July 21-Aug. 18, 2024
Glencoe Ceramics — a group of potters and artists based in Glencoe, Minn. — presents an exhibition of wood-fired works of art, including vessels that can be admired and used in everyday life. See some of the artists in action, showing how clay pots are created on and off the potter’s wheel during demonstrations on the Dahlberg Terrace from noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 3, 4 and 18.
Cost: Included with general daily admission, which is free for members and ages 15 and younger and $20-$25 for non-members ages 16 and older. Indigenous peoples receive waived general daily admission to the Arboretum when making a reservation by calling 612-301-6775.
Glencoe Ceramics is a group of potters fascinated with wood firing. This collective — located in Glencoe, Minn., about 35 miles west of the Arboretum — includes career potters and sculptors as well as other passionate artists who unite under a common love for their craft. Woodfiring is a traditional method of firing pottery or ceramics using wood as the primary fuel source creating temperatures up to 2,550 degrees Fahrenheit.
We use a Japanese anagama kiln that we have named Tandava, which translates to “dance of fire.” Its firing is a natural process with random, accidental effects. An anagama — a Japanese term meaning "cave kiln" — consists of a firing chamber with a firebox at one end and a flue at the other. Although the term firebox is used to describe the space for the fire, there is no physical structure separating the stoking space from the pottery space.
At Glencoe Ceramics, each wood firing is a communal activity. We cut wood, stack it and load pots into the kiln. We take shifts during firing, which lasts three days and two nights. Flames beat music onto our pots. Every pot is a poem, a song. Our pots are a dance of fire. If you enjoy nature's work, you will enjoy our wood-fired pots.