![\"Most](\"https:\/\/artsincubator.ca\/borupscorners\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/preparing-poplar-branches-for-pit-firing-pottery-and-ceramics-with-wild-clay-in-northwestern-ontario-1024x576.jpg\")
Letting the Season Do the Work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Right now, the job is simple: leave the pile alone and let it dry. By late summer, the leaves will be crisp and the branches will snap clean. That\u2019s when we’ll know it\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And by early fall, when the fire restrictions are lifted and the air cools down, everything will line up. The fuel will be dry, the risk will be lower, and it will be a much better time to manage a long burn. We won’t be fighting heat or wind the same way we do in the middle of a hot, dry summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What started as clearing brush also turns into something useful. Nothing is ever wasted. The same material that needed to come off the land will become the fuel that finishes our experimental wild clay and pottery work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the plan for this next cycle: Cut, dry, fire, and see what comes out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summer Arts Incubator at Borups Corners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
These activities are part of our Summer Arts Incubator program. During the summer months, we spend time working out of our small land-based lab in Northwestern Ontario, where the focus is hands-on, practical, and directly tied to the materials we can find and work with on the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, one of the main areas we’re focusing on is exploring the harvesting and processing of wild clay for use in pottery and ceramics. We\u2019re testing what we can find locally, learning how to clean, refine, and prepare it, and eventually understanding how it behaves in different firing conditions. It\u2019s a full process from ground to finished pieces, and we\u2019re building that knowledge step by step as we go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no separation between learning and doing here. The brush piles, the clay testing, the firing preparation … it all connects. And almost all of it happens outside, in real conditions, with real materials. It\u2019s straightforward work and a lot of fun. Stay tuned as we’ll post updates throughout the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seasonal brush collection turns poplar into reliable, no-waste fuel for atmospheric ceramic pit firings in the fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1766267189819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[586],"tags":[73,199,332,236],"class_list":["post-1766267189818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ontario-arts","tag-borups-corners","tag-northwestern-ontario","tag-ontario-arts","tag-sdg15"],"yoast_head":"\n