Ash & Flash

   Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the Frederick, Maryland area, serves as the hub connecting Baltimore and Washington to Western Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Frederick is home to Hood College and The Frederick Clay Studio and it anchors the regional ceramic community, serving as the hub where atmospheric ceramists converge.  Business owners, studio managers, instructors and residents are brought together by their passion for atmospheric firing and the ceramic arts. The large number of wood and soda-fired kilns provides plentiful opportunities for aesthetic conversations. Each Ash and Flash artist approaches form and content from a different perspective, offering variety and aesthetic conversation within the context of shared atmospheric firings.

   The work emerging from these community kilns displays not only the effort of the maker, but also the physical demands of atmospheric firing. Hours of active firing produce liquid effects: flame in an atmospheric kiln moves like the current of water in a river. Deliberate kiln design and stacking guides the movement of flame. Heavy amounts of ash and soda suggest the effort involved; flashing in quieter areas parallels the kiln-side conversations had within the umbral glow of a kiln lit by superheated brick.

Thematically, the participating artists represent a cross-section of vessel makers. Varied vessels, nestled in groups, speak to the interconnectedness and diversity of our communities, while individual functional works represent nurtured bodies and minds. Physical labor and meals are shared. The interaction of artists opens an environment for exchanging ideas and discussing aesthetics.

   The group work ethic is fitting for an exhibit in Pittsburgh, a town known for a hardworking, close-knit industrial community. Ceramics, like steel, requires high temperatures to transform a raw material into something useful, even beautiful. The process and craftsmanship involved in atmospheric ceramic arts makes it an accessible art form to the Pittsburgh community at large. Like steelworkers, the artists manipulate flame and material, forging the ingenuity of their art into forms that are both useful and expressive.