Introduction

Form with Fire will cover a wide range of ways to make pots and sculptural vessels both on and off the potter’s wheel. The final soda firing will open up creative options for the surface.

Techniques taught

Numerous basic forms will be created on the wheel or slab built and then altered in different ways by cutting, shaving, pushing, stretching or combining. The instructor favors these techniques in his own practice because they provide a foundation for new forms and ideas with seemingly endless possibilities. In the final vapor firing, the essential transformation brought about by heat and vapors can produce varied and exceptional graduations of colour, texture, pattering and flashing in the clays, slips and glazes. For more information about vapor glazing click here.

Teaching method

Throughout the workshop, students of all skill levels will have ample time to use these techniques and begin to create similar forms with their own voice. An additional focus of the workshop will cover both the formal elements of different shapes as well as how those features may (or may not) be affected by the path of the flame flowing through an atmospheric kiln.

Logistics

In this course, some previous experience with clay may be an advantage.  A delicious mid day meal is included on all working days. Included in the programme there will be some excursions to nearby beautyspots. Also, the Sunday in between the two weeks will be a free day, perfect for an excurison or to relax enjoying the Tuscan countryside.

The Artist

Stuart Gair received a history degree from Ohio University and completed an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Gair has spent time making work and teaching at the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT), Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) as well as Colorado Mountain College (Aspen, CO). Currently, Stuart lives and works as a full time studio artist in Athens, OH, an area rich in clay and ceramic history, where he is exploring alternative ways of firing the soda kiln. The geometric forms he creates are driven by form, function, utility, subtlety, and discovery. Gair hopes that each piece is used and enjoyed whether displayed on a table or in the hands of the user. http://stuartgair.com