2501 Visiting Artist Workshop Clay Form We Transform Through Fire
Visiting Artist-Ceramics | Available
This workshop is held a week before the 2025 NC Wood Firing Conference. For this hands-on train kiln firing workshop, each student will bring up to 5 bisqueware to glaze, slip, load, and fire in the Sawtooth train kiln. The workshop instructor, Antra Sinha, is a faculty at Utah State University where the train kiln was originally developed. Before the firing, there will be a Power Point presentation about understanding the workings of a wood firing train kiln. Antra will share her experiences of using this way of firing and the ways of loading the kiln to get exciting surfaces on your potteries and/or sculptures. There is importance given to the type of clay you use for making the work for this workshop. There will be sharing of slips and surface decorations that will complement the fire. Eventually leading to learning about firing that create variation on surfaces of the ware, and about form and aesthetics.
Day One, 5/16 (Friday): Introduction to train kiln firing. Antra will share her experiences firing train kilns at USU. demonstrate how to effectively decorate pots with glaze and flashing slips. Students will glaze/ slip pots and make plans for the loading.
Day Two, 5/17 (Saturday): Kiln loading begins with Antra sharing her ideas related to different ways to prepare and place pots in the kiln and utilizing wads that made from different clay to create flashing effects. Light the kiln and begin the firing.
Day Three, 5/18 (Sunday): Firing continues. Students will fire the kiln in groups with the guidance from Antra and following the lead by the kiln itself. Watching and understanding the way, perhaps the kiln is gaining temperature, and the pots are getting desirable surfaces.
Day Four, 5/19 (Monday): Firing continues with holding temperature at close to the cone 10 (2300°F) until surfaces on the pots look satisfactory. Plan to finish firing and seal up the kiln around 12:00pm. Catch up on rest in the afternoon.
Day Five, 5/20 (Tuesday): Day trip to Seagrove area potters. Upon return check the kiln, if the temperatures are cool then open damper, peek in the kiln.
Day Six, 5/21 (Wednesday): Unload kiln, observe, share, learn. Learn processes to clean the pots unloaded from kiln firing. Antra shares ‘Patience’ is key. Share the list of safety measures related to wood kiln clean up. Reflect on Ideas for future pottery making and firing. Pack up.
- The student will bring up to 5 bisqueware for this workshop. The work needs to be made with stoneware clay constituted for cone 10 (2300°F/1300°C.)
The biggest dimension of each piece should be within 8” in Length or Height.
Antra Sinha
Antra Sinha is a ceramic artist, educator, and community builder with the arts. She received her BFA & MFA from MS University of Baroda, India. She was then anapprentice to Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith at Golden Bridge Pottery(GBP) starting in 2002, where she worked for a decade. An award from Japan Foundationtook Antra to the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan for a six-month residency. She is a member of organizations: IAC, ISCAEE & NCECA.
The key themes found in her art practice are the elemental aspects and geometry in nature. Antra is inspired by both the macro and the micro designs of theuniverse. She designed and built a unique kiln and set up a ceramic studio, Earth Art, in Pondicherry, India. In 2015, she received a STEM scholarship to pursueher second MFA at Utah State University and continues to live and work in Logan, Utah.