The Kilns
The Anagama
The word breaks down in Japanese to “Ana” meaning cave or tunnel and “gama” meaning kiln. This is the largest Kiln at The Oki Doki Studio. This fourteen foot long tunnel kiln, originally built in 2009 by Donavan Palmquist, takes a team of eight stokers two days to load and between four and six days of round the clock stoking to fire. This is a highly dynamic firing process that can yield truly incredible surfaces.
The Train Kiln
The newest member of The Oki Doki family, this kiln was built by Bruce Dehnert in 2020. This kiln is an excellent introduction to wood firing, and gives students the experience of wood firing without as much effort and committed time as the anagama. One day to load and two full days of firing. This kiln is a totally different experience from firing the anagama.
The Soda Kiln
The soda kiln is a gas kiln that was one of the first kilns built at The Oki Doki Studio by our director, Susan Kotulak. This kiln is wonderful for experimentation, and is much faster to fire than the other two kilns at the studio. A mixture of soda and water is sprayed into the kiln at the high temperature to achieve a variety of atmospheric results. One day of loading and one long day of firing yields dramatic results.
Kiln Rebuilt and Repair fund.
The Oki Doki Studio is always looking to the future when our anagama, soda kiln, or train kiln might need significant repairs or to be rebuilt to accommodate larger workshops and more educational opportunities. Donating to the Rebuild and Repair Fund helps The Oki Doki Studio to better prepare for these monumental expenses, and better serve our atmospheric firing communities.
