CooperJCeramics

I have been involved in ceramics a majority of my life; starting as a kid who loved clay. I continued through my high school and college years forming my aesthetic style as a ceramic artist and finding a love for functional wares. I find inspiration in nature and enjoy creating items that nod to shapes and figures that are found in the organic world. I work with my heart, head and hands in order to create functional and sculptural items that intrigue and satisfy.

I work in a variety of wood fired kilns across the Pacific Northwest to fire my pieces. I enjoy the spontaneous effects that wood fired kilns provide as well as the community of people it takes to run these kilns for many days.

Wood kilns can produce temperatures of 1400°C (2,500 °F), which allows the wood to produce fly ash and volatile salts while it burns. This complex interaction of ash, salts, minerals in the clay and the flame itself are what give wood fired pots their unique characteristics. Wood ash might lightly settle on a piece during the firing, or accumulate to the point where the ash drips down the sides of a pot, or the ash might even accumulate around the pot until it is completely submerged. Placement of pieces within the kiln also greatly affects the pottery’s final appearance, pieces closer to the fire may become immersed in embers and ash, while those further from the flame may only be lightly touched by ash effects and salt. This is why the results differ from each kiln as well as each time a kiln is fired.

Please contact me if you would like to learn more about the wood fired process!