Judah Birkeland (he/him)
Judah Birkeland - New Mentor 2027
Linwood, MN. USA. Judah Birkeland is a highly skilled American ceramic artist, studio potter, and professional kiln builder based in Minnesota. He is widely recognized across the ceramics community for his expertise in designing and constructing highly efficient atmospheric, gas, soda, and wood-fired kilns for prominent art institutions and studio potters.
Individual Meetings: First and third Mondays of each month (holidays may require rescheduling).
Group Meeting: Last Monday of each month
Workshop: Dates are still being finalized, but the workshop will most likely take place in late September or early October. This exciting week-long, in-person workshop will be held at my studio and kiln-building workshop in Linwood, Minnesota. Our primary focus will be learning how to build kilns through hands on experience, but we will also utilize the various wood fired kilns here at Linwood Pottery. Each member will be welcome to bring a substantial amount of work to be fired, and there will also be opportunities to make pots throughout the week. This will be a physically demanding hands-on experience with a focus on learning, experimentation, analysis, and discussion.
The studio is already largely ADA accessible, and I am happy to provide additional accommodations if needed.
About Judah
http://instagram.com/judahbirkeland
http://facebook.com/judahbirkeland
Judah Birkeland is a Minnesota based ceramic artist and kiln builder with nearly 20 years of professional experience. His formative years in clay took place in Minneapolis, where he worked as a production potter while also maintaining a private studio practice. In 2007, Birkeland began working with Master Kiln Builders, eventually becoming a full-time kiln builder. He has constructed kilns for some of the most renowned ceramic institutions and artists across the United States. Now, as the owner and operator of Linwood Pottery, he is experimenting with innovative new portable wood kiln designs, and developing a body of work specifically tailored to an abbreviated and highly efficient wood-fire process.
Birkeland’s ceramics craft is rooted in the utilitarian tradition. The work embraces a sensibility which celebrates process marks left by the maker, as well as those left by the kiln. Each pot tells the story of how it was made through the marks which adorn it. This interest in a process driven aesthetic is what led him to kiln building; a craft which has become inextricably linked to his clay practice. For Birkeland, the relationship between the two is symbiotic: the pots influence the kiln designs, and new kiln designs inspire changes in the pottery. His current work revolves around continuous experimentation with both pottery and kiln designs, carefully analyzing firing results, and pursuing the most intriguing avenues of exploration as they are revealed.
