TOTALLY TEABOWLS III
An exhibition celebrating the
Teabowl & Tea held by
The Oakwood Gallery
in October 2007

John Thies (USA)
Stoneware Wood-Fired
Shino Glazes

I have been producing wood-fired pottery and building wood fired kilns since 1976. Prior to this, I spent several years as an apprentice working for various potteries across the U.S. I ended up in Thurmont, Maryland, where I started my own small studio pottery, situated on the banks of the Monocacy River
Almost from the beginning, my choice was to fire with wood. From that point on, I never looked back and I continue to build kilns and fire this way. I have built a variety of wood fired kilns over the years which include single chambers, multi -chambers and tube kilns of various designs. Currently, I am working with a large 3 chamber noboragama at my studio as well as a small scale tube kiln used as an introduction to wood firing for students.
The work that I am producing is domestic wood fired stoneware using two types of clay along with minimal glazes, letting the wood firing's natural ash deposits and flame flash patterns help finish the pieces. The labor involved with wood firing on a large scale is a very humbling experience and has taught me to appreciate every pot from every firing - good or bad. Each pot tells a story of hard work and passion. I would like to feel that my pots can stand on there own. I get inspired by a nice pot or an empty kiln.
My pottery influences are worldwide from British, Japanese, and Korean as well as early American crock pottery. From historical to contemporary, I am attracted to pottery that has a folk art look and feel.