Open air large scale firing
I have been looking at 'Large scale ceramics' by Jim Robison and 'Backyard kilns' by Steve Mills. There seems to have been a number of people who have experimented working on sculptural ceramics in situ for many different reasons and I thought this could be perhaps a way to fire the whole column in one go rather than in sections. When considering whether to approach a pipe manufacturers to produce a large clay pipe to work into I not only wondered if adding things to the clay but also firing health and safety from the burning materials within. Nina Hole (1941-2016) seems to have been the most prolific large scale fire sculptor. I noticed that her workhas holes passing through it..wonder if this might be an issue? (http://www.micolceramics.com/blog/2016/3/9/tu9gfebsc064gmcm6q3ok7s8umlg4n)
Tom Barnett also carries out this kind of work. He produced the time capsule shape in my images. The work is covered with kiln fibre blanket to keep the heat in but Jim's book talks about cloth covered in clay slip in layers. Both Nina and Tom turn the firings into performances.
TOM BARNETT about the firings;
'These were corporeal and spectacular multifaceted artwork events rooted in the physicality of the process of transforming clay into ceramic. Site specific sculptures constructed from clay were built in such a way that they became self-firing kilns: wrapped in insulation, and heated with wood or gas to vitrify the clay at 1200 degrees C. At this point the insulation would be taken off to reveal the searing heat and light of the form within.'
