Looking Into The Woodfire Community | Denise Joyal, Chris Landers, Lisa York, Tim Sherman | Episode 413

Denise Joyal, Chris Landers, Lisa York, Tim Sherman | Episode 413

Denise Joyal

Chris Landers

At this year’s NCECA Pittsburgh I sat down with a group of potters that had put on a room show to talk about what it was like to put on a room show. Now a room show is not part of NCECA, but it is a side thing that happens during NCECA in a hotel room. So that was going to be the point of the conversation. As we got into this we ended up spending a significant amount of time talking about what it is like being a part of the woodfire pottery community. The participants were Denise Joyal, Chris Landers, Lisa York, and Tim Sherman.

Lisa York

Tim Sherman and his Firing Crew

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The Value of Relationships | Tim Sherman | 389

Tim Sherman | 389

Tim Sherman is a potter making functional, utilitarian pottery on an electric potters wheel. Sherman glazes and single fires all of his work in a large wood-burning anagama style kiln at his home in Frederick, Md. He makes everything from tableware: cups, mugs, bowls, plates, pitchers to decorative vases, jugs, and large scale jars. Although Sherman has control over the form and glaze he applies on his pieces, much of the final outcome is left to the mercy of the kiln. Over three days, layers of ash land of the pieces and eventually get hot enough to melt into an additional glaze. Though many of the forms are similar, no two pieces will ever be the same. Evidence of flame pattering and firing length is a huge part of the aesthetic in his work. Each piece tells a story of where and how it was packed into the kiln as the fire leaves markings on their surfaces as it fights to exit the chimney of the kiln.

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