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$340 out of $125,000 Raised

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Help Us Bring a New Sculpture Kiln to the AMOCA Ceramics Studio

The American Museum of Ceramic Art is undertaking an ambitious campaign to raise $125,000 for a new sculpture kiln. This new kiln will transform the the capabilities of AMOCA’s Ceramics Studio, providing the capability to fire sculptures up to 90 inches tall.

This will be the first major campaign for a kiln since 2014, when $20,000 was raised to bring Ted Neal to Pomona to build the two atmospheric kilns currently located on the east side of the property.

The Kiln

The kiln will be built by our friends at the Laguna Clay and Glaze Company based nearby in the City of Industry, led by Lenny Larson (an AMOCA staff alumnus who you may recognize from his regular visits to the studio, pictured below posing in a similar kiln).

The interior of the kiln will have 120 cubic feet of stacking space, with a base measuring 48 inches by 48 inches and a height of 90 inches. It will be gas powered, and fire up to cone 10 (2350 degrees Fahrenheit).

The kiln will be a shuttle kiln, allowing large sculptural pieces to be moved in and out of the space with ease. The track for the kiln will be able to fold-up, preserving as much floor space as possible. A state-of-the-art electronic controller will allow for precisely controlled firings, bringing best-in-class kiln facilities to the AMOCA Ceramics Studio.

The kiln will be available for use by studio artists, artists in residence, and for external artists using firing services (similar to how existing kilns are currently reserved and used). It will be the largest kiln publicly available for artists in Southern California.

Lenny Larson, pictured in a similar kiln. Note: This kiln does not have a shuttle that will be part of the new kiln. Shown for size comparison.

Facility Plan

A new facility plan, produced by the same architect that did the drawings for the Growing Into Our Future Capital Campaign, has been produced to include space for the new kiln (shown below).

Timeline

Once funds have been raised, the kiln takes 16-18 weeks to build the kiln at Laguna facilities. It is projected that delivery, installation, and testing will take another 4-8 weeks.

Budget

The estimated cost of the project is $125,000, broken down as follows:

  • $95,652: Kiln materials, construction, crating, and delivery ($90,691) and programmable controller ($4,961).
  • $29,348: Installation, plans, permitting, assembly, and testing.

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