SwampFire
Seventh Retreat: 2014
Steve Smith’s 4 Corners Gallery, Angola IN
Hosted by Steve Smith at his studio and 4 Corners Gallery, SwampFire proved to be a time of creativity and relaxation. The highlight of the retreat was Steve’s on-site Raku pottery workshop. The slideshow to the right contains Eva English’s dramatic photos, including those of red-hot cups coming out of the kiln.
Eva enjoyed photographing the ancient Raku process, which includes glazing cups, firing them in the kiln, then placing them in straw. The straw catches fire, and smothering the fire turns the unglazed portions of the cups black.
In Spring 2014 Eva completed a masters degree in English at The University of Toledo and said this of the transition from graduate student to grant writer for Defiance College: “I am currently embarking upon a new career path, finished with my own education for the moment. SwampFire offers a moment of peace for me, a cleansing sort of experience after the stress and challenge of education.”
Steve Smith’s cups ready for the Raku process 
Steve demonstrates the glazing process, then peers into the outdoor kiln just before inserting cups 
Cups in the fiery kiln 
Removing a cup from the kiln 
Setting a cup in straw . . . which sets the straw on fire 
Removing the last cup from the kiln 
Setting it in the straw 
More straw catching fire 
Just before smothering the flames
Swipe left on phone.
Rachel Baker, Eva English, Mary Catherine Harper . . . and workshop leader, Steve Smith
Reflections by retreat participants . . .
Aubade. Lake Michigan.
Blood, not blood but bog, flows
laketoward. Fisherman belittled
by erosion and high water curse
their luck. An eagle shadows our dog,
our dog oblivious to his clip, his
ears blown back by leashlessness.
My husband empties his coffee
to rescue crayfish from the tide.
We attempt a dam with sand
and plastic shovels. The eagle
laughs at us so heartily she
forgets her convocation.~Andrea England
Reflecting on SwampFire ’14
Knowing I’m coming to SwampFire lets me let go of “trying to make time to write this summer.” Of course I weave far too many expectations of project-completions into my anticipation of the weekend. But just that I bring ideas and wishes and scraps of paper scribbled with starter thoughts centers me enough to simply write. Thank goodness.~Marian Plant
June 22, 2014Funny how I was late to arrive at SwampFire this year and yet I got here just in time. Just in time to draft a story, to walk out into a bean field and feel the water on the leaves, to sit and talk and listen, sharing in the flow of stories both real and imagined. On rare occasions I have cynically wondered if there ever will be a SwampFire that is just so-so, that will feel like going through the motions. But somehow SwampFire doesn’t ever operate that way. There is an ebb and flow and a moving in and out, between solitude and community, but there is always, for me, a restoration.I have had a great many stressors this past year—failed school experiences for my son (the constant struggles) and my husband’s recent health concerns. Some days things just seem uncertain, and so overwhelming, but I keep moving—we all do, don’t we?—ever through the most uncertain and intense of times. SwampFire is a still point in the midst of all the swirl and craziness of daily life.Ah, well. SwampFire. Happy to be here even on a year when I took 10 minutes to throw my bag together and hop in the care to come.
Until next year.~Dawn Burns
June 22, 2014
I looked forward to SwampFire this summer after having spent the first part of this year trying to focus on the habit of writing. I’m working on being content in the activity, rather than expecting perfection in the craft. As always, I was excited to do the pottery, and I love my finished raku pot. I wasn’t sure until close to the date that I could come this year, but I’m so glad I made it. Looking forward to next year!~Rachel Baker
Burn
white clay and conversation
interrupted by the rain
dipped for copper
galvanized steel
fire that doesn’t burn but births
the devil has four legs.~Eva English
Is it possible that my seventeen-year-old self really isn’t seventeen but now somewhere past sixty? Impossible. But I’ve had a clear sign that my memory isn’t what it used to be. Coming to SwampFire this year I forgot to bring my computer charger. Had to call Dawn that first day, before she arrived, and ask her to get it from my apartment. She saved the day, brought it with her Saturday morning.~Mary Catherine Harper
Annual Retreat Archive
