‘Out of the Ashes: Seven Indiana Woodfired Potters’ at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center

Jasper - In a press release, Jasper Community Arts has announced a new exhibit of ceramic artwork at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center.

For May and June at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, ‘Out of the Ashes: Seven Indiana Woodfired Potters’ group exhibition, arranged and organized by Jasper woodfired potter, Monte Young, will be on display. 

The origins of firing pottery using wood as a fuel date back as far as the 5th century when early kilns found in modern Iraq would reach temperatures as high as 1650 degrees. Wood was the fuel available in the 5th century, but today’s modern potters have options of fueling their kilns with electricity, gas, or oil. 

Young states, “Because Indiana is extremely rich in oak, hickory, and maple hardwoods, Indiana potters find it a very viable option for fueling their kilns. The seven potters in this show choose to fire their ware with wood even though it is by far the most time-consuming and physically demanding of all the firing options. Why would we fire our kilns with wood? Speaking for myself, it is the richness and individuality of the finished work. No two pots are the same. Long after it has been completed, a woodfired piece still reveals something new each time to its admirer.” 

To quote a wood firing pottery icon, Svend Bayer: “Oil, gas, and electric fired pottery, although they can be spectacular, tell their entire story the first time you look at them. What you see is what you get. But, when you look at woodfired pots, they release their story very slowly over time. You see something new on each turn of the pot.” 

“My hope for this show is to bring an unexpected level of beauty to a process too often regarded as a simple craft. The talented potters of this show are some of Indiana’s finest who thankfully see the value in firing their work using wood and I’m proud to show my ware with them,” says Monte Young. ‘Out of the Ashes: Seven Indiana Woodfired Potters’ group exhibition will be on display from May 5 through June 26, 2022. 

First Thursday Reception and Gallery Talk from Monte Young, Matthew Gaddie, and Luke Verkamp will take place on Thursday, May 5 from 5:00-7:00 pm. Food will be catered by Sander Catering and a cash bar, provided by Gaslight, will be available. The event is free and open to the public. 

The galleries at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, located at 100 3rd Avenue, Suite A, Jasper, IN 47546, are open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and Sunday from noon to 3:00 pm. School groups, clubs, and students are welcome. Admission is free. Donations appreciated. For more information, please call 812-482-3070. Jasper Community Arts is a department of the City of Jasper. JCA is supported in part by Friends of the Arts, Inc., the Indiana Arts Commission, The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, and the National Endowment for the Arts.