Going out on a limb

Creative people make art every day. When they are not in their studios making art, they are looking at art, reading about art, thinking about art and dreaming about art. Except me when I have a couple of weeks of wood prep grunt work to do.

I bought this pile of wood from the Amish. I didn’t realize there was as much as there is so in this heat it has been exhausting to pick it up, put it down in the pick up, pick it up, put it down, in the rick, saw it in half and pick it up and put it down again in a pile. This is far from creative work but I actually like doing it. I’m on my 9^th P/U truck load and I don’t think I’m half way there yet. Yikes!

This is limb wood that the Amish women don’t like burning in their cook stoves. It burns too fast. I have never in almost 40 years of wood firing ever fired entirely with limb wood. I have pretty well always had slab wood.

This limb wood doesn’t stack neatly in a pile like slab wood does. So with that in mind it won’t stack as evenly on the grates of the firebox either. There will be more space around the wood for air to travel down through the wood into the firebox. I’m thinking ahead that perhaps I will have to fire the kiln with the brakes on. The brakes with this kiln are the passive dampers. Pull out a passive and the temp stalls, put it back in and the temp moves ahead. I’m thinking we may have to slow this baby down.

There is also a mixture of woods I have never fired with- ironwood, yellow birch, poplar but mostly wood I am familiar with like maple, ash, beech, elm, oak and wild cherry.

Here is a little FB post written by a friend and collector of mine Wendy Gacparski that died  recently unexpectedly. I won’t say rest in peace as that would not suit her. She had opinions that she expressed. I think the world needs more of those people. So sorry one has left us. Give us hell, Wendy.

  I like creative people. Individuals who think outside the box. Those that take creative chances...and that think for themselves. Creative people that follow their passion and want to share it with others - because it brings them joy to do so. You can always tell who they are because they love to laugh, and they have zero hesitation at laughing at themselves. They take life in stride because they believe that a little bit of inspiration, creativity, laughter, elbow grease and trust can get us through just about anything. But most of all they shine in their own unique way...and their light makes our world a better place.