Instructor: Will Baker
Monday - Friday
September 8 - 12
9am - 1pm
5 sessions
Open studio: Mon - Thurs, 1pm - 4pm

During this week long soda-firing course we will fire the Castle Hill Soda Kiln and get into the how and why of making well considered forms with atmospheric firings in mind. What thoughts and processes do we go through in order to get a particular effect on each piece? How do we place pieces in the soda kiln to get the best overall effects and firing? Why do we make what we make? What elements of process are we compelled to work with? Why? While the kiln is cooling we will make work both on and off the wheel and explore different altering techniques. We will conclude by unloading the kiln together to explore the results. Students should bring 2 cubic ft of bisqueware for soda- firing. Clay must be 10 cone.

William Baker is a full time studio potter and kiln builder living in Bakersville, North Carolina. He has been pursuing this passion since 2000 when he stumbled into clay while finishing college at the University of Puget Sound in Washington. William developed an interest in atmospheric firings from the earliest beginnings of his work with clay, deepened by the community throughout North Carolina. He was a Resident Artist at the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts in Asheville, NC and the EnergyXchange in Burnsville, NC. Through twenty years of firings William has specialized in both gas and wood fueled soda firings, and now has added a Train style wood kiln to the yard. When not handling clay or bricks he might be found hiking a trail, out for a run, or playing with the kids.. He exhibits his work nationally, and teaches hands-on workshops ostensibly about clay.