You’ll help stoke the kiln all the way to 2300 degrees using only wood as a fuel source all the while creating colorful flashing and ash deposits on your pieces. Students will participate in all aspects of the firing. On the first day we will meet at the kiln site, glaze our work and load the kiln. Beginning early the following morning we will continue to stoke the kiln for the next 36-40 hours and the exciting unload happens a few days later after the kiln is allowed to slowly cool. Contact Brian if you have any questions about suitable clay bodies, slips and glazes that will take full advantage of the results possible with the wood firing process. Bring your bisque pieces of various sizes (4 cubic feet or about 30 pots) to glaze and fire. All bisque-ware must be ^10 clay.

Brian Taylor has been practicing ceramics for the past 20 years.  He received his Masters of Fine Arts Degree in 2010 from Alfred University and his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Utah State University in 2006. His work is exhibited nationally and he recently co-authored the book Glaze: The Ultimate Ceramic Artist’s Guide to Glaze and Color. He has fired and helped construct numerous kilns throughout his career including a train-style kiln at USU designed by his professor, John Neely, the original creator of the train kiln design.  Brian is currently the Ceramic Program Director at Castle Hill and has had the pleasure of firing the train kiln there with great results!

Craig McNeil, a recent graduate from MassArt in Boston, has been building wood kilns and wood-firing for 18 years across the US and in Germany. Craig has fired the wood kiln here at Castle Hill for the past 5 years and is excited to be with us in a new role.