Book Kiln Book

The Book Kiln Book was both a community art project and an experiment in alternative kilns. The kiln itself was a form of paper-kiln constructed from some 250 refuse books donated by the local public library. Each book was dipped in a mixture of slip and cellulose insulation.  Gaps were chinked with paper-clay. The kiln was packed with combustibles including pine straw, mulch, sawdust and wood. 60 ceramic tiles were fired, each written or drawn on by participants in the firing using various oxide inks. Results of the firing were extremely satisfactory, both in terms of the technical performance of the kiln and in the resulting book of tiles. The following Text and images are from a documentation book detailing the specifics of the firing. [Drawings by me. (Almost all) images by Hunter Jonakin.]