THEMES
Woodfire Conference Themes
There are certainly a great deal of things we could talk about at Europe's first Woodfire Conference. With no predecessor a wide, unplowed field lays open in which one could get lost. Because of that we have decided to concentrate on specific themes.

International Overview
An inventory as a starting point: We would like to know where certain characteristics evolved, how do local traditions combine for example with japanese influences. What kiln types are prevalent, what kind of wood and clay are used? How do galleries and the public react to woodfired work? What interesting developments in technique and aesthetics are there in other corners of the world? Are these developments comparable and are they regional or global? The conference will concentrate on these questions with a forum, a debate, and several individual lectures on Friday.

Woodfiring and the Environment
We woodfirers have it good: wood is a renewable resource and does not contribute to global warming, making woodfiring a green technology. This is however not a fact that we can rest upon, because when flames and thick clouds of smoke billow out of the chimney a different optical impression is given. If wood starts replacing oil and gas for heating, the demand and the price will rise. How much wood is necessary to achieve which aesthetic result? With which kiln and which wood? Are there new ideas in kiln building? What roll does the ceramic raw material play?  Does black smoke mean reduction? What roll does water play in firing? We want to occupy ourselves with such questions on Saturday.

Aesthetic of Woodfiring
This theme has astonishingly alot in common with the previous one. Woodfiring as its own art form arose in Japan as a reflection of nature, the environment; the surfaces
EXHIBITIONS
MOVIE FESTIVAL
DEMONSTRATIONS
EXCURSIONS
COLLECTORS
SPONSORS
CALLS/OFFERS
helpers
POTTERS MARKET
WHERE TO STAY
SERVICE/REGISTER
CONTACT
COPYRIGHT
Woodfire Conference Themes
There are certainly a great deal of things we could talk about at Europe's first Woodfire Conference. With no predecessor a wide, unplowed field lays open in which one could get lost. Because of that we have decided to concentrate on specific themes.

International Overview
An inventory as a starting point: We would like to know where certain characteristics evolved, how do local traditions combine for example with japanese influences. What kiln types are prevalent, what kind of wood and clay are used? How do galleries and the public react to woodfired work? What interesting developments in technique and aesthetics are there in other corners of the world? Are these developments comparable and are they regional or global? The conference will concentrate on these questions with a forum, a debate, and several individual lectures on Friday.

Woodfiring and the Environment
We woodfirers have it good: wood is a renewable resource and does not contribute to global warming, making woodfiring a green technology. This is however not a fact that we can rest upon, because when flames and thick clouds of smoke billow out of the chimney a different optical impression is given. If wood starts replacing oil and gas for heating, the demand and the price will rise. How much wood is necessary to achieve which aesthetic result? With which kiln and which wood? Are there new ideas in kiln building? What roll does the ceramic raw material play?  Does black smoke mean reduction? What roll does water play in firing? We want to occupy ourselves with such questions on Saturday.

Aesthetic of Woodfiring
This theme has astonishingly alot in common with the previous one. Woodfiring as its own art form arose in Japan as a reflection of nature, the environment; the surfaces bring to mind rock formations and reflect the force and creative potential of the elements. To this very day japanese woodfirers use imprints of tree bark: the tree fades but its imprint becomes something everlasting, the breath of eternity... Forum and debate on Sunday.

Woodfiring and Education
At the University of Northern Arizona alone there are 7 woodfired kilns and at other Universities in the USA the situation is not much different. In addition there are a large number of Woodfire Conferences and other activities which have resulted in woodfiring becoming mainstream in ceramics. What effects can unfold as the result of a woodfired kiln in an educational institution? Is the complexity of woodfiring appropriate for seminars? Or, because of the direct experience with fire, is woodfiring exactly the right thing to get people excited about ceramics? Forum, debate and lectures on Saturday and Sunday.
NEWS/LINKS
bring to mind rock formations and reflect the force and creative potential of the elements. To this very day japanese woodfirers use imprints of tree bark: the tree fades but its imprint becomes something everlasting, the breath of eternity... Forum and debate on Sunday.

Woodfiring and Education
At the University of Northern Arizona alone there are 7 woodfired kilns and at other Universities in the USA the situation is not much different. In addition there are a large number of Woodfire Conferences and other activities which have resulted in woodfiring becoming mainstream in ceramics. What effects can unfold as the result of a woodfired kiln in an educational institution? Is the complexity of woodfiring appropriate for seminars? Or, because of the direct experience with fire, is woodfiring exactly the right thing to get people excited about ceramics? Forum, debate and lectures on Saturday and Sunday.
FIRST EUROPEAN WOODFIRE CONFERENCE