Nine Missouri State University ceramics students and ten Kickapoo High School art students recently collaborated in a wood kiln firing ceramics event coordinated by Department of Art and Design professor Kevin Hughes and Kickapoo High School art instructor Joel Blackburn. This innovative program offered a unique opportunity for the students to observe and practice the wood firing process for the first time.

During the process, students wood-fired various ceramic pieces and tended the kiln. When the pieces were unloaded, a chalked map of the kiln was made on the ground and the pieces were placed accordingly so students could study how location impacted the ceramic surfaces. The movement of flames and the resulting ash and smoke from wood kilns all affect the ceramic surfaces, as do the length of firing and placement of pieces in the kiln.

“You never really know how the pieces are going to turn out, and that is part of the magic,” Hughes said.

Blackburn was also excited to introduce students to a different ceramics technique. “If you’re not an artist yourself, how can you expect your students to perform like an artist in class?” he asked.

Although preparation for the firing took several weeks, the firing itself lasted roughly 48 hours. Students signed up for four-hour shifts, while Hughes and Blackburn worked eight-hour overnight shifts, to stoke the kiln so it maintained the 2400 degrees Fahrenheit temperature necessary for the clay to fuse.

Hughes and Blackburn, who both have ties to the local ceramics community, hope to coordinate similar collaborative events so that more students can learn about ceramics and the wood-firing process.

Contact the Department of Art and Design at 417-837-2330 for more information about the ceramics program at Missouri State University.

News submitted by Mariah Hunter, edited by Reynolds College Communications Team.

Mariah Hunter is a graduate assistant for the Department of Art and Design. She is working towards her master’s degree in writing at Missouri State University.