WINDHAM, Maine — A ceramics class set the scene for the love story between Joe Camp and his wife Kristen. The two have been creating art together since; specifically a process known in the pottery world as raku.
"You fire the pots outdoors and when the pots reach temperature and the glaze starts to melt you can peek through the kiln to see that happening," explains Kristen, showing off the metal kiln a friend created for them, and admitting it took a few fails to really find the right temperature, timing, and positioning.
Kristen shapes the pots, vases, and planters in her studio and covers them in a glaze. Joe helps when he isn't working his normal full-time job. He lifts the pots into the kiln, then suits up in a flame retardant suit to pull them out - because yes, it gets that hot. Then the pots go straight into a metal barrel filled with sawdust.
"I had a teacher in college that singed her hair really bad," says Kristen about how hot the process can get. "Yeah, she had part of her eyebrow missing." That's why these two take safety seriously.
The results change dramatically, based on the temperature outside. The Camps explain that there's more crackling on the pottery when the temperature change from the kiln to the barrel is more drastic. On a cold day, especially if a pot gets dropped into the snow in transit, the results are beautifully different.
"It’s totally different every single time and there’s just a lot of elements that you can’t control," says Kristen. "I think that’s kind of exciting. Sometimes it’s wonderful and sometimes terrifying."
With so many styles of glazes, the possibilities are endless for Kristen's creative mind which is what inspired her to sell her pieces at a space on Washington Avenue in Portland: Campfire Studio.