Linda and Charlie Riggs | Alternative Firing with Precision and Abandon
July 13th – 17th, 2009
A workshop of smoke, fire and fumes. This experience will focus on saggar firing, iron fuming, 2 types of naked raku and horsehair firing. A special emphasis is on the use of pots polished with white terra sigillata.
Students’ pots will be fired in or placed into atmospheres where the smoke and/or chemicals produce the final surface color. These colors range from the deep reds and oranges of saggar and ferric chloride firings to the stark black and white designs of naked raku.
Skill level: must be skilled enough to bring bisqued ware to the workshop. This includes making and applying terra sigillata before bisque firing. (pre-workshop instructions will be sent to each participant with terra sig recipe)
Charles Riggs
Charles has a Fine Arts Degree in Pottery. He has been featured in Clay Times, Ceramics Monthly, and Studio Potter as well as in the books, “Alternative Firing Methods” by Watkins/ Wandless and “Raku, The Practical Approach,” by Steven Branfman. Charlie has exhibited extensively in the Southeast, the Western US, and as far away as Canada and Norway. He also teaches workshops throughout the US and Canada in a variety of subjects including, Raku Methods, Saggar-firing, Pit-Firing, Raku Kiln Building, and Throwing Techniques.
Artist’s Statement
“When I work, I like to think about the dynamic of opposites, order and chaos; dark and light. I throw forms that are precise and tight, many of which mirror the spheres and ovals of the natural world.
In contrast, the glazing and firing methods are spontaneous and sometimes unpredictable. There is a particular joy in using this method of creation: the beauty of the controlled form is transcended by the patterns of serendipity and bright flows of glaze jump out at you from a dark background. Life is always full of surprises.”
Linda Riggs
Linda has Masters in Anthropology. She collaborates with Charlie to create some of the unique surfaces on their pottery including saggar-firing, naked raku, and carvings and slip designs. Linda has written a number of articles on pottery for Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times. She is also featured in magazine articles on saggar firing, and in the books by Watkins/Wandless and Steven Branfman. She co-teaches workshops with her husband Charlie.
Artist’s Statement I am motivated by the beauty of the natural world and by ancient cultures. Low-fire fuming and naked raku techniques create clay surfaces that resemble smooth rocks with organic patterns. The techniques also utilize the same ingredients and processes as ancient cultures resulting in a continuity of time both in the forms and in the creative process.
A workshop of smoke, fire and fumes. This experience will focus on saggar firing, iron fuming, 2 types of naked raku and horsehair firing. A special emphasis is on the use of pots polished with white terra sigillata.
Charles Riggs
Linda Riggs
Linda has written a number of articles on pottery for Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times. She is also featured in magazine articles on saggar firing, and in the books by Watkins/Wandless and Steven Branfman. She co-teaches workshops with her husband Charlie.