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Kayla Noble | Episode 1039
Kayla Noble is a second generation potter, born and raised in New York’s Hudson Valley. Kayla is the current Woodfire Artist in Residence at The Clay Studio of Missoula in Missoula, MT. Kayla enjoys exploring the potential of clay in atmospheric conditions and the possibility for conversations that can happen with an ember-bed.
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What do you love most about the community that is gathered around wood fired pottery?
Oh man, it’s just so much passion. Everyone there is really excited to be there.
Is there a sweet spot in a kiln that you want to see your pieces in?
I like the fire box right in the front of the kiln. I like to have my work touching the ember bed because I really like the texture and color and all the action that happens there. So I want them in the fire.
Is there a right way to bring leadership to a wood firing?
I think it’s having intention because whether you are intentional or not as a leader you are still going to be influencing and impacting people. So I think it means coming with awareness, coming with the ability to listen, and then also coming with the ability to make decisions and be decisive and communicate that in, I guess, an elegant fashion, with grace.
How do you have control while being a leader in community of where you want their pots to turn out good and you want that sweet spot for your pots?
It’s a mutual trust that has to be involved. The community that comes to fire with me, they are coming to fire with me hopefully because they trust me and they are going to trust my choices. And when you are going to choose to work with someone and you choose to fire with someone you have the opportunity to look at their work and decide if their firing style might or might not work for you. And what’s great about this residency is it changes every two years. If my firing style does not suit someone’s work there is opportunity to work with other people. So I do my best to ensure that everyone’s work is placed in the kiln to best serve the work and the community trusts my choices.
When you build larger pots is there a danger spot where you have to get through this part and then you are good but everything has the potential of falling apart before then?
Like with construction?
Yes.
Not that I have found, for me. I have had a relatively easy time building the forms that I make.
How thick do the walls have to be to support a three foot tall pot?
With my clay I am building about a half inch wide. So objectively thin, it just depends on your clay body, really. Different clays might need to be thicker or thinner. I am building table top size about a quarter of an inch and then the bigger pots I try to keep as thick as my thumb.
How important is wood type for firing?
I feel like the answer is just, Yes. (laughter) Different woods will burn differently. I’m now from moving from New York to Montana and firing with a completely different type of wood. So that means I am adjusting my clay bodies and firings to suit the wood. The wood is extremely important and what you get is what you get too. So it’s just learning how to work with what is growing near you.
Book
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
Contact
Instagram: @mud_wench