Blazing. A trail from Denver to Kansas City

Woodfired Kiln

420 is closing in, Mile High Potter, hits the Road to NCECA in Kansas City. NCECA is the National Conference for the Education of Ceramic Arts and I’ve been invited to throw Iron and pour molds at the University of Kansas, Well known for their Ceramic Arts Program. With that said, Academia has little to no love for ceramic Pipes. Thanks to that “just say No” shit, from the Reagan era. Lets face it, People don’t do ceramics thinking they will make a fortune. They do it for other reasons. Enjoyment, Pleasure, Personal Satisfaction, Expression, Desire, the list goes on but not usually for financial gain. Don’t get me wrong, there are success stories but they usually teach or sell supplies to supplement their income. It’s a chore, Labor of Love. I have a passion for fire. I like melting Iron, Firing Kilns, Pushing the limits of my internal combustion engine, even lighting a Blunt brings happiness to my heart and mind.

Sand Tiles

I poured Iron in Denver on Friday 11, 2016 and was offered the opportunity to pour in Kansas City on Monday the 14. Sounds good to me and I really wanted to participate in the NCECA event somehow. With an event like this, I decided to make it a Road Trip of Exploration. All I needed were my leathers and a bunch of Big Fucking Pipes. So I loaded up the Z4 and raced across Kansas. Met up with my Party and started setting up for the event that night. The University of Kansas has an amazing Kiln Yard. Wood fire kilns, gas and electric. but its the wood fire kilns that draw my attention. These huge roof covered kilns, take days to fire, and need constant supervision. We poured Iron as the crowd ate the Pig that was roasted on site. As the sun began to set we began throwing Iron against the wall for sheer spectacle. The crowd loves this, as do I. I like to think of it as Performance Art, because there is no finished product to show aside from the videos of the event. I like to be engulfed for that moment by the hot sparkling rain of Iron particles as they twinkle and fall around me. exhilarating!! This event required additional ingenuity. The generator that was provided ended up shorting out our blower. This forced us to adapt our existing equipment to deliver air in large quantities for an extended amount of time. Doubling up on blowers with cardboard Y’s duct taped together, seemed to do the trick. The next morning was “pack & clean up”. I won’t bore you with the details. But from here on, Its all about Big Fucking Pipes. I got a plan, and all I see is Green. Spoiler Alert: Green Bay for St. Patrick’s Day. Mile High Potter.

https://youtu.be/fetcuz1aTqk