John Benn
On beautifully forested Harstine Island in Washington State's Puget Sound,
John Benn and Colleen Gallagher make woodfired pottery. Their work has won awards in the US and internationally and can be seen in private collections, museums and public art projects. They dig several local stoneware clays and fire their kilns using trees from the surrounding forest: fir, alder, madrona, and maple. The pots are woodfired in a 25 ft. long anagama hybrid design wood kiln, the Mongrelgama. The pots, often large scale, are unglazed, with natural ash effects from the three-day firing. John explains:
"The nature of the woodfire process is compulsive and inefficient, and it connects me closely to the earth. The work is formed from clays beneath my feet. I submit it to my kiln to be reborn as permanent objects that record the touch of my hands and the fire and ash that have transformed it.
My role as a woodfire potter is to find and make forms that will be transformed by the flame. I want them to be able to carry glaze drips that will roll over the surface and culminate in "dragonfly eyes". Scorch marks from black to red, as well as blue and green areas can be painted by the firing process as well. Textures are also created. Sometimes all these things happen in a single firing. I feel that a successful piece is a two plus two equals five equation; where I have given up some control in return for a surprising outcome that is a little beyond what I could have planned. I do everything I can as an artist to allow these surprised to appear in my work. The local clays that I dig are essential to the look that I want from my kiln. At the present time I use a total of six different clays in different parts of the kiln to get different colors, textures and patinas. Although digging my own clay is time-consuming and requires even more effort than chopping wood, the rewards are there in the finished work. My commitment to woodfiring is obsessive and non-intellectual. I discover my pots in addition to creating them." Colleen comments:
"I do a lot of surface decoration on my pieces before they enter the kiln. I draw with flashing slips and oxides, and also work with textured surfaces and finely detailed relief sculpture. My pieces benefit from wood vapors and a moderate ash buildup. Although I control processes, the woodkiln's ash deposits and color flashes are always a combination of physics and serendipity. Drawings on the successful pieces seem effortless and familiar, yet as mysterious and surprising as a leaf or a feather."
"The nature of the woodfire process is compulsive and inefficient, and it connects me closely to the earth. The work is formed from clays beneath my feet. I submit it to my kiln to be reborn as permanent objects that record the touch of my hands and the fire and ash that have transformed it.
My role as a woodfire potter is to find and make forms that will be transformed by the flame. I want them to be able to carry glaze drips that will roll over the surface and culminate in "dragonfly eyes". Scorch marks from black to red, as well as blue and green areas can be painted by the firing process as well. Textures are also created. Sometimes all these things happen in a single firing. I feel that a successful piece is a two plus two equals five equation; where I have given up some control in return for a surprising outcome that is a little beyond what I could have planned. I do everything I can as an artist to allow these surprised to appear in my work. The local clays that I dig are essential to the look that I want from my kiln. At the present time I use a total of six different clays in different parts of the kiln to get different colors, textures and patinas. Although digging my own clay is time-consuming and requires even more effort than chopping wood, the rewards are there in the finished work. My commitment to woodfiring is obsessive and non-intellectual. I discover my pots in addition to creating them." Colleen comments:
"I do a lot of surface decoration on my pieces before they enter the kiln. I draw with flashing slips and oxides, and also work with textured surfaces and finely detailed relief sculpture. My pieces benefit from wood vapors and a moderate ash buildup. Although I control processes, the woodkiln's ash deposits and color flashes are always a combination of physics and serendipity. Drawings on the successful pieces seem effortless and familiar, yet as mysterious and surprising as a leaf or a feather."
