| Where do these ideas come from? In this case it is a result of sitting around the large kitchen table at the ASP drinking large amounts of tea. Influences arrive from far and wide, like when we heard about the residency of potter Raewyn Atkinson in Antarctica and thinking how she could fire her pots. Throw in a bit of technical troubleshooting advice on how fast we think a block of ice can melt and bingo, the Ice Kiln is born. Months later we achieve moderate success with our first attempt, 3 slabs of ice frozen in the kitchen freezer are assembled on a fibre base and a pre-heated bisqued pot is placed inside before we let loose with a large gas burner. This spectacle was photographed and it is those images that persuaded us to try and refine the idea and have another go.
This time we had a deadline; Guy Fawkes night, our traditional time of mayhem. We acquired a large chest freezer and invested in a $100 block of ice. This was necessary as the first attempt lacked clarity through the ice. The block was 1000mm long by 400mm wide and 300mm high. I cut two 200mm slices off each end, then cut a block out of the centre measuring 400mm long, 200mm wide and 300mm high. Then the two slices were placed on top, making a simple box kiln with no floor. A hole for the burner was cut in one end and then the whole kiln was put inside the freezer to re-freeze for a couple of days.
On the night we had a table set up with a layer of fibre on it, then the kiln was placed on top and I cut a hole for the chimney opposite the burner entry. One edge was lifted and a pre-heated sacrificial bisque pot was placed inside and the burner was lit. Once the outside of the kiln was cleared with water it revealed a beautiful clear box of flame, seconds later the ice developed large cracks, like crazing on pottery. But as it didn't fall apart we let rip with the burner. We also experimented with letting off various types of fireworks inside the kiln, some of which shot out balls of fire, others changed the colour of the fire to pink or green. The finest were the small bright white strobe lights that lit up the whole kiln. It was great to see children putting their hands on the cold ice, whilst only 10cm away was a roaring hot flame, seen as clear as through glass. In the end the firing lasted about 45 minutes, after that the chimney hole was about half the kiln size.
Next on the agenda is a bigger kiln and of a different shape, having learnt a lot about the way these two kilns melted and ultimately collapsed we have plan C already underway. |
