Lisa Orr has been a studio potter for 40+ years. After completing an MFA at the NYSCC Alfred in 1992, she received a Fulbright, an MAAA/NEA and other grants to research ceramics and create films. Her work has been placed in numerous public and private collections. Currently refining an accessible smokeless wood kiln, she also teaches, lectures, and shows nationally and internationally.
Permaculture meets ceramics in the low-wood, low emission firing technology of the Rocket Kiln, based on the smokeless Rocket Stove technology. All temperatures up to ^10 oxidation can be achieved in a few hours using a repurposed kiln atop an efficiently-designed firing chamber. The rocket kiln’s uniquely efficient “j-tube” firing configuration was developed based on Guatemalan cooking stove improvements invented in the 1980s that mitigated smoke and wood shortage problems. Rocket stoves and heaters have since been spreading worldwide – a kiln is the next logical step utilizing this simple, robust technology. Using small-diameter wood stoked vertically, the rocket kiln’s combustion features turbulent air currents that cleanly fires wares producing no visible smoke. Another ecological advantage of the rocket kiln system is the re-use of a waste kiln that uses one-fourth or less of the fuel typically used to fire. A potter with access to a few firebricks, a kiln shell, a simple portable chimney, and a few split up pallets can finish small loads at any temperature up to cone 10 on their own schedule using this elegant environmental design. Like a portable raku kiln, it can be placed in an urban driveway, art center, or off-grid studio. The goal of this presentation is to offer plans and accessibility to all clay artists with this green, low-resource kiln.
Website: www.Lisaorr.com
Instagram: @lisaorrpottery
