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Woodfiring is a labor intensive process that dates back thousands of
years. Each firing (2-4/year) must be monitored and stoked, round the
clock for as long as five days to achieve stoneware's maturation
temperature of 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. Firing with wood also shows in
the final product: the flame leaves its earth toned red and orange
'flashes' on bare clay, and ash deposits melt and run enriching applied
glazes and bare clay alike. The flame's unpredictable nature brings new
results with each firing and every piece is a unique utensil rooted in a
long tradition of beauty. View the process
page for a more in depth description.
Jordan Taylor was born in
Iowa City in 1975. Five members of his family have pursued clay at
different times; he is named for jordan clay, a robustly colored
stoneware clay that used to be mined in Maryland. Other than playing in
the creek that ran behind his childhood home, he started with clay
during his senior year in high school. Jordan became interested in
woodfiring at Earlham College, in Indiana, where he completed a B.A. in
art in 1999. After college, he continued his training as an apprentice
potter to Mark Skudlarek in Cambridge, WI. There he was able to continue
developing turning skills understanding of large wood burning kilns.
Jordan Taylor and his wife, Mariana Garrettson moved to Pennsylvania in
April of 2002 to establish Stony Meadow Pottery.
During the
years 2005-2009 Taylor developed, fabricated and installed his first
large scale sculptural work. Further information
here.
In the fall of 2008 Taylor and his family bought ten acres just
outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They moved to that area in the
first weeks of 2010 to begin construction of a new house, studio and
kilns.
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