Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60begins—it takes 12-24 hours to get the kiln up to full temperature, which can be as high as 2600 degrees Farenheit. Kim usually does a preliminary bisque firing of the pieces in the electric kiln first to help better prepare the pieces for the high heat of the wood kiln. Someone has to be at the kiln for the duration of the firing to keep the wood fire stoked. Typical wood kilns take 5-7 days for a firing, but our smaller more efficient wood kiln takes less time. It is also important to bring the kiln up to temperature slowly, or the pots may blow up. To refuel the fire, the kiln door can only be open for a short amount of time, or the worker’s gloves and clothes will start to smoke from the heat. The kiln workers adjust the amount of oxygen available to the fire. When they load more wood, they need to allow oxygen in the kiln to keep the fire going, but then aim for oxygen reduction to get a higher temperature and to produce different glaze results. After the firing, the pieces must cool for 2 days. Then and only then, the kiln is finally opened and unloaded so students can see how their pieces performed. While all age levels at GDS are able to work with the wood fired kiln, this kiln truly opens up some new possibilities for the higher-level students to experiment and grow as artists. The AP Ceramics The evolution of getting this wood fired kiln is an interesting story in itself. Burroughs often created Raku kilns for his students on the sidewalk in front of the McMillion building. Dana Lowell, Theatre Technical Director, saved wood scraps from the theatre program, and Burroughs used them in the small kilns. One day, Head of School Mark Hale came over to ask if those small kilns could be removed, as there was a Parents’ night scheduled for McMillion. Kim asked if he could have a dedicated patio behind his classroom to do that kind of work. Mark supported and spear- headed the projected, meeting with Brano Milicevic, our Maintenance Supervisor, who helped create that patio one summer, and put in a door to access it. Over time, Brano worked with Kim and the GDS maintenance team to help expand the patio to accommodate a wood fired kiln. They also worked with the city to get the proper building codes and permissions to create a structure to protect the kiln from rainfall. It took 2 ½ years to get the kiln building and the kiln built according to code. Once again, the Parents’ Association along with our Maintenance Department provided the funds to make the kiln project happen. This kiln is truly unique for a PreK-12 educational program. The only other wood fired kilns in the area are at Guilford College and Seagrove, NC. This kiln was designed by John Thies and Bill Van Gilder. It is a small kiln designed to fire quickly, and in a way that doesn’t require a lot of people to maintain the firing. The process of firing the wood fired kiln begins with prepping the glazes. For a wood firing, students usually glaze the inside, but do not put as much glaze on the outside of the piece, because the ash and soda of the fire coats the pieces inside the kiln. However, they have to consider where in the kiln the pieces will be placed when they glaze; there are different temperatures and varying concentrations of ash depending on where the piece is located within the kiln. The students have to clean and coat the shelves within the kiln for every firing. They also prepare clay wadding—little clay spheres that must be put between each piece and the shelves. The clay wads prevent the pieces from fusing to the shelves in the heat of the kiln and can be easily removed from the pieces after the firing. Wood is brought in, and it takes a day to stack and prep the wood for the firing. It then takes another day to meticulously load the shelves in the kiln. Then the door to the kiln must be constructed. There is no mortar in the bricks for the kiln, as it would be decimated in the high temperatures. Then the firing course has some very strict requirements. AP students must create 8 pieces that show depth and breadth of work—they must create a variety of forms, with a variety of techniques, including different glazing techniques and temperatures. They also must create another set of 12 pieces with a “concentration”—a central artistic idea that they then explore for the rest of the year. Most working artists do develop a concentration over their careers— our AP students create it in a semester, and must also write and explain that idea as well as photograph and send in all their work for the AP board. Kim’s students regularly score 4-5 points (out of 5) on their AP portfolios. In terms of their development, students are encouraged to show work (both good and not-so-good) that shows their growth as artists over their year in the AP course. Current AP student Taylor Bair ’17 started in Ceramics with after-school programs in lower school. Now in Upper School, she has progressed through the class levels and is now working on creating ceramics pieces that look like blown glass. Her favorite piece is one where she actually used glass and ceramics and experimented to see what would happen with that mix in the kiln. For Bair, ceramics is a family activity; her brother Chris has a potter’s wheel at home and is already selling some of his ceramics pieces. Kim Burroughs puts in long hours to keep up with the materials and prep needed for the ceramics program as well as the classes themselves, but is excited about the advanced work that his students are able to achieve, and has high hopes to continue to develop the program. “The wood fired kiln is a great opportunity for the community to get involved on the GDS campus,” he says. “We hope that community members will come on campus to get involved in a wood firing, and to learn about the process. In doing so, they will learn more about GDS and about us as a community.” The ceramics program is truly a jewel of the fine arts at GDS. Classes are open to parents and the community through our auxiliary program, and volunteers to help with firings and clay mixing are welcome! The Arts faculty is also brainstorming new ways to get the community on campus for shows and events, and to showcase student work out in the greater Greensboro area. Our hope is that the GDS and larger Greensboro community will find ways to get involved in and appreciate the wonderful ceramics program here at Greensboro Day. Tim Martin, & Kim Burroughs building the kiln. 1. Yaxin Tu‘17 2. Nan Perry‘17 at the wheel. 3. Yaxin Tu‘17 4. Tim Martin and Kim Burroughs building the kiln, along with Tim’s son, Thomas Martin. 5. Inside the clay studio. 6. Alec Whyte‘16 7. A night-time firing. 8. A look inside the Raku Pottery firing process. 9. Clay mixer 10. Glazes 11. Pug Mill 6 5 4 7 8 9 11 10 30 | Winter 2017 GDS Magazine | 31