Building the Spring Creek Kiln: The Site

After firing my work in the ground hog style Olsen kiln at Strathnairn in the ACT. I decided I would attempt to build a wood kiln on location and fire my work in it using wood available on the farm to complement my project. At this stage I didn't have a design or plan, instead I selected the site first. As the creek that runs through the farm floods I needed something on higher ground. I selected a spot which was up from the house and on a slight slope.

late 2011 selecting Kiln site

The soil on the site is quite heavy and contains a lot of clay. As I plan to minimise the materials I transport to the location and use a range of available materials, I saw this as an advantage. I got my father to clear the site with the tractor.

late 2011 clearing the kiln site

Using Local Materials?

In December 2006 in the midst of drought, my dad had a great number of his dams excavated when they were dry. Obviously to remove silt etc. and allow more water storage when it eventually rained again. I was curious about the clays that could be 'found' this way. In one dam in particular we found 'white stuff', as my dad called it, I was instantly intrigued.



Drought and empty dam December 2006



2006 Clay deposit on the sides and bottom of the dam

I am not a geologist or potter with vast experience so I found myself on a steep learning curve!!

Could I make things from this clay? and what else could I use from the farm (same location) to create art and would this art reflect its location? - developing a sense or impression of place. I wanted to learn more about ceramics so I applied to do post-graduate study at the ANU in 2007.

So I was off, looking for what I could use. Initially I looked in the pile of dirt/silt/clay that was excavated from the dam. Fortunately for me I had a conversation with my dad during the excavation and he was able to move the bulk of the 'white stuff' off the bottom of the dam, to a large pile on one side (2.5 m x 5 m approx). Here is where I started looking, I found: Clay that looked primary in nature (marbled with iron), a curious red rock (sedimentary and quite sandy) and a hard whitish rock (quartzite). The photos of these first discoveries are below:

2007 Large clay pile

Clay material

Red rock

Quartzite