Jamie Kirkpatrick workshop

Several years ago, I took two classes taught by Jamie Kirkpatrick at Claymakers: one on making larger pots and one on saggar firing. If I nudge my students now with the cheer, "you are the boss of the clay," it was in Jamie's classes that I started to be the boss of my own clay. So I was delighted that Jamie came back to Claymakers in early June to teach a saggar-firing workshop. The workshop (along with a workshop with Deborah Schwarzkopf last year) was a good reminder that, yes, you can make pretty much anything you want out of clay--you just have to figure out how. Jamie's pots are gorgeous, the cohort of students was a pleasure to spend a week with, and the results of the firing were dramatic and beautiful.

C.E.'s secret code soaked up the smoke

My best result: copper wire mask with oxidation spot from hole in saggar

Zigzag pot with oxidation spot from saggar hole (red slip on white clay)

Totally reduced chickens and nested spheroid with one of Jamie's pots to the right and K.S.F.'s pots to the left

Jamie pot with swirl

Heavy metal stripes on a Jamie pot

Jamie's carved pot

Fresh fern oxidation shadow on a pot by K.S.F.

S.S. dipped hexagon netting into copper wash and got this fascinating result