John,

Thanks for everything.  We had a blast and enjoyed your company, support and expertise.

Mike
Bruce Bowers Workshop
July 11 - 12, 2008

Thanks to all who participated in the Visitors Workshop, June 27 - 29, 2008!

Bill and I would like to thank all of you for making the trip here and participating in this workshop.
 
We feel it went smoothly, and very productive. Hopefully everyone can say they learned something new during the 3 days.
 
We both enjoyed your company throughout, and it was nice getting to know everyone a little bit.
 
Remember that we "The Flaming Geeks" will always be there for you if ever you should need us for anything pertaining to wood firing.
 
Just e-mail or call anytime. It was a good time for us!! Thanks again and keep makin em!

Bill and John

John and Bill and everyone!!

What can I say that hasn't been said?? It was difficult to leave!! John - your studio, your home, your kilns, your property and your State are beautiful!! The 10 hour drive home gave Rob and I lots of time to reflect on what we learned and to create a plan. By the end of the trip we decided that we will be building this kiln together in the fall of 2009!! We are going to my brother's this weekend to scout out the perfect location.

The whole 3 days were perfect from start to finish. I learned so much. Thank you to everyone for being so generous with your woodfire experiences and knowledge.

I know I will have LOTS of woodfire questions so I will be in touch with the "Flaming Geeks" often.

Thanks so much John and Bill.

Michelle

Hey from North Carolina. We (me and Jerry) had such a great time making new pottery friends. I so enjoyed this great experience with clay & fire! I'm so full of anticipation for the future, I can hardly contain myself. I'm ready to go out today to search the area for property to build my new kiln on, but of course that is "crazy talk!"

Thank you John and Bill for sharing your wealth of experience with us! Good luck to you both as you continue sharing this Manabigama II kiln and firing process! John, thank you for opening your home and studio! Loved that posh outhouse!

I will be sending out the disk or disks (not sure how many it will take yet) soon. I will let you all know when I'm sending so you can watch for the postman to deliver!

If you are ever through the Piedmont area of NC, call me! I look forward to seeing you. We are only a few miles off Bus-40 and I-40.

Thanks again! Stay in touch!

Debb

Thank you, thank you for a great weekend! The Manabigama kiln is everything and more than you described! I plan to write a letter to the editor for both Ceramics Monthly and the Log Book on what an amazing kiln this is. I think this type of "guest" workshop will become in high demand. I hope you found your first group as pleasant to work with as I found as a participant. All serious about the process and the results and no prima donnas.

Thank you for the opportunity. When I decide where I'm building the kiln (and whether to move where I live) I will be contacting you for the class/construction. Best to you both.

Dian

In an email sent to Ceramics Monthly...

I contacted Bill van Gilder right after reading in Sept 2007 about the Manabigama, that fires in 8 hours with half a cord of wood. All my wood fire friends were skeptics to say the least, but when van Gilder and John Thies finally offered a "guest workshop" to test their "new and improved" design, I jumped on it. There were six of us from throughout the US and Canada, loading over 150 bisqued pots on Friday, firing Saturday from 6am - hit cone 12 at 10am, opened passive dampers at 11am, and finished firing at 3pm, and closed the kiln. It was all that was advertised and more. The ash was there - beautiful flashing, half a cord of oak, and great design that included a light weight, easy to move, door to the firebox at waist height, with wood stacked on a table to the right so no bending. Easy to load, van Gilder at well over six feet, designed it so that you don't have to bend like a pretzel to load. We all left excited and sold on the Manabigama. It is really amazing and in these days of diminishing resources - half a cord is a dream. Check it out, www.monocacypottery.com   (John Thies website).

Dian