Soda-fired Kiln Building
Soda-fired Kiln Building
Together, we will build a new soda-fire kiln for Idyllwild Arts during this week-long workshop and, if everything goes well, fire it at the end of the week! The basics of gas kiln design and firebrick construction techniques will be discussed during the building process. Students will work with the instructor and assistants in laying firebrick walls in the steel kiln frame, mixing fireclay mortar, cutting brick with a brick saw, and creating the arch over a form.
Requirements: Be prepared to work – kiln building is physical exercise, but it goes fairly quickly with many hands. Good gloves, safety glasses and a N-95 grade mask (or more if disposable) are a necessity. Use of simple tools like hammers, levels, drills, hand saws, tape measures, and mortar trowels will be part of the experience.
Students are invited to bring 3 to 5 moderate-sized pieces of Cone 10 bisqueware for the first firing (more details closer to the workshop).
Richard Burkett is an Emeritus Professor at San Diego State University, teaching ceramics for 30 years. His work has focused largely on soda firing. In the 1970s he made salt-glazed ware at his Wild Rose Pottery in Indiana, before receiving his MFA degree in both ceramics and photography from Indiana University-Bloomington. He has built more than a dozen kilns, many of them soda/salt kilns. Burkett has lectured on ceramics in Korea, Ecuador, Sweden, Turkey, and Finland. His work is part of many collections.
Instagram: @richardburkett
Faculty: Richard Burkett
Dates: June 11- 17, 2023
Each week begins on Sunday at 9 a.m. and ends Saturday morning after the kilns are unloaded.
Tuition: $940
Tuition, room and board: $1,966
Lab Fee: $65, includes firing, and shared supplies; you will be asked to bring additional materials.
Skill Level: Beginning to Advanced (basic ceramic skills required)
Enrollment: Enrollment limited to 8 students
Brief Course Description:
Learn to build a soda-fire kiln and the basics of simple gas kiln construction.
