East Creek Art Wood Fire Camping Retreat 2025

Pottery Northwest is proud to be partnering with the fabulous folks at East Creek Art to offer our students a weekend wood fire retreat!

Participants will take part in a tutorial session prior to the event where they will be given the appropriate clay and shown how to prep their wares for the wood fire. During the weekend of the event, everyone will have a chance to learn how to prep, load and stoke a wood fired kiln!

Each participant will be allowed 4 cubic feet of kiln space.

Camping is free! For other accommodations, see Accommodations section below.

While the kiln is stoked over the course of two days, participants can camp out and enjoy a raku session and some delicious wood fired pizza. 

Sunday, March 2nd, 10:00AM - 4:00PM: Mandatory info session at Pottery Northwest.

May 30th, 31st and June 1st: Camping and wood fire event at East Creek Art.

Saturday, June 7th, 11:00AM - 4:00PM: Kiln unload at East Creek Art (optional).

See the schedule below for full details.

INFO SESSION

Sunday, March 2nd, 10:00AM - 4:00PM

*This session is mandatory for all participants.*

Joe Robinson of East Creek Art will join us at Pottery Northwest and conduct a tutorial for all participants. The morning will consist of an informational presentation about East Creek regulations and what to expect from the wood firing event. After a lunch break, participants will be lead through some demos and be given technical guidance for how to prepare their pots. Each person will receive a 25 pound bag of clay to prepare work suitable for the wood fire.

CAMPING AND WOOD FIRE EVENT

The event will take place at East Creek Art in Willamina, OR. It will begin on Friday, May 30th at 11:00AM and end on Sunday,June 1st at 6:00PM.

East Creek provides all necessary materials and firing supplies as well as safety gear for those who do not have their own. Please feel free to bring safety gear if you have it.

Friday, May 30th

Loading and stoking the wood fire kiln

-11:00AM, prep pots with provided glaze and wadding. 

-Load the kiln all day Friday.

-Light gas burner Friday night late night.

-Dinner is your responsibility. You can bring items to bbq at East Creek (see kitchen description below in Accommodations section), or you can head into town which is only 8 miles away.

Saturday, May 31st

Stoking the wood fire kiln / Raku / Wood fired pizza

-6:00AM, begin stoking wood.

-Morning stoking and prep for raku.

-Raku firings will take place throughout the day (Included in registration price!)

-By mid-afternoon, ceramic cone temps will be reached and the firing increases intensity. 

-5:00PM - 8:00PM, wood fired pizza time! Everyone makes their own pizza with provided dough, sauce and simple toppings (cheese, pepperoni, olives, onion, bell pepper). Feel free to bring your own toppings if you want something more!  (Included in registration price!)

-Overnight stoking shifts will require around-the-clock work. This is not mandatory, but those who want to participate can speak with Joe at the tutorial event.

Sunday, June 1st

Stoking the wood fire kiln / Soda day

-Around mid-morning, techs will prep soda mixture (gail nichols mix, soda ash, whiting, baking soda) and apply it to the soda boards, which will be stoked into the kiln's firebox.

-The soda application process usually runs from 12:00PM to 4:00pm.

-5:00PM - 6:00PM, the kiln is shut down.

Participants may leave at any point on Sunday.

Saturday, June 7th

Unload Day

-This day is OPTIONAL. Participants are invited and encouraged to come, but you do not need to travel back to East Creek Art to pick up your wares. A Pottery Northwest staff member will be present to safely transport everything back for you if you are unable to make it. 

-Unloading will take place from 11:00AM - 4:00PM.

-Session will begin with a 15 minute recap talk and instruction on cold working (removing stuck on wads).

-Each participant should plan to grind 3 shelves (one per cubic foot). Those with physical issues may take a pass on grinding, but they should plan on helping some other way. Clean up is an important part of wood firing. 

-Night Raku is a separate event held by East Creek Art that will commence at 4:00pm. Participants are invited to register for night raku and stay the night. Campers are welcome to stay Friday and Saturday night for free without registering for the event. Registration link coming soon!

ACCOMMODATIONS

East Creek Art has a variety of accommodation options for participants that you can view with this link. Camping is free and requires no reservation. There are shared bathrooms with showers and a shared outdoor kitchen. The kitchen is equipped with a large gas grill with plenty of space for everyone.

Accommodations other than camping with your own gear are not included in the event fee and must be booked separately with East Creek Art.

For those who are not campers, the historic Wildwood Hotel is 13 minutes away for a modest but clean and comfy room. There are some other more luxurious options nearby, along with some airbnbs so have a look around to see what looks right for you.