The city of Gillette provided two grants so residents can, for the first time, have access to a large community kiln. The Wyoming Arts Council kicked in a $10,000 grant, and donations to the AVA Center also helped pay for the $28,000 kiln and its enclosure, which will protect it from Wyoming's harsh elements.
"In northeast Wyoming there isn't any place they have an outdoor kiln," said Sandi Aberle, executive director of AVA. "It's a whole new opportunity for potters and students and their imaginations can just explode."
After the kiln is in place alongside the building at the corner of 4J Road and Wyoming Highway 14-16, the AVA Center plans to offer pottery classes that will feature new techniques, clays and glazes. Aberle said the current plan is to fire the kiln about once a month starting in mid-December. The frequency will depend on the size and number of items to fire.Read the entire CST story at http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_6c99f869-1ac9-5b79-8841-ff4bba26e8c7.html
"With that big kiln we open so many opportunities for potters," Aberle said."If you were just putting cups in there, you'd literally be able to fire hundreds of them."
The $10,000 Wyoming Arts Council grant for this project came from the Community Arts Partnership (CAP) category. Get more information about these grants at the WAC web site or by contacting Randy Oestman at 307-777-7109.
