I love my job.
This 6week I took ownership of my first Venco Pottery Wheel. Thirty-five years exactly after my makeshift student wheel was sold by my parents when I left home…I was suitably excited. What made it extra special was that after searching fruitlessly online for a wheel and trying to hire one unsuccessfully I advertised on my local Facebook noticeboard. I inserted an image of a Venco, not really thinking I could score such a good brand, and let my neighbours know I was on the look out for one if they had it lying around. A short time later ‘Kayla’ replied that she did and would offer it to me for just $500. As things stood with my business finances this was out of my reach at the time. I let her know and this great gal replied ‘ just let me know when you can and it will be waiting for you’! Suffice to say thanks to a Centrelink lump sum payment I was finally able to make good on my promised purchase. I visited Kayla and her husband at their beautiful property just up the road from my studio. Not only did they give me the wheel that had been safely stored in a container, but they invited me to tour their garden and shed full of historic artefacts. As a keen bottle collector and lover of antiquities (thanks to living in Longreach and taking up fossicking) I raptured over the shed come museum full of local bottle finds, early mine equipment, archive photos and metal detector discoveries. In short, the delight for any ‘Antiques Roadshow’ devotee. I was privileged to be shown their Memorial Garden, built in honour of their daughter and overflowing with fairy themed props and beautiful flowering orchids. The highlight of the visit was when Kayla showed me a honey glazed ceramic fairy castle that had been made by her elderly neighbour from, can you guess? White clay found in her neighbour’s garden, then fired and gifted to the Memorial Garden. It was priceless…the sharing of personal stories, discoveries and beauty. This is becoming a regular occurrence; as I stop to talk to locals, hear their stories I discover new treasures of history and clay. I encourage all my readers to take the time to just hang out in their local area and build connections…you never know what you might discover.
1… Building a Sustainable Business
2 Wild Ceramics –birdlife to inspire
3… The History of Primitive Kilns
4. Fireclay Caverns of Mount Morgan
5. Pottery Profile –Nob Creek Pottery Byfield
6. Snapshots
‘Sustainable’ is bandied around a lot today. Thirty years ago I started a degree in Environmental Science and first explored the attributes of sustainability of resources. Then, it was a term limited to eco warriors; now every business and organisation uses it in promotion and advertising. There are sustainability models like the one pictured; Unlike many who promote the latest green credentials I have deep roots in the sustainability movement.
sus·tain·able
1. able to be maintained at a certain rate or level: "sustainable economic growth"
o conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources: "our fundamental commitment to sustainable development"
2. able to be upheld or defended: "sustainable definitions of good educational practice"
For starters, I grew up in Tasmania at a time when dams were protested and old growth forests fought over between loggers and conservationists. The family of my first serious boyfriend made mud bricks from their property and built their house entirely from found materials I began buying all my clothes from ‘op shops’ to the horror of my mother; a practice which I have continued to this day. I drew up a blueprint for my ultimate self- sufficient home complete with methane powered stove and compost toilet. I read the ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachel Carsen and David Suzuki’s ‘Metamorphosis’ and subscribed to ‘Grassroots ‘ magazine.
In case you don’t recognise any of these titles, the key themes are living sustainably and responsibly with the resources we have. This has been a lifetime goal throughout the myriad roles and places I have found myself in.
I am not a natural ‘businessman’. My sister is a financial analyst and now CEO; she obviously inherited ALL the business acumen from my father and his family. IN other words, I am not wired to make money, accrue wealth and make investments; for me, living authentically is sharing my knowledge and skills, connecting locally and respecting the land on which we live. As one workshop participant said after I offered a discount on a class ‘you are such an artist! That’s not how you build a successful business.’
So, the questions is…CAN you be self-employed in a way which provides income for your family AND is sustainable? My infographic isan attempttomap out the model of ‘Wild Mount Morgan Clay’. The key features are PEOPLE, HISTORY and ENVIRONMENT and how they interconnect.
According to the dictionary definition ‘sustainability’ means the ability to maintain a certain rate of activity or growth which is upheld to a standard of ecological good. One year on from my business launch it is a good time to reflect on the core values and goals for the future.
What does it take to sustain a certain rate of growth? For me, it means always exploring new ways of providing creative outlets, researching more worldwide trends in wild clay use and an attitude of innovation. I have been blessed with the regular input from local residents in Mount Morgan who are quick to give feedback, either constructive or enthusiastic. The business is after all connected to the place and history of the town; they should have a sense of ownership!
As confirmed by my Business Coach, sometimes you need to take a detour or go off on a tangent when the planned direction of a business is thwarted. This year my primitive kiln and difficulty in sourcing timely supplies has slowed down theability toprovide workshop participantswith a finished fired artwork.
I was unsure whether the name and mission of my business would allow for provision of alternate artforms and workshops; but the success of an outdoors oil painting workshop and community feedback via a survey suggested that there is a local need for drawing and painting classes during the week.
My studio renovations have stalled due to an ongoing arm injury which also slows my clay harvesting; utilising my background in drawing and painting particularly over winter months is hopefully a useful diversion for the business.
In most ways, facilitating art workshops is providing a service for the community; it allows people to meet and connect, it provides new skills and achievements and addresses social isolation. I believe the key aspect of sustainability in a smalltown ismeetingtheexpectationsand needsofthelocal residents.
As an artist and educator I want my business to be founded and rooted in the local community and viable for the long term as an expression of historical eventslikemining, thenarrativeoflocalpeople and materialsfound in ourvery backyards. If that provides an income for me as well, then it’s an added bonus.
Pottery isoneof the oldest craft practised throughout the world. The abundance of a variety of clay soil types would have created a ready material for constructing functional vessels for drinking from, eatingoff and cooking. Interestingly prehistory also records non-functional figurines and
off areas of kiln) and a stoking hole all conserved heat. A chimney stack improved air flow or draw of the kiln which increased fuel efficiency.
There are essentially two types of kilns built historically and currently by DIY: updraft and downdraft.
Updraft kiln
representations of people and animals. It made sense that the first pottery would be ‘fired’ in a fireplace just like food in early history. Simple earthen trenches filled with fuel (wood, coal or peat) and pots are known generically as ‘pit fires’ and produced very fragile and porous vessels due to the low possible firing (500-6000C).
Improvements such as building a firing chamber, using baffles (closing
Updraft kilns are those in which the flame is introduced into the bottom of the kiln, at or below floor level and exhausted out the top. They have three main components: firebox, damper and stack area.
Downdraft Kilns are designed to force the heated air to circulate through the kiln. Flame introduced
Figure 1 bronze age pottery from Yarim Tepeat the bottom naturally flows upwards.
The construction of the kiln forces the flame back downwards to the exhaust at the bottom of the kiln
Downdraft kilns consist of four main components: the firebox, the stack area, the damper, and the chimney. The addition of the chimney helps create draw or air flow.
fuelled by wood. Hill-climbing kilns that are one long chamber are often closer to an updraft air-flow pattern.
The Mantou Kiln of Northern China is horseshoe shaped, smaller in size and compact. This kiln is a type of ‘Cross draught’ kiln in which flames travel horizontally. Kilns were constructed of brick and dug below
more rapidly historically than in China. The development of kiln technology in Asia was directly responsible for the advances in ceramics. Before 2000BCE the Chinese developed kilns built below ground capable of firing at 1000 0C. Two types of early Chinese kiln designs developed in 200CE are still in use today: the Dragon Kiln of Southern China is a long thin construction running up a slope and
ground with only the dome and chimney protruding above the earth. The Firebox was accessed via a tunnel and the interior lined with refractory fireclay. In comparison with the Dragon kiln, firing was evenly distributed across the chamber but required a far smaller load of a few hundred pieces with saggars rather than tens of
Figure 3 Mantou Kiln Downdraft kiln Figure 2 Dragon kilnthousands possible in a large Dragon Kiln in a single firing.
halves of the ceramic bodies were solid yellow clay and the upper halves hollow. They were glued with clay paste and fired in one piece in one of the many kilns found around the countryside.
Both Chinese medieval pottery and that of Ancient Rome could be fired in industrial quantities with tens of thousandsofpiecesin a single firing. Kilns found in Britain made during Roman occupation were built on the side of a slope so that heat rose up,
One of the most famous historical pottery finds is the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang-di who ruled China around 250BCE.
the slope itself acting as a natural chimney and enhancing the kiln’s draw.
The Dragon Kiln design spread to the rest of Asia into Japan as the
The terracotta warriors as they are named are 8000 individually created life-size pottery works that along with animals and weaponry made up the tomb of the Emperor Qin. What is astounding it the skill required to create the sculptures. The lower
Figure 4 Terracota Warriors
Figure 6 Noborigama Kiln
Figure 5 Mantou cross section Shanghai Museum
Anagama Kiln and into Korea in the 5th century. The Noborigama Kiln is a Japanese evolution to a multi chamber kiln enabling more efficient firings. These multi chambered hill climbing kilns are downdraft kilns.
bottle kilns operated, half of which are still standing.
The bottle kiln however as an updraft kiln was notoriously inefficient utilising only 30% of coal fuel used.
The Khmer Kiln is similar to the Anagama although the traditional Cambodian one had a flat roof. The kilns varied in size up to ten metres and firing lasted several days
Throughout Europe and
Americas the common household kilns were updraft in design. The descriptive Beehive Kiln was used in Europe since the Middle Ages and became as popular in the Americas until the Industrial Revolution. Similar in style is the distinctive bottle kiln, famous in large numbers in Stoke-On-Trent the centre of the ceramic industry. At its heyday 4000
Figure 8 Amanda Slater Coventry UK
Figure 7 Reconstruction of traditional Khmer Kiln Siem Riep Cambodia
Figure 9 Stoke-on-Trent Bottle Kiln
As you can see the of the prevalence of the early kilns is huge; every continent would contain their version of a central oven to produce pottery, coal and later glass, metalworks and bricks.
These ‘primitive’ or wood fired kilns have made a real resurgence around the world as potters, meat smokers and artisans discover how to create their own bespoke versions using locally sourced or recycled materials. Of particular importance for these new users is havingcompletecontrol over the process from harvesting clay to firing
With an understanding of the basic updraft, downdraft or crossdraft principles you too can build your own experimental kiln.
How Emperor Qin's Terracotta Soldiers Were Made (thoughtco.com)
Different Types of Kiln Construction (thesprucecrafts.com)
History of Kilns and Kiln Designs (GcCeramics)Meeneecat (google.com)Kiln - Wikipedia
Fireclay Caverns are located in the heritagelisted Mount Morgan Mine site in Queensland, Australia. The Fireclay Caverns were excavated by the Mount Morgan Mine to provide clay for its brickworks resulting in very large openings that measure between 4–12 metres in height from the cave floor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireclay_Caverns
Nob Creek Pottery Byfield QLD
