trip to unzicker bros. pottery
2.23.02
 

One afternoon, while gazing at an Indiana map, I discovered that Unzicker Bros. Pottery, run by Tom and Jeff Unzicker, was a mere 45 minutes from our home in Greencastle. I'm kinda slow sometimes, and occasionally it shows.

I'd really admired Tom's work since seeing his studio at IU a few years back (when he was in their MFA program), and had seen and purchased some of his work where we both show at The Gallery in Bloomington, IN.   So after procuring an invitation, I drove a ways north across the heartland to visit them at their studio. My first impression was of how ideal the spot they'd closen was for the potting life. These are woodfire potters, so a fair amount of land was essential, plus some elbow room from neighbors.   They work together in a converted garage building (of course, I forgot to get a shot of that...), the main work area literally filled with pots in all stages of production - just thrown that morning, greenware, bisk, fired, some still awaiting the fatefull decision as to whether they'd survive or not.   The 2 kilns were very impressive: a new gas reduction car kiln and a medium sized bourry box wood kiln. The enormous stack of wood was a testament to a serious commitment to wood firing, as were the pallets of scavenged firebrick in the back field, waiting to become an anagama in the near future.   more coming...