder in our area) into coming up and helping us with this project. I had built quite a few kilns over my career, each time approaching it as a welcomed task. I had never really understood that the art of building a kiln was as magical and amazing as the act of making and firing pots. Jim Cooper taught me that designing and building a kiln was truly an art. From my tiny line drawing and my verbal clues he worked to perfect a design and build a kiln that exceeded all of my expectations.
I teamed up with two professors from the University of Colorado. Michael Hannigan from mechanical and combustion engineering and John Zhai from environmental engineering. We embarked on a journey to try and answer how to reduce or eliminate unwanted emissions from wood firing. The research is in its third year. We have gathered some real data, asked lots of good questions found a few answers. This research is complex. With no funding but a dedication to continue the research we have come a long way. Our goal is to continue the research, find a way to fund stack tests, gather more data and publish the results of the research.
Our
kiln is built in the middle of an open field. The sky is deep blue
and the air clean and crisp. We see all kinds of wildlife when we
fire and we find peace and joy under the stars and rejoice as the sun
rises. We named our kiln Repunkamuigama, the Whale Spirit kiln
because she looks like a whale sailing on the prairie. When we fire
together we give thanks for all the opportunities this kiln has
brought to us especially our community of good friends and potters
that nourish and sustain us.
-Nancy Utterback
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