01 – 09 of October 2022
Whakatū (Nelson), Aotearoa
This workshop lead by Darryl Frost and Sarah Harrison is an in-depth, multi-day exploration of wood firing.
Participants will learn the intricacies of this firing technique, starting from the very beginning with preparing both the work and the kiln. Attendees will be required to take a shift during the firing(see details below), and will get to monitor and stoke the kiln with supervision from the tutors.
Over the course of the week, Darryl and Sarah will explain not only the processes, but also those finer details that can have a huge impact on firing.
Attendees are required to bring covered footwear, a pair of welding gloves (available from Blackwoods Safety for $15), sunglasses, water and a box worth (approximately 400x 500x 250mm) of bisqued pots for the firing, glazes will be available on site.
The workshops schedule, which stretches across the week, is as follows:
Sunday October 2 and Monday October 3: kiln loading and preparation.
Tuesday October 4 and Wednesday October 5: lighting of the fire – the 30hour firing is planned to continue through the night until shutdown on Wednesday. Shifts to cover the firing will be discussed at the beginning of the workshop.
Saturday October 8: opening of the kiln and inspection of the work.
Participants are required to bring covered footwear, a pair of welding gloves (available from Blackwoods Safety for $15), sunglasses, water.
With over 100 firings under his belt, Darryl Frost is one of New Zealand’s most experienced wood firers. Darryl's work is a tactile and intuitive response to his surroundings, a homage to the interplay of the elements. When Darryl’s pieces are unveiled from his kiln, the true beauty is revealed, altered and twisted; the raw materials shaped by man and fire.
Sarah Harrison began potting in 1991 and established her studio, Shoal Bay Pottery, on Great Barrier Island in 1994. Her first wood firing was in Jamaica in 1997. Bitten by the fire bug, Harrison has been firing the kiln she built for almost a decade. In Sarah’s own words, "I am as much about the process of potting as the product and have developed a very deep and meaningful relationship with my chainsaw."