10 days, 10,000 objects and one very large kiln | MPR News

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The largest wood-burning kiln in North America just completed its 10-day firing at St. John’s University in Collegeville. The kiln held at least 10,000 objects.

“We stopped counting at 10,000,” said Richard Bresnahan, laughing. Bresnahan is the director and an artist in residence at St. John’s Pottery.

It is so large, Bresnahan said, “We could drive three bass boats into the kiln.”

A small village of master potters, monks, apprentices and volunteers from around the country and the world gathered to light the kiln on Oct. 11 and kept it going through Oct. 20.

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Over the course of the firing, they fed the kiln about 16 cords, or about eight tons of wood. The firing is such a large undertaking it only happens every two years. This is its 17th firing since Bresnahan designed and built the kiln decades ago.

“We light the firing every two years because it takes two and a half months to load the pieces,” Bresnahan said. “We have 30 different artists from around the world that are having works in this firing.”

The lighting includes community meals and ceremonies honoring those in the community who have died since the previous lighting. This year the lighting honored Bresnahan’s former pottery professor Bill Smith. It also honored community member Mary Lee Neu, who was godparent to Bresnahan’s son, and renowned chef Raghavan Iyer — they both helped prepare meals for the lighting ritual in the past.

At the end of the firing, Bresnahan says that they lit three candles inside three spirit boats, a Japanese ritual to mourn the dead, and send them out on Stump Lake.

“For the last five firings, we’ve had an artist create a spirit boat in memory of each of the people who have gone before us,” Bresnahan said.

The firing included works from 30 artists.

“There are photographers, poets, engineers, aeronautical engineers, mechanical engineers of all different walks of life — 45 people who come and work at the firing with their firing teams,” Bresnahan said “It is so joyous to see them all working together.”

In November, after the kiln’s chambers have cooled, they will unload the objects.

“It takes so long,” Bresnahan said. They must take photographs of each row of objects as they come out. “And then it’s nine months of cleaning.”

The kiln is named the Johanna Kiln after Bresnahan’s mentor, sister Johanna Becker, an Asian art historian at St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph. She died in 2012.