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Part of the kiln

2015

A field kiln is an old way to bake bricks. The brick maker would choose a spot with an abundance of clay in the ground. With a simple mould he would make the bricks on the spot. He would then use the unbaked bricks he just made to build the oven in which they would later be baked.

 

This project investigates the thin line between craft and in dustrially made products. A characteristic of craft is the aspect of the unique handmade piece, in contrast to the industrial mass produced uniform objects. We might view this field kiln as a traditional crafty way to bake bricks, but there was a time that it was the most effective way to mass produce. It is by definition not possible to make just one unique product as you need multiple bricks to make the oven. Is craft today more manifested in the experience of a traditionally or handmade product, rather than the product’s aesthetics or quantity? 

 

This oven is handmade and fired on the spot in the forest where I dug up the clay. The product itself is an uniform, simple flower pot that could easily have been made in an industrial factory.