Spring Break
Students to build wood and waste vegetable oil powered kiln
Natalie Jurgen
Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: News
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Dan Murphy, a master kiln builder and visiting artist from Utah State University, will be assisting with the workshop and offering his expertise in the art of kiln-building.
The kiln will be powered by wood and waste vegetable oil and will burn in an atmospheric fired environment, which leaves a different finishing.
"It's mimicked off the bio-diesel efforts going on with car manufacturing," said graduate student Jeremy Fineman, who is building the kiln as part of his thesis project. "We're trying to burn cleaner fuel [and] that is something we can obtain from the university."
The kiln will initially be fired with wood to get the temperature high enough to produce red heat, up to 1,800-1,900 degrees Fahrenheit, and then will be powered by waste vegetable oil. When the temperature is high enough, the sodium separates and adheres to the clay to make the glaze.
"We really wanted to have a kiln that had a little less impact on the environment," said ECU ceramics professor, Jim Tisnado.
The brickwork for the kiln is anticipated to be completed in three days and will begin with a cinderblock base. The bricks will then be laid layer by layer in masonry-like style without the use of mortar.
"We're pursuing this to be environmentally aware," Fineman said. "It lowers emissions and is a replenishable fuel source as opposed to natural gas."
The kiln will be unique in the sense that it mimics the style of a beehive kiln, which is cylindrical with a dome on top; most kilns are square.
This kiln is also unique because it will be the first waste vegetable oil and wood powered kiln on a college campus.
"The workshop is open to art students and anyone who wants to learn how to build a kiln," said art student Lauren DeSerres.
Murphy will also be holding a Slide Lecture at 6 p.m. tonight in the auditorium (room 1220) of the Jenkins Fine Art Center for any interested students. The lecture is sponsored by the School of Art and Design, Ceramics Guild, Larkin Refractory, Mary Jane Gaddis, S.G.A, Home Depot, Lowe's Home Improvement and Retool.
This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.
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