One Man's Used Vegetable Oil is Another Woman's Treasure

As spring approaches, I'm hoping to bring to reality a project I've been dreaming of for a couple of years.  And I need your help.

I am working on a USED VEGETABLE OIL KILN, which will fire to cone 10 (about 2350° F) using your used vegetable oil. 

The design is fairly straightforward:  An old electric kiln, with the elements and all electrical components removed, serves as the kiln body.  A hole towards the bottom of the kiln houses a custom-made burner plate, welded from a series of steel I-beams.  Two drums, one with water and one with the filtered vegie oil, are a short distance away (and above the kiln height) and a tube from each drum leads to a steel plate.  The water and the oil drip onto this plate and down onto the series of I-beam burner plates.  The flame is lit, and the oil/water mix creates a spray which ignites when it hits the hot plate.  This fires the kiln.

I won't bore you with more technical info, but I'm hoping that you'll start saving your cooking oil for me!  Simply save your oil in a glass jar or an aluminum can, and e-mail me at riftgallery@yahoo.com when you have at least a quart of oil.  I will come pick it up. 

As most of you know, I built my own small wood-fired kiln when I first moved here (10 years ago) and it is still in great shape after 52 firings.  This new little kiln is a project that, if successful, would give me some more options for firing my work.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Please e-mail me to let me know you'll be saving your oil for me!  Thank you!

It's Show Time!

I mostly sell my pottery at arts and crafts fairs. It can be a tough job! I have to pack up the pots, drive to faraway places, unpack the pots, set up the booth and display furniture (rain or shine), and make it all look pretty.  Then I have to actually sell the pots. At the end of the weekend it all has to be done again in reverse, hopefully with less to pack up!

Despite the challenges, I really enjoy meeting and talking directly with the folks who are buying my pottery. I like to see the way they react to my work, and I am often inspired by them to explore new ideas. And sometimes the fairs take me to interesting places. My first fair of the season was a Japanese Festival in Phoenix, an event I always look forward to.

Not only do my Japanese influenced pots fit in nicely with the theme,

but I also get to hang out with other people who have a fondness for Japanese culture,

AND I get to eat Japanese food all day!

My next show will be yet another Japanese Festival! Yay! This time much closer to home. If you are heading south on Saturday, March 13, come and visit me at the sixth annual Japanese Cultural Festival at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. There will be traditional performing arts, martial arts demonstrations, tea ceremony activities and great food (some nice pottery too!) You can also see a schedule of shows I will be doing throughout the year at www.miyapottery.com.