Woodfire & Raku at CCC | Spring 1

Woodfire & Raku at CCC | Spring 1

Ceramics | Available

Students currently enrolled in a Ceramics Class
4/30/2026-5/2/2026
9:00 AM-9:00 PM EDT on Th Fri Sat
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$102.00
$85.00

Woodfire & Raku at CCC | Spring 1

Ceramics | Available

Woodfire Raku Extravaganza

 Come one come all to the 171 and Corning Community College Woodfire Raku Firing Extravaganza! 171 students are joining with CCC students to cooperatively fire the unique Glassagama woodfired kiln on the CCC campus. 171 students enrolled in a Spring 1 Ceramics class or open studio have the additional option to make work to go in the wood kiln and/or into a raku firings. The woodfiring will start loading on Wednesday April 29, it will get lit on Friday May 1 and will finish on Saturday May 2. As the extravaganza is underway on Friday, the ever-exciting raku firings will commence in the parking lot next to the woodkiln at CCC. Even if you aren’t a clay student come to watch the fascinating process of pulling red hot pots out of the fire, cheer on our collaborators, and learn about these thrilling methods of the ceramic arts.

Requirements:

-Be registered for a Spring 1 ceramics class or open studio

-The woodfiring is limited to 10 students. To participate in the woodfiring students must commit to work at least 1, 4-hour shift between Friday and Saturday. Those registered for the woodfiring are also invited to participate in the raku firings.

-To participate in the raku, students must commit to helping with setup or tear down.

-Prior ceramics experience is suggested to make work, but no previous woodfire or raku experience is needed.

Timeline:

Glazing at CCC: Wednesday April 29, 5 pm @ CCC

Loading at CCC: Thursday April 30 10am-3pm

Woodfire starts: Friday May 1 9a-Saturday May 2 3p

Raku at CCC: Friday May 1 1030a-4pm

Raku: Instructors Kirk Allen and Amanda Warren will lead students through the exciting and fiery process of raku. Participants will get to put their work into 171’s fiber raku kilns, fueled by propane and then pull their pieces out while they’re red hot to plunge into reduction cans. Various metal cans will contain assorted combustible materials to help wonderous metallic glazes mature into shiny and iridescent finishes. Immediate gratification will be had when students will take their work home after just a couple hours.

Warren, Amanda
Amanda Warren

Amanda Teaches: Ceramics, Summer Camps, Outreach Programs

Amanda Warren is 171 Cedar Arts Center’s Ceramic Technician and Instructor. Amanda started teaching at 171 in 2013 and became the full-time Ceramic Technician in 2014. Amanda is a graduate of Alfred University where she received her BFA in Ceramics and Art Education. Amanda then earned her M.S. Ed. in Art Education from Syracuse University in 2012. Amanda has also been certified through NYS as a K-12 Visual Arts teacher.

While her main form of art making is based in ceramics, she has practiced in glass blowing, printmaking, and drawing. Originally from Schenectady New York, Amanda now lives in Hornell with her husband Matt, their little boy Desmond, and their precocious kitty Willow. Amanda is happiest when in the studio and classroom making art with her students and passing on her love for all things art. When she isn’t in the studio, you can find her at the movies, outside enjoying nature, or out and about on an adventure. Her favorite color is periwinkle.

When Amanda isn’t doing technician work she teaches Midday Clay, workshops, and summer camp classes. She has exhibited work in every Mosaic show at 171, the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, created work for the Rockwell Museum, and GlassFest.

Amanda is the 2022 recipient of 171’s Bob Kinner Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence.



Allen, Kirk
Kirk Allen

Kirk Teaches: Ceramics Classes & Workshops

Kirk has been a Ceramic Artist for 25 years.  He has a Bachelor of Art: in Art, Theater, and Recreation, with a focus on Ceramic and Print Making from Northwestern Collage, Orange City, IA. He was a ceramics instructor at Orange Street Pottery, Wilmington, NC, and is currently teaching at 171 Cedar Arts Center, Corning, NY. He has taken classes at both locations, as well as at John C. Campbell Folk Arts School, Brasstown, NC, Over the years he has also attended many other ceramic workshops and Talks.  He currently works in a small pottery studio at home, with a focus on wheel-thrown functional wear.  He also enjoys helping out with his wife’s basket making, brewing beer with friends, cooking, and woodworking projects.

The focus of Kirk’s work is to make beauty that supports the joy found in the everyday.  For Kirk pottery is a personal journey of self-exploration and problem-solving.  In clay we can find where we come from and who we are.  The potter can dig clay from the ground, form it into a vessel, fire it with discarded brush, then add fresh vegetables from the garden and you have a meal to enjoy with friends.