Allamakee Pottery
Nate and Hallie Evans are devoted to functional wood-fired ceramics. Wood-fire is an ancient, labor intensive process in which the interaction of ash, flame and pots determines much of the final look. The kiln must be monitored around the clock for several days. This differs from raku, a low-fire process done in a shorter time period. By contrast, wood-fire is a high temperature firing, resulting in durable pots for everyday kitchen use.
After graduating from Luther College in the late 1990s, Nate and Hallie spent two years as apprentices at the W.M. Hewitt Pottery in Pittsboro, North Carolina. There they participated in all aspects of a working pottery, including the more unusual approach of preparing their own clay and glazes. While most potters purchase their supplies from clay supply houses, Nate and Hallie still try to use as many indigenous clay and glaze materials as possible. "Using these local clays and rocks enables us to create pots that could not be duplicated even by us, in another location," they explain.
Their current studio is nestled in a deep valley near New Albin, in extreme northeastern Iowa. The firing of their large, tube-shaped kiln to a temperature of about 2400 degrees takes place over four days, fueled by oak and ash slab wood (a sawmill waste product).
For more information on Allamakee Pottery's work, including what we might have in stock, please email or call us at 1-877-439-6554.
Allamakee Pottery
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