At 10am yesterday the ten people who had work in the latest soda firing at Shadbolt Centre arrived, full of anticipation. Six of them had spent the last few Mondays attending a 'Making Pots for Soda Firing' workshop with Arlynn Nobel. She had advised them on making pieces that would be enhanced by the effects of soda and last Monday demonstrated the spraying of flashing…
We opened the Shadbolt Centre's Soda kiln today but before I share photos of that excitement I'll post some showing the end of the firing last Wednesday. Every single piece of wadded ware was loaded into the kiln on Tuesday by soda workshop leader Arlynn Nobel and technicians Jay MacLennan and Tony Wilson. We were told that it wasn't a tight pack.. all good.…
I've been preparing for this week for all of February. On Monday I took my little collection of bisque-fired stoneware pots to Shadbolt Centre's soda and wood kiln area. Thunder Bay and part-time BC resident Arlynn Nobel has been giving her annual 'Making Pots for Soda-firing' workshop and four of us were invited to join the group for the actual soda firing, to help fill…
I do enjoy the drive out to Matsqui Prairie for these occasional salt firings at Herman Venema's country studio. The mountains you see to the North as you drive over the Pitt River bridge, reflected in the river, are spectacular. And further on, near Ruskin, there's Mount Baker, seemingly just across the Fraser River. When I arrived Herman and Dave were ready to start work,…