Jesse Taylor,
Ceramic artist

I am a mixed media sculptor and ceramic artist. My current practice is focusing on ceramics, and the firing process. I've been working as a ceramic tech at Multnomah Arts Center for about 7 years and in that time I have become more involved in the making of glazes and firing kilns. Last year I built a small propane gas kiln and have been firing terracotta planter pots, as well as medium, smaller than life, figurative busts. I've done about ten firings in the new kiln and have honed in on cone 02 temp. The clay is a red sculpture body that looks really nice and toasty with just a bit of reduction. And I'm using soda ash glazes for some atmospheric effects. I do the reduction by adding in bits of cedar during the firing. This creates excess fuel in the kiln and the fire gets starved of oxygen, causing reduction. It's also really fun to see the flames pop out of the peeps.