BY CALEB CARR
This past year, the ceramics class at Meramec built a new soda kiln, a type of kiln that involves coating pottery in soda ash, which then gives the pottery a shiny, glossy layer. With the creation of this new kiln, some issues have come up. The ceramics class has been unable to use the kiln, as it is not up to code with the school.
The Soda Kiln itself was built by the professor of the ceramics class, Jim Ibur, and a student who is a retired welder. The school doesn’t see the kiln as safe since it was built by staff and students instead of a professional company. Since the kiln is not allowed to be used by the ceramics class, the gas line to it has been shut off, which has caused another problem for the ceramics class: Now they can’t use the other kilns that are connected to the gas line.
“With the gas line shut off we can’t use our more specialized kilns like the Raku one,” said Phil Finder, one of the instructors of the ceramics class.
There are three other kilns connected to the gas line which have not been able to be used for more than a year.
“These kilns out here are important for the students’ degrees, and they need to know them to graduate,” Finder said.
Finder went on to say what was changed with the kiln that made the kiln unable to use.
“The chimney and gas lines were never changed. They’re the same ones used on the one we had before. Only the oven itself was rebuilt,” he said.
Finder also talked about how the new kiln is safer.
“The kiln is much safer than the original since the professor built the last one, and he knows what he is doing,” Finder said.
There is a solution to the problem with the soda kiln that involves getting the kiln graded by an engineer to see if it is safe for use, but getting the kiln graded will cost thousands of dollars for the school.
The school is currently trying to find the money to get the kiln graded, but it is uncertain when the necessary funds will be acquired, meaning the kilns will be unusable for the foreseeable future.
For the students in the ceramics program, the issue is about more than just one kiln. The inability to use the soda kiln has also prevented them from using three other specialized kilns, limiting the hands-on experience they can gain in the class.
