The Material Body Part 3: Woodfire featuring Katie Applebaum — Apr 13 - 17

Dates: April 13, 2025 → April 17, 2025
Times: Students will take rotating 6-hour shifts throughout the workshop.
Level: All levels

Workshop Description:
Katie Applebaum will guide students through loading and firing the catenary arch kiln. Participants will get hands-on experience and develop an understanding of loading and firing strategies for this particular kiln—with plenty of one-on-one instruction.

This workshop will be a deep dive into the wood firing process. As we load and fire the kiln, students will learn about slips and glazes appropriate for this type of firing, they will learn how to mix and introduce the soda atmosphere into the catenary kiln.

Each student may bring up to 2 cu/ft of cone 10 bisqueware to fire in the kiln. Students will rotate shifts stoking the kiln. On the last day of the workshop we will unload the kiln, discuss the results, and celebrate the experience before packing up and bidding farewell.

About the Instructor:
Katie Applebaum is from Paradise California, a small town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. She graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts, with a minor in Environmental Science and Sustainability, from California State University at Chico. There she was nominated for the Windgate Foundation Grant in fall of 2019. Her work is a synthesis of multiple materials, primarily ceramic and metal. In 2022 Katie completed a ceramic woodfire residency term at Cub Creek Foundation, where she became Assistant to the Director. Katie has worked in multiple galleries, from large universities, to small local non profits. Most recently she has completed a residency here at Mendocino art center in 2023 and has been retained as a full time staff member.

“In my work I like to replicate forms that bring to mind different memories for each individual. The objects I choose to glorify or replicate are often antique. I feel the variable conditions of atmospheric firing plays well with these “antique“ forms, as age and patina are often variable. I fixate on hardware, fixtures and details.”

Required Materials:
- • Up to 2 cu/ft of bisqueware made from cone 10 clay
- varied heights • Mask/Respirator for cleaning posts/shelves, and for introducing soda into the kilns • Notebook for glaze and firing notes • Closed toed shoes, non-synthetic long sleeve shirts and pants • Leather work gloves • Kiln glasses (optional)