Seagrove Pre-Conference Artist

Michael Mahan fires for the effects of natural wood ash and flashing in his Manabigama, a cross-draft kiln designed by potters Bill Van Gilder and John Theis. His firing methods vary as he and his son have spent considerable time trying different ways of firing and cooling, using a wide variety of clay and local materials. Mahan built his first wood-fired kiln in 2009. He built a second kiln of similar style in Ireland in 2013, where he and his Irish wife Mary Holmes spend their summer every year. Michael has been making pottery since the early 1980s.