The latest work by Danish ceramics artist Nina Hole is one of the hottest exhibits to hit the State University of New York at Fredonia campus in years. In fact, if past experience is any indicator, the curvaceous sculpture by this SUNY Fredonia alum should reach about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit by Friday.
 
The public is invited to attend the unveiling of Ms. Hole’s latest sculpture on Friday, Sept. 23 at dusk (between 8 and 9 p.m.) outside of Rockefeller Arts Center. The ceramic art was created using Ms. Hole’s innovative site-firing process and will be naturally illuminated as it cools.
 
For almost two weeks, Ms. Hole and her team of SUNY Fredonia student-volunteers have been busy creating the first site-fired sculpture to be made at SUNY Fredonia. The artwork is only the third of its kind to be made in the United States.
 
Distinguished Teaching Professor Marvin Bjurlin of the Department of Visual Arts and New Media earned a grant from the Williams Visiting Professor Endowment of the Fredonia College Foundation to bring Ms. Hole – a longtime friend and former student – back to SUNY Fredonia so she could demonstrate her innovative blend of sculpting and on-site firing.
 
With help from various students in the SUNY Fredonia Department of Visual Arts and New Media, Ms. Hole laid out the refractory firebrick for the foundation of her sculpture. Serving as the actual furnace space, the foundation will later be filled with wood to fire the terracotta clay sculpture she will build above it. The final work will stand 10 to 12 meters tall, weigh around three tons and become a permanent piece of SUNY Fredonia’s In Sight/On Site outdoor sculpture collection.
 
Before it gets to that point, however, the sculpture will be wrapped in a special thermal blanket, and then the firing process will begin. A slow start is essential to ensure that the clay has fully dried and is ready to be converted into the ceramic medium. As the firing continues, the pace will build, reaching a climax on Friday, Sept. 23 – by evening, the clay will have reached about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit as Ms. Hole removes the thermal blanket. All are welcome to visit the site-firing location at dusk on Friday, Sept.23 (around 9 p.m.) near the outdoor kiln beside the Rockefeller Arts Center.
 
"This moment will be pure theatre and very exciting," claimed Mr. Bjurlin.
 
The SUNY Fredonia graduate has gained worldwide fame for inventing this process. By building a kiln directly into her sculptures, she has created a visual spectacle of the firing process while simultaneously conducting a necessary step in ceramic process.
 
"It is so impractical to bring (parts of the sculpture) inside the kiln to fire them," said Ms. Hole, who has repeated this process around the world, including a pair of projects in the United States. "The idea of making a sculpture and a kiln as one and the same is very logical."
 
Ms. Hole is one of those fortunate people who truly love her job. "I am one of those people who has always known what they wanted to do. Clay was my stuff."